The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Organization for Pioneer Women in Palestine-Pittsburgh Council was founded in 1925 as a local chapter of an agricultural work-training program for women in Palestine.
Moetzet Hapoalot (Working Women’s Council) was founded in Palestine in 1921 to train Jewish women for agricultural work. The Organization for Pioneer Women in Palestine began in New York in 1925 to help fund the Moetzet Hapoalot’s work in Palestine. The Pittsburgh chapter was also founded in 1925, initially meeting at the Zionist Institute.
Pioneer Women expanded locally starting in the late 1930s by dividing into neighborhood groups. It eventually had at least 14 chapters in the Pittsburgh area. In the early 1980s, Pioneer Women and Moetzet Hapoalot became Na’amat, an acronym for “working and volunteering women.” Na’amat USA Pittsburgh Council closed in 2021.
| CHAPTER | LOCATION | FOUNDED |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Pittsburgh | 1921 |
| Dvorah | by 1938 | |
| Kinnereth | 1947 | |
| Hanita | 1948 | |
| Ness Ziona | 1949 | |
| Hadera | 1949 | |
| Ain Karem | East End | 1950 |
| Golda Meir | Squirrel Hill | 1950 |
| Kadimah | South Hills | 1955 |
| Medina | Monroeville | 1956 |
| Rahel | Stanton Heights | 1958 |
| Sabra | Young Married | 1963 |
| Shalom | by 1964 | |
| Aliyah | by May 1971 |