The Third Daughter

Inspired by her passion for justice for women worldwide, Carner (Jerusalem Maiden) tells the story of Batya, a Jewish Russian girl living in Eastern Europe during the time of Russian tsar Alexander. The story opens with Batya’s family fleeing a pogrom. But Batya’s beauty is noticed by a wealthy businessman, Moscowitz, who convinces Batya’s father to let him marry her although she is only 14. Later, after a series of brutal rapes and violent threats, Batya understands that she is being taken to Buenos Aires, where Moscowitz is part of a sexual trafficking organization called Zwi Migal. There, one thought alone sustains her: she must find a way to make enough money to bring the rest of her family to safety. But how? Through the intervention of real-life Jewish philanthropist Maurice de Hirsch she is able to achieve her goal. Her story has a happy ending, but for thousands of girls trafficked to South America during the 18th and 19th centuries, there was no such thing.