Woman of the Year 2021 in Poetry by the Rudeman Foundation: Tami Assuline, poet, dancer, teacher.

Tami Assouline (51) is an inspiring figure who lends her hand in almost every field of culture and gives hope to many.
Tami, who lives with her family in Holon, has been deaf from birth and was a member of the 'Kol ve Dmama' (Voice & Silence) dance company, where deaf members performed alongside hearing members.
She published three books of poetry; the last one, called YamFA (published by Ma'ayan Magazine), is the first book in Hebrew in the syntax of FA Sign Language, which is popular among the Deaf community.
Still, she fought for her place against the established Israeli Sign Language for years.

The unusual book received many laudatory responses and extensive coverage and raised awareness of Deaf culture in Israel, which the hearing public has much to learn from.
Tami is proud to be Deaf and is not interested in a hearing aid.
She is a sort of one-person cultural bulldozer, organizing initiatives in cinema, art, literature, and dance, collaborating with many creators, and appearing worldwide in performance shows at festivals to increase awareness of the silent world and the creativity bubbling in it.

Written by Shira Rudeman, CEO of the Jewish American Rudeman Foundation