RJ Blog

All eyes are on Grapevine, Texas today as the Boy Scouts of America begins the annual meeting of its National Council. Earlier this year the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would postpone a reconsideration of its policy prohibiting gay scouts and scout leaders until the meeting this week (see the letter that Rabbi Saperstein sent to the BSA in response to that decision). Today the 1,400 person National Council, including representatives from across the country, will vote on whether or not to lift this ban and make the organization a more inclusive one.

On May 2, Rhode Island’s governor signed a marriage equality bill, making it the tenth state to take this important step.   Shortly afterwards, Delaware and Minnesota also passed marriage bills, making this a remarkable spring of advancement towards equality. I composed the following reflection after the last critical step in the long process of advocacy and legislative debate, the hearing held by the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee in March. The prescribed biblical reading for the beginning of Passover includes Exodus 12:42…in describing the end of the 430 years of oppression, the text describes that final night as a “leil [...]

We read in Proverbs, “Train up a child in the way the child should go, and even when the child is old, they will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).  This idea speaks not only to the importance of education in the Jewish tradition, but to carrying out that education in a way that teaches children to be just and compassionate. Thus it should be of particular concern to us as a community when our youth are educated in unequal environments. The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) has long been an example of a concerning environment. Despite the camaraderie, the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Earlier this week the Human Rights Campaign, a frequent coalition partner of the Religious Action Center, released its first ever Jewish Organization Equality Index. Based on the model that HRC has used for years to evaluate corporations, the JOEI seeks to illustrate how well various Jewish communities have sought to welcome and integrate LGBT members. The JOEI surveyed over 200 Jewish organizations and contains a wealth of information and ideas on how the Jewish community can best work toward justice and live the values of equality that we espouse. In the document’s introduction HRC president Chad Griffin says the JOEI [...]

by Rabbi Peter Rigler As a rabbi, I believe that we need to recognize the sanctity in same sex marriages and monogamous relationships in the strongest possible way. The key issue in the sanctity of a relationship is a commitment to exclusivity and to elevating the relationship to a state of kedusha, holiness. When two individuals arrive at that point in their relationship when they have felt the bonds of love, they deserve a place under the chuppah in the presence of a rabbi and in the presence of community to celebrate that love. The joy they share will, we [...]

After a months-long political campaign, we wake up this morning, take a look around at the new additions to the political landscape, and get ready to “think big” about our goals over the next few years. Whatever your political views, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democratic, our responsibility for shaping the world includes choosing who will lead us politically in the forefront of the fight for social justice. Each of your votes counted and played a defining role in setting policy agendas. Exercising your constitutional rights as voters and activists not only strengthens American democracy but our work for social [...]

The Jewish community tends to think of October as the month to recuperate from the High Holy Days, but October is also the National Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health and mental health coverage are critical issues for millions of Americans, but there are a number of overlooked issues including the serious mental health concerns confronting the LGBT community. These issues may be frequently neglected in mental health discussions because of the risk of suggesting that queerness is, in itself, a mental illness or necessarily leads to mental illness. Most famously, the American Psychiatric Association listed “homosexuality” as a mental [...]

This fall, Minnesotans will have the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment that would ask: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Minnesota?” If this amendment succeeds, Minnesota would join the 30 states that have constitutional bans on marriage equality, effectively writing discrimination into its state constitution.

Washington, D.C. August 9, 2012 – A group of Reform Jewish clergy in Michigan – 16 rabbis and 3 cantors – have signed a letter, coordinated by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, to Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) urging him to join 41 of his Senate colleagues in co-sponsoring the Safe Schools Improvement Act (S.506). The text of the letter is as follows:

In June, a group of 37 faith organizations released a joint letter – from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim groups – calling on the U.S. Senate to pass as expeditiously as possible the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S.811). This common-sense piece of legislation prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, with broad exemptions for religious liberty. One of the reasons so many faith groups have publicly come out in support of ENDA is the fact that it is a profoundly moral issue: All people deserve the ability to provide for their families without having to hide [...]

On Thursday, July 19th, Rabbis Rick Jacobs, Steve Fox, and David Saperstein joined thirteen other leaders of the Reform Jewish Movement for a meeting at the White House with Chief of Staff Jack Lew. Among the domestic and international topics discussed were Israel’s security and well being, the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans. The White House meeting also included representation from the Reconstructionist Movement. The meeting, which included leaders from the Reform Movement’s congregational, rabbinic and seminary arms, as well as URJ Board members and rabbis from congregations across the U.S., [...]