Rosalind Pollack Petchesky is an American political scientist, feminist theorist, and Distinguished Professor Emerita of Political Science at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Raised in an American Jewish family, she completed her undergraduate studies at Smith College and earned her Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.
Petchesky’s scholarship focuses on body politics, international human rights, and reproductive health. Her 1984 book, “Abortion and Woman’s Choice: The State, Sexuality, and Reproductive Freedom,” received the Victoria Schuck Award from the American Political Science Association (APSA). She subsequently published “Global Prescriptions: Gendering Health and Human Rights” (2003) and co-founded organizations including the International Women’s Health Coalition and the International Reproductive Rights Research Action Group (IRRRAG). In 1995, she was named a MacArthur Fellow in recognition of her work on global gender rights and health policy.
Petchesky serves on the Board of Directors and the Academic Advisory Council of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). In 2021, she co-edited the anthology “A Land With A People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism.” In her activism, she applies feminist frameworks to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing that military blockades, home demolitions, and restrictions on healthcare infrastructure constitute direct violations of Palestinian women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive justice. She supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and opposes institutional efforts to restrict pro-Palestinian speech on university campuses.
Following the outbreak of the Gaza war in late 2023, Petchesky participated in high-profile civil disobedience calling for a ceasefire. On October 27, 2023, she organized a delegation of over 30 Jewish seniors and became the oldest person arrested during a major sit-in at Grand Central Terminal. On December 11, 2023, she was among a group of 18 Jewish elder women who chained themselves to the White House front gate hours before the annual Hanukkah reception.