Very lively, dynamic, with a smile on her face and a fierce attitude, Morgane is a bundle of energy who doesn't go unnoticed. This atypical personality, with colorful hair and numerous piercings and tattoos, makes her presence felt both through her physical appearance and the depth of the messages she relentlessly posts on city walls. Founder of the "Yiddish feminist" movement, Morgane passionately defends the values of Judaism through her street art. Her powerful messages, directed at the Jewish people, aim to highlight the unity and strength of Jewish identity, which, more than ever, must shine through. Judaism, feminism, and queer activism are the main themes of her collages, which serve as true shields against a hostile world.
A love at first sight for the Holy Land
In 2009, at the age of 24, Morgane decided to make aliyah from France, a significant turning point in her life, as she had never been to Israel before. A year earlier, Morgane made her first trip to Israel for her cousin’s wedding in Jerusalem and fell deeply in love with the country. A few months later, she moved there permanently after a long trip to Argentina, where she met Israelis.
“It was in Argentina that I first met Israelis, and it awakened my desire to go to Israel, which had always been buried inside me. I come from a family deeply attached to the State of Israel, but I had never been there. As soon as I set foot on Israeli soil, I felt something incredible. I was amazed, and the atmosphere immediately appealed to me. I had a real love at first sight! I remember sitting in front of the Kotel and telling myself, ‘I won’t leave this place until I have my answer’; by the end of the day, I was sure I would stay in Israel,” recalls Morgane.
Upon her arrival in Israel, Morgane quickly joined the high-tech world, working in startups to earn a living, but her dream lay elsewhere. With degrees in art and fashion, she aspired to break into the art world, her true passion.
Feminism and activism
Morgane grew up in a communist Ashkenazi family and was immersed in activism from a very young age. In 2020, she co-founded the “Hastikeriot” movement with one of her best friends, similar to the "Colleuses" movement in France. “We were in contact with the Colleuses in Paris, and we wanted to focus on feminist issues specific to Israeli society through our messages. It gave me the courage to voice my opinions loudly and to take over public space,” says Morgane.
For four years, she worked tirelessly on the "Hastikeriot" project before creating "Yiddish feminist" in parallel. "As a queer person, I wanted to represent queer people in Israel without affecting the work of the Hastikeriot. The name 'Yiddish feminist' is a tribute to my grandmother, who was like a third parent to me. She was one of the first female figures in my life, and she spoke Yiddish fluently, so I combined the two concepts,” explains the young woman.
The October 7 upheaval
A die-hard fan of festivals and rave parties, Morgane was supposed to attend the Nova festival on October 7 with her husband. However, this year, professional commitments kept her from attending, miraculously saving her from the massacre. The silence of feminists worldwide in the face of the horrors experienced by Israeli women deeply affected her. She also experienced antisemitism from members of the colleuses group. “They knew we were based in Tel Aviv, and they didn’t show any support. Some blocked us or sent hateful messages, which I found very violent, especially after the violence we had endured on October 7,” Morgane recalls.
The dramatic rise of antisemitism worldwide was a true shock for Morgane; her own grandmother had survived the Holocaust, and this return to dark times in history deeply troubled her. “People were celebrating the attacks in Israel in the streets with complete impunity. It was a wake-up call, and I told myself, I have to act through more collages,” she says.
All these thought led Morgane to increase her collage activities to express her anger at first, and then to heal and survive. Survive the abominable flood of hatred that had been unleashed upon the Jewish people in the blink of an eye, in the indifference of the rest of the world.
"Being Jewish is a blessing"
In November 2023, Morgane created her first collages in reaction to the inaction of feminists who did not support Israeli women attacked by Hamas. She conveyed her outrage in reactionary messages against antisemitism and the chilling silence in the face of the unimaginable tragedy. Morgane addressed her messages to the diaspora, showing that unity always prevails.
Proud to advocate for Jewish values, Morgane posted her collages in Tel Aviv, including on the famous Dizengoff Center walls, as well as in Beersheba, in central Israeli cities, Paris, Athens, and even Iceland. Among her most powerful messages, always written in English for a universal touch, are: “Being Jewish is a blessing,” “Jewish joy is resistance,” “Protect your Jewish magic,” and “Say it loud: Proud to be Jewish.”
“My goal is to uplift the population and show them that we are no longer alone; I need to take up space to shout my pain,” says Morgane.
Since October 7, Morgane has received numerous reactions and messages of support from the public, including from non-Jews. Her popularity has soared, and she now has nearly 20,000 followers on Instagram. Among her detractors, she counts some Jewish anti-Zionists, often from Tel Aviv. “I often write ‘we’ instead of ‘I’; it’s a way for people to better identify with my ideas, allowing me to be a spokesperson for a collective voice,” says Morgane.
Two highly symbolic messages
Morgane has created dozens of collages, but two hold a special place in her heart due to their strong symbolism. One of her first collages was “Jewish joy resistance,” to which she added “We will dance again.”
“For me, the little moments of joy are acts of resistance. We refuse to let them take our joy of life away. Dance is also a form of joy. It symbolizes moving forward and always being in motion, and it’s also a collective art. I believe that when we’ve endured a collective shock, individual therapy is not enough; we need the community to heal together,” says Morgane.
Her collage “Our wounds are centuries old, but so is our resilience and strength” is also one of her most significant works.
“Constantly associating us with victims bothers me. In the collective imagination and in Israeli history, there’s this idea that Israel is a strong country, but Jews in the diaspora are strong too. If they hadn’t had the strength to continue after the Holocaust, no one would have founded Israel. We survived all these centuries in the diaspora because we had that strength and resilience, and the ability to move forward. Resilience is not unique to Israelis. I think in Israel, we need to look more at the history of the diaspora and consider that we can draw resilience from Jews abroad,” Morgane concluded.
Morgane was selected as one of 150 participants in President Herzog's "Voice of the People" initiative, a platform for unity, change, and growth. This initiative aims to mobilize a broad range of Jewish voices from six continents, transform their dialogue into concrete strategies, and nurture future Jewish leadership. Along with her group, Morgane is working on a project addressing the relationship between Jews in Israel and those in the diaspora. She has also set up collage workshops with American Taglit groups three hours a week. Additionally, she creates murals in schools and miklat, and has opened a tattoo studio at her home featuring motifs related to Judaism.
Caroline Haïat
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