President Barack Obama embracing former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) before delivering his speech at the 2012 State of the Union. Giffords, who left her post to recover from a serious injury sustained during the 2011 shooting in Tucson, AZ, has signed on as Honorary Co-Chair of the NJDC's Women's Leadership Network (WLN) along with fellow democratic Jewish female senators and representatives. Photo: Pete Souza, official White House photographer, via Wikimedia Commons.

All of the Jewish women representing the Democratic party in the U.S. Senate and Congress have chosen to become Honorary Co-Chairs of the National Jewish Democratic Council’s (NJDC) new Women’s Leadership Network (WLN). Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011 and later left her post to recover from her injury, has also signed on for the role.

The initiative is “an opportunity for us to stand up as women, as Jews, and as Democrats for the priorities we share… From safeguarding our civil and reproductive freedoms, to strengthening our health and social safety net, to ending preventable gun violence, and bolstering support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, NJDC’s WLN will serve as a valuable resource and powerful voice on the issues that matter to our community,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said in a statement.

“NJDC’s Women’s Leadership Network will mobilize Jewish American women to support strong Democratic candidates and will ensure that all female Jewish Democrats have a voice at the table,” said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

“We look forward to working with our Honorary Co-Chairs as we fight to maintain and expand women’s rights and protect the future for our children, grandchildren, and future generations,” added Women’s Leadership Network Co-Founders Ann Lewis and Barbara Goldberg Goldman.