Rachel Gelman is a Bay Area-based Jewish radical activist, philanthropist, and “resource redistributor.” An heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, she is the founder and primary driver of the Bafrayung Fund.
Gelman’s career centers on upending the traditional concept of “philanthropy.” Rather than conventional charity, she advocates for “abolitionist fundraising”—using the Bafrayung Fund to direct vast amounts of inherited wealth toward grassroots organizations dedicated to prison abolition, ending police violence, and challenging capitalist structures. She is a core member of Jews on Ohlone Land (JOOL), which focuses on solidarity between Jewish communities and Indigenous land rights. Her work demonstrates how the privileged can empower marginalized justice movements by voluntarily relinquishing control over wealth.
Gelman is one of the most critical funders and activists within the American Jewish anti-occupation movement. Her stance, standing in stark contrast to her parents (who are prominent pro-Israel lobbyists), serves as a quintessential example of intergenerational political shifts. Beyond financially supporting Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and various pro-Palestinian student organizations, she is frequently seen on the front lines of blockade protests calling for an end to military operations in Gaza. She has argued: “My family’s wealth was built within a system of exploitation and occupation; thus, I have a responsibility not only to support Palestinian freedom but to dismantle the very structures that oppress others in the name of my safety. Supporting Palestinian self-determination is a necessary path to the liberation of all oppressed peoples.” She resolutely supports the BDS movement and calls for the American Jewish community to sever all forms of support for military occupation.