RJ Blog

For a long time the common refrain has been that “religious values” meant “conservative or traditional.” With the decline of the so-called Religious Right the monopoly on terms like “Values Voters” or descriptions that equate religion with only one set of beliefs and values about some contentious issues in civil society. So, when I saw this video from the Center for American Progress, I wondered if there’s a rising set of religious leaders who are asserting their values in the public sphere. Take a look after the jump.

As a fellow Eisendrath Legislative Assistant, Raechel Banks, wrote yesterday, “There are many ways to ‘share our bread with the hungry’ (Isaiah 58:7).” She discussed a very tangible  way of helping to combat hunger in our midst (I still have blisters on my fingers from cutting potatoes for 3 hours straight). Today, however, I want to talk about a way of sharing with the hungry that is more difficult to conceptualize, but has no less of an impact on millions of lives – international food aid. There are nearly one billion people around the world with insufficient access to food. [...]

Rabbi Michael Namath, Program Director here at the RAC, tells a story to our L’Taken students: One day, as a few people were walking by the riverside, they saw babies floating down the river.  Several people jumped into the river and started pulling the babies out to try to save them, but more and more babies kept coming faster and faster. One of the men jumped out of the river and someone screamed to him, “Where are you going?”  He said, “I am going to see who is putting the babies in the river and try to stop them.” (Version [...]

This week the RAC hosted Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of the All India Imam Organization. The All India Imam Organization is the largest imam organization in the world, representing half a million religious leaders and over two hundred million Muslims living in India. Imam Ilyasi has distinguished himself as a leader who powerfully addresses issues of religious extremism and global terrorism and frequently reaches out across religious lines. In particular, he has done considerable work bringing together Muslim and Jewish leaders in the Middle East and around the world and has been recognized internationally for his achievements in [...]

The question was so simple. “What drives you to do social justice?”  But the answer was so complex and varied.  The themes were similar: family role models, personal experiences of injustice, a sense of responsibility and moral obligation.  But each one of us had a story to tell, a piece to uncover, a truth to reveal.  After 15 months of knowing the people in the room with me, I realized that maybe I didn’t really know them that well at all.  And all it takes, to really get to know a person, is to ask a simple question and let [...]

Last week, I attended a Malaria 101 briefing on Capitol Hill here in Washington, D.C. We heard from a panel of experts from the President’s Malaria Initiative, the Peace Corps, and the Center for Disease Control, all of whom are embedded in the fight to combat the spread of malaria. I’d heard a lot of facts before, many of which were focused on the details of the disease (you’ve probably heard them to if you’ve been keeping with our renewed partnership with Nothing But Nets!). The panel covered points such as A child dies every 60 seconds from malaria. Over [...]

Today I am ending a three-week trip to the United States, and tomorrow I will return home to Israel (assuming the El Al strike is over). This has been a particularly emotional trip as I was in Boston the day of Marathon. I saw firsthand how resilient the people of Boston are in a crisis. We all send our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. I spoke at nearly a dozen synagogues and universities during my three weeks in the United States. This trip was an opportunity for me to start explaining in person to our supporters [...]

Welcome to Consultation on Conscience 2013! We are thrilled to welcome lay leaders and clergy from across North America for three days of public policy workshops, Jewish learning and social justice. Not able to join us? Don’t worry – you can follow along from the comfort of your own home! Check out our great line up of speakers, including: U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK and Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers Rep. Joe Kennedy (MA) Sen. Chris Van Hollen (MD) Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC)

The Senate is voting on a gun violence prevention package today! Take action now! Tell Congress that you support the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act of 2013 (S.649) currently under consideration by Congress and the bipartisan Toomey/Manchin amendment to expand background checks. The recent tragedy in Newtown, CT is a tragic reminder that over 30,000 Americans die each year as a result of gun violence. The number and severity of violent shootings in recent years can only be described as an epidemic. We are inspired by a Jewish tradition that emphasizes the sanctity of human life, and commands us to [...]

Sirens were sounded throughout Israel at 8 PM on Sunday night and 11 AM this morning in Israel, in memory of the more than 25,000 fallen Israeli soldiers and terror victims. As the Jewish state ushered in Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, the nation, and indeed the Jewish world, paused to reflect on the cost of freedom. In a solemn address during a national ceremony, Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Monday, “We salute the fallen, our loved ones, the heroes of the State of Israel. May they rest in peace.”

Today, thousands of people gathered on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol to express their support for commonsense immigration reform. Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, spoke along with other prominent interfaith leaders from across the country. His prepared remarks follow:

Our cup runneth over! Because of our collective efforts, we flooded the Senate with some 10,000 calls from Americans of faith at precisely the right moment preceding the Senate debate and imminent vote on a bill. Our success is a testament to the dedication of more than 75 diverse religious denominations and organizations who worked tirelessly to promote Faiths Calling and to encourage their members and congregants to call the Senate. Among the top recipients of calls during yesterday’s campaign was Senator Toomey (R-PA), who today introduced a compromise bill with Senator Manchin (D-WV) seeking to expand background checks to gun shows and Internet [...]

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” ― Elie Wiesel Sixty-seven years ago perhaps the greatest travesty of the modern era came to a close as the Holocaust was finally was exiled to the dust of history. The images, testimonials and artifacts of Nazi Germany’s attempt to exterminate the Jews, Gypsies, Gays and other minorities have been burned into our collective memories. The principles of industry been used as instruments of death were used as never before in the quest of one race to prove itself dominant over all others.

You’ve probably heard a lot about plagues over the past few days, but I hope you’ll take three minutes to learn about a very real one facing half of the world’s population today. (If you don’t have three minutes, click here.) Six years ago the Reform Movement formalized our support of and partnership with Nothing But Nets, a campaign of the UN Foundation that is solely tasked with ridding the world of Malaria – a disease transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. Malaria kills more than 600,000 people a year and cripples Africa’s economy; yet it is preventable and [...]