Judith Deutsch

March 19, 1945 — April 14, 2025

Science for Peace is profoundly saddened by the recent loss of Judith Deutsch, a remarkable woman we were fortunate enough to work with and learn from for many years.

A former president and esteemed long-time Board member, Judith made an outsized contribution to our organization and the wider peace and climate justice movements with her bottomless passion, and her deep faith in the power to win hearts for peace through education

Through the years, she wrote endless articles – not only for SfP, but for many progressive outlets – taking apart the war system, warning about nuclear weapons, and analyzing the costs of climate change. A relentless researcher, Judith (Judy as we called her) had an enormous bibliography in her head, which she freely shared offering up articles and book titles when she felt members had an understanding deficit. She had no end of ideas for issues to explore and experts to invite. The world was in terrible shape, Judy knew, and she thought big and imposed a high bar on what could be accomplished.

Despite her declining health in the last months of her life, she continued writing, focusing on the war on Gaza and particularly the horrors experienced by children.

Judy had immense empathy for the victims of war and climate change, and often expressed her quite legitimate fury. “Most disturbing is silence about human death,’’ she wrote in obvious disgust and dismay. “Humans are represented as numbers, elements, collateral. Human life is costed.’’

We mourn the loss of Judith Deutsch’s unlimited commitment and caring. She has left a vacancy that will be terribly hard to fill.

To get a fuller understanding of her life, please see below for the obituary penned by her family.

Judith Leslie Deutsch Obituary April 14, 2025 - Affordable Burials and Cremations

It is with unbelievable sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful wife and mother, Judith Leslie Rosenthal Deutsch, known to everyone as Judy. She died peacefully in her own home and in her own bed, surrounded by love. She was 80 years old. Judy is survived by her loving husband James Deutsch, who was her caretaker in her last year of life as her health declined. They were married for 47 years. Together they had four children - Nathan, Eliza, Rachel, and Jessica. Judy is survived by her husband, all four of her children, her children's spouses, and her beloved grandchildren - Hugo and Miriam Deutsch, Marco and Theo Ajami, Ninon and Ilan Cuesta-Deutsch, and Leo Emond. She was a true matriarch. She is also survived by her loving sister Karen Reynolds. Judy was born in Los Angeles, California on March 19, 1945 to Liebe Rosenthal (nee Brownstone) and Samuel Rosenthal.

Judy was a fighter for good and peace in the world. As an anti-zionist Jew, she has spent over three decades fighting for the rights of the Palestinian peoples. She was completely devastated by the current genocide in Gaza, and her heart broke every day for all the needless brutality and death, there and all over our only world. She also dedicated an enormous amount of time working towards educating people about climate change and organizing and participating in climate actions. She has numerous articles published on both climate change and Palestinian rights in many publications, including many from the last year of her life in Counterpunch Magazine. She wanted to leave the world a better place for future generations. She will be remembered as a fierce, uncompromising fighter for justice, out of love for her family and all the people in the world.

Judy achieved her lifelong dream of being a psychoanalyst and worked for many years in this field. She was motivated to be a psychoanalyst as a young child when she saw the impacts of psychoanalysis on curing her severely asthmatic mother. Judy was extremely dedicated to her patients. She charged low fees and saw many patients for free in her desire to provide help to those who needed it. She also provided psychological help and support to refugees in Toronto, and was quite involved in Gaza Mental Health projects for many years. Judy was a fighter for peace and understanding in peoples' minds.

Judy was also an accomplished musician and played the piano beautifully. She had all her children start playing classical instruments from an early age, and instilled such a tremendous love in music in them that her daughter Jessica is now a professional violinist, and her son Nathan worked as a violist for many years. Her love of music ran deep and was very much influenced by both of her parents. She was listening to Mozart's The Magic Flute the morning that she passed from this world.

But the primary love and joy and accomplishment of Judy's life was being a mother. It was everything to her, and she raised four wonderful children who all went on to have wonderful children of their own. They were the pride and joy of her life, and were always on her mind.

We will all be eternally grateful for her gifts of curiosity and creativity, art and music, and a deep love of reading and learning. We will also be eternally grateful for her for giving us all such a deep sense of right and wrong, and a strong moral code to live by. We are all so proud of everything good she fought for in her life. We will remember and love her forever.

We love you mom, Judy. Sleep softly our darling.

"We love you forever, we like you for always, as long as we're living, our mommy you'll be." Robert Munsch

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to organizations helping the people of Gaza. My mother would be so grateful if you could help. Please consider donating to UNWRA or Glia Gaza Medical Support Initiative.

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