Last month, the Jewish War Veterans of the USA (JWV) made history by installing its first female national commander. Selina Kanowitz, who previously served as the organization’s national vice commander and as commander of Cherry Hill Post 126, assumed the top leadership role during JWV’s national convention in Washington, DC. JWV, the oldest continuously active veterans service organization in the United States, was founded in 1896 to represent Jewish service members and veterans. Today, the organization advocates for both Jewish and non-Jewish veterans’ rights and benefits, assists veterans navigating government services, conducts memorial and patriotic programs, combats antisemitism and supports Israel and the U.S.-Israel alliance.
“We have some very powerful minds, mostly men, and I have to show them my firmness–that because I’m a woman, it doesn’t make a difference. We’re all in it for the same reason, our mission is the same.” Kanowitz explained, “We are taking care of all veterans. However, since I’m a female, I have to show some attention to the females who have not been recognized for so many years.”
Kanowitz, a Philadelphia native who joined the military in 1977 as a radiologic technologist, has witnessed firsthand the evolution of women’s roles in the armed forces and the way female service members have been treated over the decades.
She describes a time when serving women still had to wear men’s uniforms, when they were forced to abandon a military career when starting a family because their job descriptions would not be altered during pregnancy, and when women serving in combat positions received little recognition for their service. A lot has changed for women in service over the course of Kanowitz’s career, but she is very much aware of the responsibility that comes with serving as JWV’s national commander.
“I’m the first female, and I have to set the standard,” she said simply.
Setting the standard as the first female in a top role is not new to Kanowitz: “When I became post commander (in Cherry Hill), I was the first female post commander. And then when I moved up to department commander, I was the first female in New Jersey,” she explained. “I think there were a couple (female department commanders) in New York, so I was probably the third in the country.”
Kanowitz is deeply familiar with JWV. Before she joined Cherry Hill’s Post 126, she was a member of Philadelphia’s Post 215 beginning in 1991, where she assumed various leadership roles during her time there. She served more than 21 years in the Air Force Reserve, and was activated during Operation Desert Storm, serving at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. She retired from military service in 1998.
She has long been passionate about advocating for service members and veterans, and is currently attempting to recruit younger veterans into JWV who have served in more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as women veterans, whose numbers continue to grow as more women serve in the armed forces. Her hope is to let veterans know JWV’s mentorship and advocacy is available, while strengthening bonds between members. With the rise of antisemitism in a post-Oct. 7 world, she also plans to combat antisemitism through education, while also re-instilling a sense of patriotic pride in younger generations, who she feels could benefit immensely by serving in the military, as it did for her amid concern over declining military recruitment nationwide. For Kanowitz, the goals are straightforward: Strengthening JWV’s membership, supporting veterans, combating antisemitism, and ensuring veterans know the organization is available to help them.
“We want everyone to know that we’re here to represent and to join us in supporting and combating all these issues that we have,” Kanowitz said. “And of course, ‘God bless America’–it’s the best country in the world, and our patriotism is why we have freedom.”