Pioneering Women –Recha Freier and Ada Sereni
Israeli Stamps issued August 2018

Recha Freier and Ada Sereni were pioneering women whose names 
are seldom recognized today. But they have much in common: 
both were born in the Diaspora and made Aliyah to Eretz Israel; 
both led long lives – Sereni died at age 92 and Freier lived 
to age 91; both were awarded the Israel Prize for their special 
contributions to society and to the State of Israel; and the 
main similarity – each woman was responsible for bringing thousands 
of immigrants to Israel – Freier through the Youth Aliyah organization 
and Sereni through the clandestine immigration from Italy to 
Eretz Israel during the British Mandate.
 
Recha Freier

1892, Germany – 1984, Jerusalem

Recha Freier (n?e Schweitzer) was born and raised in Germany. 
She married Rabbi Dr. Moshe Issachar Freier. Even before Hitler's 
rise to power, Freier was attuned to the plight of young Jewish men 
in Germany who were fired from their jobs simply because they were 
Jews and aware of the rising violence against Jews in German society. 
As early as 1932, Recha Freier laid the foundations for the Youth 
Aliyah organization, for the purpose of saving the lives of children 
and youths by getting them to Eretz Israel, where they were taken in 
and trained on kibbutzim.

Freier's revolutionary plan was initially resisted by Zionist leaders 
in Germany and Eretz Israel, who did not see a need to bring German 
youths to Eretz Israel at that point in time and who did not believe 
that the kibbutzim were capable of receiving and educating youths. 
Her attempts to raise support for the idea and to recruit partners 
in the endeavor encountered difficulties (as described in the book 
she published in 1953). But eventually thousands of children and 
youths were rescued from Germany and other countries. In later years, 
tens of thousands of young people immigrated to Israel through Youth Aliyah.
In 1981, Recha Freier was awarded the Israel Prize for her special 
contribution to society and the State of Israel, thus receiving the 
recognition and honor she deserved. She also received an honorary 
doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ada Sereni

1905, Italy – 1997, Jerusalem

Sereni was born in Rome and married Zionist activist Enzo Sereni. 
The couple made Aliyah to Eretz Israel in 1927. They were among 
the founders of Kibbutz Givat Brenner and had three children. 
Ada and Enzo were dispatched abroad on numerous occasions. In 1944, 
Enzo parachuted behind enemy lines in Germany and Italy and all trace 
of him was lost. Ada returned to Italy to join the efforts to find him.
She was active in the Aliyah Bet clandestine immigration movement 
in Italy during the years before the establishment of the State of Israel 
and from 1947 served as head of the association. She was responsible 
for dispatching tens of thousands of immigrants on dozens of ships. 
Her fluent Italian and special relations with the heads of the Italian 
government and the national police opened many doors. She was called 
"the woman in black" and solved every problem related to clandestine 
immigration, purchasing for the Haganah and the IDF, as well as various 
sensitive issues.
In 1995, Ada Sereni was awarded the Israel Prize for her special 
contribution to society and the State of Israel.