Born in Israel, Dr. Ruth Shamir Popkin obtained her undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University and her law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

A member of the State Bar of California and the Israel Bar Association, Dr. Popkin established her law firm, Popkin, Shamir & Golan with her late husband, Richard C. Popkin. She practices immigration law while Richard specialized in civil litigation. The tragedy of the Holocaust instilled in her a commitment to help immigrants escaping war and discrimination and she won special recognition for assisting Filipino war veterans obtain U.S. citizenship.

In 2010 she obtained a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University. Her dissertation “The Evolution of Jewish Identity In the National and Post-National World” evolved into a book Jewish Identity – The Challenge of Peoplehood Today, which was published in English and Hebrew.

She has also published two other books, including The Chinese Galaxy (1977) about China after Mao’s death and All My Vows (1982) about the Yom Kippur War.

Dr. Popkin is active in Jewish, Israeli and Los Angeles institutions and is a member of the board of directors of the Museum of the Jewish People (Beit Hatfutsot) in Israel, where she established a foundation for documentation of Polish Jewry.

She is also a contributor to the Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles Opera, Center Theater Group and the Geffen Theater in Los Angeles as well as the Israeli Philharmonic and Opera in addition to serving on the Board of Governors of the University of Tel-Aviv in Israel, the Advisory Board of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA and the Westside Jewish Community Center.

Dr. Popkin is a mother of two and grandmother to three young boys.

As an attorney, she continues to represent clients with U.S. immigration issues and her firm supports all efforts to pass a comprehensive Immigration Act.