34 Facts About Shatzi Weisberger

Joyce "Shatzi" Weisberger was an American death educator, activist, and nurse in New York City.

Shatzi Weisberger was married for 18 years and adopted two children, but broke off the marriage after reading The Feminine Mystique; her children cut contact with her for the next several decades.

Shatzi Weisberger served as a Brooklyn Independence Party organizer for 25 years, was an active protester against police brutality, and a supporter of bothpolice abolition and prison abolition.

Shatzi Weisberger was additionally associated with anti-Zionism, and became affiliated with the New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace in her final years.

Shatzi Weisberger was born Joyce Schatzberg in Brooklyn on June 17,1930.

Shatzi Weisberger's mother was a lesbian and once served as grand marshal of a pride parade; Weisberger grew up in a small apartment with her and her mother's female partner, though she was not aware of their relationship at the time.

Shatzi Weisberger did not have a close relationship with either of her parents, and was once kidnapped by her father after her mother came out as a lesbian; she spent time in the foster care system as a result of her father's homophobia.

Shatzi Weisberger's great-grandfather was Samuel Gompers, a founder of the American Federation of Labor.

Shatzi Weisberger was married to a man named Gene Shatzi Weisberger for 18 years, and they had a son and a daughter, adopted from Greece and California respectively; she left the unhappy marriage after reading The Feminine Mystique.

Shatzi Weisberger worked as a nurse for 47 years, focusing on obstetrics and end-of-life care.

Shatzi Weisberger began her career as a nurse after obtaining a master's degree in psychiatric nursing.

Shatzi Weisberger was a political lesbian for a period of time, a member of ACT UP, and a part of the public opposition to nuclear technology as a member of Dykes Opposed to Nuclear Technology.

Shatzi Weisberger was jailed as a result of her actions against nuclear weapons.

Shatzi Weisberger was present at numerous protests and demonstrations in New York, leading The Advocate to describe her as "a fixture".

Shatzi Weisberger was active in protests against police brutality in the United States, supported abolition of the police and of prisons, and was associated with anti-Zionism.

Shatzi Weisberger broke curfew to attend another Black Lives Matter protest.

In 2021, Shatzi Weisberger cited her age as a positive contributor to her activism, explaining that her presence "brings attention to the issues that matter" and expressing an intent to participate in "as many demonstrations as I possibly can".

Shatzi Weisberger grew up as a Zionist; she hoped to travel to Israel and live on a kibbutz.

Shatzi Weisberger later described this as the result of "brainwashing" during her childhood.

Shatzi Weisberger has stated that around 1983, someone suggested that she read a book she no longer remembered the title of, and it led her to begin questioning her views on Zionism and eventually to oppose the ideology entirely.

Shatzi Weisberger led Palestine-related workshops at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.

Shatzi Weisberger was a member of Jewish Voice for Peace and associated with its New York City chapter for the last six years of her life, and told Middle East Eye in 2021 that being part of a community of Jewish anti-Zionists made it "Much easier to protest against Zionism than it was before".

Shatzi Weisberger was unable to take the New York City Subway, instead using paratransit service Access-A-Ride to get to protests.

Shatzi Weisberger sang as part of the Brooklyn Women's Chorus.

In 2018, Shatzi Weisberger held a "FUN-eral" for herself in the common room of an Upper West Side apartment building.

Guests decorated a cardboard coffin, ate and sang, and Shatzi Weisberger spoke about death and dying.

Shatzi Weisberger told John Leland of The New York Times that she had worried she might die before hosting the funeral.

Shatzi Weisberger experienced symptoms of a heart attack in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown in New York.

Shatzi Weisberger expressed a desire for people to say their goodbyes and pick up their bequeath items before she died, and did not wish to be drugged.

Shatzi Weisberger planned to be buried in a forest in Upstate New York.

Shatzi Weisberger had additionally preselected a funeral director and a shroud.

In preparation for her death, Shatzi Weisberger contacted her estranged son.

Shatzi Weisberger attempted to do the same with her daughter, who was unwilling to reconnect.

That same day, the New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace posted on Instagram that Shatzi Weisberger had died the night before at her home, in accordance with her wishes.