Adina Sash: Activism Through Social Media in Support of Orthodox Women

Under the pseudonym Flatbush Girl, Adina Sash employs social media to address issues within the Orthodox Jewish community, focusing on the plight of women seeking religious divorces.

Adina Sash, both an activist and influencer, is dedicated to aiding Orthodox women she perceives as trapped in marriages. Utilizing her online presence as Flatbush Girl, she adopts an aggressive approach in addressing men who refuse to provide Jewish divorces to their wives.

On a day in March, Sash was inundated with Instagram messages regarding a man named Nathan Gettisberg, who had appeared on a well-known podcast discussing Jewish divorce. Viewers identified him as Raphi Stein, who was allegedly involved in an ongoing separation and had not granted a religious divorce, or get, to his wife.

Sash, an outspoken advocate for agunot, which means ‘chained women’, saw this as an example of a get refuser. Despite Stein’s public discussion on Jewish divorce, Sash viewed his actions as hypocritical. Her response was immediate and strategic.

Rather than reaching out to Stein or his wife, Adeena Kohn, Sash began condemning the podcast network, Living L’Chaim, and seeking further information from her 100,000 followers. Initially unaware of Kohn’s full identity, Sash eventually connected with a close friend of Kohn, who informed her that Kohn preferred to maintain privacy.

This request for privacy didn’t hinder Sash. For years, she has created campaigns for agunot, sometimes receiving compensation. In this situation, with growing attention on Stein and Kohn choosing not to participate, Sash turned to crowdfunding to support her cause. A representative for Kohn declined to comment.