Fresh Updates from RAC

In advance of an interfaith day of advocacy around gun control, I sent a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging Congress to pass stricter gun laws.

The letter was sent as part of the Reform Movement’s joint efforts with other faiths to mobilize constituents throughout the U.S. to call upon Senate leaders to help prevent gun violence.  Tomorrow, as part of Faiths Calling’s Interfaith Call-In Day, thousands of religious Americans will contact their senators to demand comprehensive gun legislation. Add your voice at faithscalling.org. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has been leading the Faiths Calling community in this mobilization since just after the tragic school shooting in Sandy Hook, CT, last December.

The full text of my letter follows.

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This was first published as an op-ed in Haaretz on March 16, 2013.

As head of American Jewry’s largest religious stream, I—and the 1.5 million members of our synagogues throughout North America–eagerly await President Obama’s impending trip to Eretz Yisrael.  This will be a challenging trip with complex political, economic and strategic issues that the President will need to address.  But woven through all of them are four themes of particular interest to my membership: the Jewish people’s historic ties to the Land of Israel, religious freedom for all Jews, a renewal of the peace process, and an effective response to Iran’s nuclear military ambitions. Read more…

Dear Friends,

Although it has been several days since the horrific events in Newtown, CT, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families and community members whose losses seem to be more than we can contemplate.  Even before the healing begins, we know that it will be a long time until the raw, open wounds close and that for many, the scars of trauma and loss will remain forever.

The URJ has resources available that can help you and your entire synagogue community address the many facets of this tragedy.  We encourage you to use this information and to return often for updates:

• The caring community section of our website provides materials about coping with communal tragedies, bereavement and the death of children. Included are prayers and meditations, as well as suggestions for explaining such tragedies to children;
• As you consider your facilities’ safety and security policies and procedures,  our website’s congregational security page may prove helpful;
• Finally, the Reform Movement’s statement in the face of this senseless shooting, “reinforces the need to ensure that common-sense gun control laws are in place to help reduce these incidents…and call[s] on members of Congress, the President and people committed to the well being of all Americans to find shared values on gun control measures that will help ensure the safety of us all.”

May the souls of those lost find eternal peace in the shadow of God’s wings and may their loved ones, the citizens of Newtown and the surrounding communities, and, indeed, all who mourn with them, find comfort, strength and healing in the days and weeks ahead.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, I noticed a woman wearing a traditional Muslim head covering on the packed platform of the train station in Scarsdale, N.Y. Her attention was focused on a billboard ad that announced “19,250 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11/01” and pre-empted those who might dispute that claim with the refrain: “It’s not Islamophobia, it’s Islamorealism.” I could only imagine what she was feeling.

On another morning commute to Grand Central Terminal, I sat on the train with Yawar Shah, a Muslim friend from Scarsdale whom I met years ago at my synagogue when he would attend a bar or bat mitzvah service of his friends’ children. Yawar told me how painful these ads are to his family and what an insult they are to our community in Westchester County and to our way of life.

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From a profound commitment to the Jewish people and progressive Jewish values, we are joining the campaign to raise the alarm about the appointment of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu by Magen David Adom (MDA). Rabbi Eliyahu, as the chief rabbi of Safed, has used his position of authority to incite racism and xenophobia. His extreme views pose a real danger to Israeli democracy and have no place in such a worthy organization.

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