RJ Blog

“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 [...]

I swabbed into the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry my first year at the University of North Carolina, and recently, I joined the Religious Action Center to head up its new partnership with Gift of Life.  In building the groundwork for our new partnership, I visited the Gift of Life offices in Boca Raton in early March.  Gift of Life, North America’s only Jewish bone marrow donor registry helps children and adults find donors for life-saving bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants. Transplants offer potential cures for people suffering from blood diseases such as leukemia or lymphoma. The [...]

This post is part of our Passover series, in which we think about the application of our age-old Passover story and traditions to the crucial issues we face today. For ways to infuse your seder with social justice, see our holiday guide. When 30,000 Americans die each year due to gun violence, it is time to acknowledge that we are suffering from a modern plague. When schoolchildren are gunned down by single shooter with a high-capacity magazine, we suffer from a modern plague. And, when criminals can buy weapons without having their backgrounds checked, we suffer from a modern plague. As [...]

The Consultation on Conscience, April 21-23, 2013, is Reform Judaism’s flagship social justice conference, where we work together to help advance Jewish values and enlightened and progressive social policies. As always, we bring together Jewish and public policy decision makers for three days of social action and legislative advocacy sessions. We are getting more and more excited as we work to line up the key speakers at the Consultation. In past few years, key people we’ve heard from and interacted with in the last few years are Vice President Al Gore, Sen. Susan Collins, Mayor Cory Booker and Sec. Hilary [...]

More than 50 days after Israelis went to the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally formed a coalition. Despite maintaining his title as Prime Minister, he is emerging significantly weakened from the negotiations. The final coalition will include the Prime Minister’s Likud-Beiteinu, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid (“There is a Future”), Naftali Bennet’s Habayit Hayehudi (“Jewish Home”), and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah (“The Movement”). With a 68 seat majority coalition in the 120 seat Knesset, Israel’s new government will remain on thin ice, as any defection would result in political impasse.

by Eugenie Rosenthal Somaly Mam was just 14 years old when a man claiming to be her grandfather took her from her village and sold her into slavery in a Cambodian brothel. After years, she escaped and has since secured freedom for tens of thousands of other young girls enslaved Southeast Asia’s brothels. She has been called the “modern Harriet Tubman.” Might she be considered in some ways, a modern Moses? More people live in slavery today than at any other time in human history, 27 million according to the United Nations. This is more than the populations of New [...]

by Rabbi Fred Greene Whenever I go to our nation’s Capitol, I get chills. The grandeur of the city, the seat of government, the idealism and commitment of people striving to do good. Yes, I am still among those who believe that most of the people who serve our nation in positions of leadership are good people trying to make a difference. I am constantly inspired by the greatness of heroes, those whose names we know and so many of those we don’t. So to stand at the Lincoln Monument and read his words engraved on the walls is to [...]

Imagine making aliyah – leaving your work, family and friends behind. Making a bold journey – only to be rejected by the Israeli authorities. In the past couple of weeks we lived an intense drama with one of our brave olim (new immigrants), who was arrested and almost deported. We managed to stop the deportation just as he was boarding the plane. Kirk Maxfield, who had a Reform conversion in 1993, was arrested at his home in Haifa for overstaying his tourist visa. Mr. Maxfield had applied for citizenship, but was not permitted to stay in the country while his [...]

Earlier this week, Reform Movement leaders outlined their hopes and priorities for President Obama’s State of the Union address. President Obama spoke about almost all the issues our leadership raised, including: ECONOMIC JUSTICE The majority of the President’s speech was centered on the economy and job creation. URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs wrote that “deficit reduction cannot come on the backs of the poorest in our communities” – a sentiment that the President echoed in his speech. The President proposed raising the minimum wage, making clear that “…in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have [...]

by Todd Silverman I’ve been thinking about the recent discussion amongst the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America regarding their policy on discrimination based on sexual orientation, and here’s what I’ve come to: They shouldn’t change their policy, because I don’t think they actually believe in equality and non-discrimination for gay scouts and leaders. This is a fundamentally religious-oriented group, overwhelmingly housed and funded by churches and religious organizations, and they have their core beliefs (not to mention the fact that they’re a private organization who are allowed to discriminate as openly as they want, per the U.S. Supreme [...]

In response to this week’s Senate passage of the Violence Against Women Act, Barbara Weinstein, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: Ten months ago, we commended the Senate for its bipartisan passage of the Violence Against Women Act that included better training of law enforcement, victim service providers, and court personnel; improved protections for women in tribal communities; stronger LBGT-inclusive provisions; and made it easier for immigrant victims of domestic violence to escape their abusing spouse or partner. Unfortunately, the House followed by passing a narrow bill and VAWA was not reauthorized. Today, [...]

A unique gathering happened this morning at the Western Wall. During Women of the Wall’s usual Rosh Chodesh prayer service in the women’s section of the Kotel, we were fortunate to be supported by some very special visitors. Veterans from the IDF’s famed Paratrooper Battalion 66, the men who liberated the Western Wall in 1967, were with our supporters in the men’s section. These men are living legends and among Israel’s modern heroes. It was only after the prayer service was over and the paratroopers had left that the police detained ten women, including myself, for committing the crime of [...]

For over a decade the Union for Reform Judaism has advised its synagogues to break ties with Boy Scouts of America, to not sponsor troops or allow them to use their facilities. This week it looked like all of that might change, but synagogues wishing to return to the BSA will have to wait at least a few more months. The leadership of the Boy Scouts of America, who only last summer reaffirmed the organization’s nationwide ban on gay scouts and scout leaders, met this week to discuss changing that policy. Some in the organization argued for a new policy [...]