Rebecca Cohen (née Recanati) (1895–1943), who lived and was
active in Thessaloniki at the beginning of the twentieth century
and was murdered with her family in Auschwitz in 1943, remained
almost unknown. This article sheds light on her work and cultural
and social contributions, utilizing primary sources, including
translations and analyses of all her articles written in Ladino,
as well as an investigation into her family background. Rebecca
Cohen’s activity is presented within a broad historical context—
both of the status of Sephardic Jewish women in the Balkans
and of the Zionist movement there—while addressing social,
cultural, and political trends in the Thessaloniki community
and the Ottoman Empire. The article analyzes the four articles
she wrote from conceptual, linguistic, and stylistic perspectives,
and highlights the way she created a unique voice as a religious,
Zionist, and feminist Jewish woman.