Remembering Olga Washington

Charlotte Jewish News, February 2025

By Marcy Braverman Goldstein, Ph.D., Club Z Charlotte educator and parent

Beloved Olga Washington, I never expected or wanted to describe Olga in the past tense, but here we are after her untimely passing. Many people worldwide were blessed to know her, a beacon of light, an exemplary human whose brilliance, warmth, elegance, courage, morality, wisdom, strength, and beauty shined so brightly. She showed us how to live.

In 2020, Olga became Club Z Charlotte’s regional director and educator. Teens who had been in the “my mom signed me up” category shifted to “When is the next class with Ms. Olga?” They enjoyed playing in the woods with her at fall retreats and receiving end-of-year “most likely to” awards that captured each person’s talent because she had taken the time to deeply see every student. After October 7, Club Z and Charlotte Stands with Israel (CSI) organized a rally that the teens eagerly helped plan. At that event and others, we watched Olga, notoriously wrapped in an Israeli flag, use her strong, compelling voice that seamlessly blended the strength of her convictions with civility and poise. A featured speaker at Club Z National Conferences, she inspired and educated hundreds of people. She was promoted to national director of programming and engagement and then to chief operating officer. Olga continued to teach. In February 2024, at UNC-Chapel Hill, she presented “Cut From the Same Cloth: Israel-South Africa Relations,” which captivated the audience, including anti-Israel activists who spoke with her afterward about the Israel-Gaza war for forty-five minutes, a possibly unheard-of dialogue that at least slightly diminished the political divide at that infamously hostile campus. For an upcoming series presented by CSI in partnership with Club Z called “Jewish Parents Guide to Israel, Antisemitism, and College,” Olga was set to speak on “The Great Apartheid Lie.” No one else on earth was as perfectly suited to clarify this topic– she skillfully deconstructed the accusation of Israeli so-called “apartheid,” explaining that misuse of this term is ignorance that erases the experience and suffering of black South Africans, such as herself.

Born and raised in South Africa, Olga accomplished so much internationally: partner at her law firm by age twenty-five, chief executive officer of DEISI (Defend, Embrace, Invest, Support Israel) International, recipient of the 2016 Jerusalem Award from the World Zionist Organization, board member at Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, speaker at the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), participant at a UNHRC event hosted by UN Watch in Geneva, #1 among the 25 Young ViZIONaries from The Jerusalem Post and Jewish National Fund in September 2023, and more.

Olga kickstarted Israel education programming for teens in Charlotte. She said that it was her great delight to teach, but I initially did not fully understand what she meant. How could teaching teenagers be really wonderful? When her career shifted to focus on Israel-Africa relations, she asked me to be the educator. So now I, too, know the joy of teaching Jewish teens about their homeland and heritage. A favorite Olga-aphorism is that “There can be no justice without truth.” I am grateful to have the incredible opportunity and responsibility to pass on truths and debate skills to students who become armed with knowledge and confidence to speak up persuasively for our people and Israel.

Olga was more than what words can capture. She lit up rooms, warmed hearts, and cherished people. She was a fearless advocate for truth, justice, and unity. She seemed like a prophetess, a quintessential humanitarian, and a gift to our world. It feels as if a glitch in the system took her too soon. Such a shocking, devastating loss, especially for her husband, Joshua Washington, their sons, Ezra and Judah; father, Kenneth Meshoe; and in-laws, Dumisani and Valerie Washington. Her mother, Lydia, died in January 2023. Thankfully Olga made an incredible impact on many people who will impact more people, and so on. We will forever be inspired by her example and do everything possible to bring her mission for Israel to fruition.

Beloved Olga, beacon of Light, I miss you! Wishing you eternal peace. I hope that you are working wonders for our world in a different way. If anyone can, it’s you.

Baruch Dayan Ha Emet