RJ Blog

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. [...]

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 [...]

In the six months since Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the Reform Jewish community has rallied to support the rebuilding effort, our synagogues, and the millions of people who were – and continue to be – impacted by the storm. Although much of the Reform Movement’s work has been behind the scenes – raising and allocating funds, coordinating volunteers, and keeping abreast of the rebuilding efforts two of our synagogues are undertaking – our members have risen to the occasion. Countless volunteer hours have been applied to the cause, entire trailers of donated [...]

by Rabbi Barry Block The disconnect is striking. “The Jewish vote,” we were told last year, is all about support for Israel. But here I am at the Consultation on Conscience.  Israel is on the agenda, to be sure. But it’s a crowded agenda. And our friends in Washington seem to “get” that better than the pre-election press. The Consultation’s keynote was a conversation between Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Ambassador Susan Rice. They talked about Israel. But they also struggled with Sudan and Syria. They emphasized international LGBT human rights. Senators and members of Congress of both parties are poised [...]

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 [...]

by Rabbi Yair D. Robinson Last Shabbat, we commemorated the birthday of someone very special. A red-headed and red-bearded rabbi, a scholar, a prince of the Reform Movement who is inarguably one of the most important Reform rabbis — nay, one of the most important rabbis, period — of North America. Amazingly, I’m not speaking about myself (though last Shabbat was my birthday, too), but rather of Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of the Reform Movement we take for granted, who was born March 29, 1819. Wise was a great publisher of scholarly texts, a Jewish paper, the American Israelite, still published [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has had a profound effect on the national conversation about gun violence prevention. There was something about those 20 children, something about that tight-knit community, some way that Americans from all backgrounds recognized that this tragedy would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. And more than anyone, it has been the faith community that has maintained the moral drumbeat essential to ensuring that the Administration and Congress implement gun violence prevention. As pieces of legislation begin to be introduced, we must not alleviate the pressure on our nation’s lawmakers. On Friday, [...]