Last Thursday a bi-partisan group of senators and representatives reintroduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Current federal law contains no prohibition on discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in personnel decisions. A number of states have taken their own action to protect employees of all sexual orientation and gender identity, but today it remains legal to fire, fail to hire, demote or fail to promote an employee because of their sexual orientation in 29 states – it remains legal to do so based on an employee’s gender identity in 34.  The Employment Non-Discrimination Act seeks to close that gap and extend the current laws that protect people because of their race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, religion and disability to include protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

“Across our country, LGBT Americans face the daily fear of losing their jobs and livelihood simply because of who they are or who they love,” Representative Jared Polis, the bill’s lead sponsor in the House, said at the bill’s introduction. “Dedicated individuals should be judged based on their work, nothing more and nothing less.” The tenor of Rep. Polis’ words, and indeed the tenor of the bill itself, resonates deeply with Jewish history and tradition. If all people are created in the image of God, how can we justify treating some in the work place differently than others? And if we as a people once needed such protections in order to succeed in America, how can we deny them to our fellow citizens today?

Because of these resonances with the Reform Jewish community, the Religious Action Center has taken a leading role in fighting for ENDA’s passage. In response to ENDA’s reintroduction Rachel Laser, the Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center, released the following statement: “The Religious Action Center was founded over fifty years ago to bring the voice and commitment of the Reform Jewish community to the Civil Rights movement. Today, we remain committed to ensuring the civil rights of all Americans are protected, including members of the LGBT community, and look forward to the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and to furthering the cause of equality in America.”

A full text of Rachel Laser’s statement can be found here and be sure to keep checking the RACblog for updates on this landmark civil rights bill.

Image courtesy of dailykos.com

As the Commission on Social Action began its semi-annual meeting in conjunction with the Consultation on Conscience, Eisendrath Legislative Assistant Benny Witkovsky opened with this d’var Torah.

There is a lot in yesterday’s double Torah portion – Acharei Mot and Kedoshim – that feels relevant as we begin this Consultation on Conscience and Commission meeting. Many quotes, affectionately known as the RAC’s greatest hits, come from this parsha: “You shall be holy”, “Don’t stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” “Welcome the stranger,” “Leave the corners of your field for the poor” yadda yadda yadda – all concepts that should and will be on our minds as we consider the social justice issues of the day. But I want to focus on something from the Parsha that will likely not be discussed for the rest of the week, goats.

The Parsha opens with a lengthy description of a sacrifice. Aaron is to take two goats. One is for God and is killed as a burnt offering in repentance. The other – the goat of Azazel – has all of Israel’s sins placed upon it and is sent to wander the desert. Between these two goats we have both the symbol of all of our transgressions and failings, as well as the way to get through them. It is this combination of recognition and repentance that ultimately becomes the basis of Yom Kippur.

So what does all this have to do with our work here?

In the new American Haggadah the children’s author Lemony Snicket writes of the song Chad Gadya:

“Someone’s father purchases a goat, and this goat starts a cavalcade of anguish and gluttony, with animals, objects, people, and supernatural beings all dragged into the all-consuming whirlpool of the song.

The entire universe changes, and it is all because of one goat, and it has been this way since the beginning of time, in every story that has ever been told.

Every person in the world, and every action each person takes, is a goat, accumulating cats and dogs and staffs and fires and all the joy and terror that makes up the stuff of the universe.

You are a goat, And when you wake up in the morning, That is a goat, and eating breakfast is a goat, and all the goats all over the world are goating and goating and goating, all the time wondering if the goat they are and the goats they are goating are the right goat or the wrong goat, which is why the world often seems as stubborn as a goat, as ravenous as a goat, as loud as a goat, as grumpy as a goat, as quick and jumpy and frisky and soft and woolly and horny and tally as a goat –

Until the world itself seems to be a goat, made up of countless other goat, and watched over by some enormous, all seeing goat who created all this goating in its image.”

Who knows what we will learn over the next few days, but we can be sure that there will be plenty of goats. The goat of issues we thought we solved forty years ago, and the goat of problems we could have never imagined.   Gay goats and immigrant goats,; goats with no food and even, god-forbid, goats with guns. Each of these goats creates a chaotic chain of cats and dogs and sticks and fire; but each of these goats may also lead to God.

Now the goat of Azazel frequently is interpreted as the “scape-goat,” the thing we blame our sins and shortcomings on to avoid our own responsibility. But it is our job as a Commission to take responsibility and avoid that particular goat.

Today we face struggles and sadnesses. We see incredible challenges before us in the political and social justice landscape. Many of these challenges will be discussed this week, some of them may be given faces and names. But as we learn from this week’s Parsha, only through recognizing them and acting to work through them, can we move beyond them and discover what comes Acharei Goat.

Image Courtesy of pic-gifs.com

Consultation on Conscience, the RAC’s biennial public policy conference, runs from Sunday through Tuesday. Hundreds of clergy and lay-leaders have travelled to the nation’s capital to learn from experts and to share best practices for pursuing social justice at the congregational level. Catching up from home? Follow #ConC on twitter and check in for updates on RACblog.

We cannot realize the Torah’s command to repair the world unless we, as a Jewish community, consider the great challenges confronting the entire world. That is why last night’s opening keynote at the Religious Action Center’s Consultation on Conscience by Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Susan Rice was such an appropriate way to open and contextualize our conference. With our interests in security and stability in the Middle East, working toward sustainable and equitable development in the Global South, and protecting human rights around the world, the words of Ambassador Rice could not be more relevant to our community.

Ambassador Rice has served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and as a member of President Obama’s cabinet since her unanimous confirmation in January of 2009. While at the U.N., Ambassador Rice has overseen the United States’ renewed engagement with the international community working to address critical security issues in Iran and North Korea, strengthen arms control and non-proliferation efforts, and enhance development programs around the world. Before her appointment, Ambassador Rice served as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Clinton Administration. A former Rhodes Scholar, Ambassador Rice has a Ph. D in International Relations from the New College at Oxford University. She was the co-recipient of the White House’s 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to the formation of peaceful, cooperative relationships between states.

In a dialogue with president of the URJ, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Ambassador Rice spoke on a number of critical issues long-important to the URJ and promised, “The Obama administration will continue to walk arm and arm with your community to promote tzedek.” Ambassador Rice discussed the great strides that the U.S. has made in pressuring the United Nations to address the rights of the LGBT community around the world, noting that in 9 countries today homosexuality is still a capital offense and it is illegal in 84. While noting that there is still much work to be done in this area, she sounded a hopeful note: “The regressive forces are losing ground and the progressive voices are gaining.”

Rabbi Jacobs asked Ambassador Rice how her views on the tragic and urgent issue of genocide intervention and prevention have developed over the years. “The leadership your community has shown on these issues is extraordinary, I want to thank you for all the work you have done and continue to do,” Ambassador Rice began. She went on to discuss the continuing conflicts in Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, saying that they were some of the most troubling issues we face today and decrying the U.N. Security Council’s failure to act in the face of such crisis.

Addressing a concern shared by some in our community, Rabbi Jacobs questioned Ambassador Rice on the perception of the U.N.’s hostility toward Israel. While Ambassador Rice acknowledged that this has been a serious problem, she reaffirmed the role that the United States has played in fighting for Israel’s acceptance at the U.N. and spoke of some significant progress – noting in particular Israel’s current role as a Vice President of the General Assembly.

Finally, and perhaps most movingly, Ambassador Rice restated her appreciation for Rabbi Saperstein, the Religious Action Center and the Reform Movement, “As an African American and a woman I want to thank you and your movement for everything you have done and continue to do to fight for equality in America.”

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 character building and the training Boy Scout troops offer to America’s youth, they have long refused to admit gay and transgender people as scouts and scout leaders. The Reform Movement has consistently spoken out against this policy, urging all of our congregations to break their ties with the BSA in 2001.

However this unjust policy may soon be changing. The BSA announced today that they will be introducing a resolution at their board meeting in May to adopt a national non-discrimination policy against gay and transgender youth. The BSA has been considering changes for some time, but many had thought that they would leave it up to individual troops to decide on their own policy. This announcement of a national non-discrimination policy, which many LGBT rights group had advocated for, is a welcome change.

In a bizarre inconsistency the BSA announced that it would not change its policy regarding gay scout leaders and continue to bar the participation of LGBT adults. One might ask what message it sends to LGBT youth that they can participate in the organization as children but once they reach adulthood they are to be disqualified. Both aspects of this policy still have to be approved by the Boy Scouts national board at their meeting next month.

Of course the Boy Scouts are not the only place that LGBT youth face discrimination in America today. Sadly, too many children experience bullying and harassment in schools because of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. While current law allows students legal recourse to challenge discrimination in schools based on race, gender and religion, there is no national law that allows such action against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Yesterday Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Reps. Ros Lehtinen (R-FL) and Polis (D-CO) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would fix this hole in the law. The Union for Reform Judaism has joined a number of religious, civil rights and education organizations in publically calling for this critical piece of legislation.

Perhaps between the BSA reevaluating its discriminatory policy and the consideration of legal protections for LGBT youth we can as a nation take an important step toward making sure our children are “trained up in the way they should go” toward justice and equality.

Image courtesy of scouting.org

Jewish tradition talks a lot about taxes and the importance of everyone contributing to the common good. Jewish tradition talks a lot about love, marriage and committed relationships. But how much does Jewish tradition talk about those two things together?  Regardless of what tradition intended, these two facets of everyday life have become profoundly intertwined. For this reason Tax Day, April 15^th, stands out as a day when our nation’s discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is acutely felt.

According to the Human Rights Campaign LGBT people – even those who are legally married – miss out on hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of federal tax benefits. The average LGBT family pays an extra $1,100 a year in taxes for health care coverage (that is when same-sex partners aren’t entirely denied health benefits and required to pay for them out of pocket). LGBT people who cannot legally claim their children as dependents frequently pay up to $1,000 extra on their taxes; many may miss out on the Earned Income Tax Credit costing them over 2,000 dollars.

Much of this inequality is the result of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex couples. This law was challenged in a case heard by the Supreme Court last month and will hopefully be struck down in the coming months. The Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Women of Reform Judaism (among a number of other Jewish and non-Jewish religious groups) all filed briefs in the case declaring the law unjust.

Love, marriage and equal recognition under the law are of course about much more than tax benefits. However days like yesterday, when the injustice of heterosexism can be expressed so clearly in dollars and federal paperwork, are important times to speak out for equality.

Image Courtesy of Thirstock

On Yom Hashoah we remember the great tragedy that we as a people and as a world faced during World War II over 60 years ago. But how do we use that memory today? To what end does that experience motivate our community? Surely one answer is that we as a people must be particularly attuned to atrocities committed around the world.

Yesterday the United Nations observed a Day of Remembrance for victims of the Rwandan genocide. This week marks the 19^th anniversary of the beginning of a 100 day period during which hundreds of thousands of Rwandan men, women and children were murdered, and countless others forcibly displaced. Fifty years after the international community said ‘never again’ to the atrocities of the Holocaust, the world let the people of Rwanda down.

Speaking in 2004 Rabbi David Saperstein demanded surer action to atrocities in the future, “As a Jew and as a rabbi, I stand here today because, for thousands of years, the Jewish people have been among the quintessential victims of persecution and oppression simply because of who we are, because of what we believe. We waited for others to speak out, but too often we heard only silence. “

Rabbi Saperstein continued, “Having witnessed and experienced the horrors of the Holocaust, the world collectively cried, ‘Never Again!’ Never again would we stand idly by while human beings are slaughtered because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. We are not powerless to stop the oppression of others; we have the power to speak out, to act, to intervene, to ensure that genocidal activities stop now.”

Steps are being taken to learn from these experiences and seek better ways to prevent and respond to atrocities around the world. In 2012 President Obama unveiled the Atrocities Prevention Board, an interagency board to ensure that genocide prevention is a top priority in U.S. foreign policy. A warlord responsible for mass violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had his first day in court at the Hague last month. We owe it to the memory of the Holocaust and the memory of Rwanda to strengthen and support these important advances.

The recent hunger strike at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay has thrown the controversy surrounding the prison back into the news cycle. The hunger strike, which began several weeks ago, has grown to include at least 39 of the 166 men in custody (nearly a quarter of the detainees, and those are only the ones that the Department of Defense will confirm; many believe the number is much higher). DoD has confirmed that several of these men have lost upwards of 20-30 pounds, and ten of them are currently being force-fed.

The demands from the protesters range from general outrage at their continued indefinite detention to calls for specific rule changes regarding religious materials. 86 of the men in Guantnamo, more than half, have already been cleared for release and only 6 are currently facing trial. It is not the first time that Guantanamo detainees have gone on hunger strike – in 2005 128 detainees refused to eat, some for nearly a month – but it is the first major strike in recent years.

President Obama promised to close Guantanamo in his 2008 campaign and signed an Executive Order directing the military to do so his first week in office. However the President’s attempts have been met with staunch resistance and considerable roadblocks from Members of Congress. Last December the National Defense Authorization Act included two provisions that further restrict the government’s ability to transfer detainees to either the United States for trial in federal court or to be released back to their home countries. These restrictions make it increasingly unlikely that the President will realize his goal of closing the prison.

The Reform Movement has repeatedly called for the end of torture in U.S. facilities, the protection of due process, and the assurance of human and civil rights of the detainees in Guantanamo and around the world.

The United Nations has now joined that call with U.N. Human Rights Chief Navi Pallay issuing a statement earlier today saying, “The continuing indefinite incarceration of many of the detainees amounts to arbitrary detention and is in clear breach of international law.” Perhaps the press and public support generated by this demonstration will be enough to move closing Guantanamo up the list of government priorities.

Image Courtesy of Getty Images

In July of 2012, James Holmes stormed a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, opened fire in a showing of The Dark Knight Rises, killed 12 people, and injured 58 others. If the prosecutor in Holmes’s trial has his way, Holmes will be executed for the senseless, mass tragedy that he inflicted. Despite the horrific nature of Holmes’s actions, we do not live in an “eye for an eye society” and the death penalty is still an inappropriate response.

“For James Eagen Holmes, justice is death” declared George Brauchler, the district attorney for Arapahoe County, announcing his decision to pursue the death penalty and reject Holmes’s guilty plea that would have had the shooter serve life in prison with no chance of parole. The declared intention was met with great applause from many of the friends of Aurora shooting victims, who shared the sentiment that justice and the death penalty went hand in hand.

While an announcement to seek the death penalty might appease some in the short run, capital punishment is not the answer.

Will the death penalty in this case serve as a deterrent to other mass murderers? Probably not. A recent report indicated that 88% of the top U.S. criminologists do not believe that the death penalty serves as a deterrent to homicide. When mass-murderers are willing to kill themselves after taking the lives of others, as was the case at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and many others, there is little reason to think that the threat of a state imposed death after a prolonged legal battle should have any effect on a shooter’s psyche.

Rather than provide the closure that families seek, the pursuit of capital punishment only guarantees years of trials and a lack of finality. It plays to the raw feeling of revenge, but does little more. Opponents of the death penalty point out that the slow and drawn out process of a capital punishment case actually “re-victimizes” those affected by the original crime.

If ever there were a case where the merits of the death penalty were clear, it would be the case of James Holmes; yet even still, capital punishment is not the answer. The Talmud teaches us that “he who takes one life it is as though he has destroyed the universe and he who saves one life it is as though he has saved the universe” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). The value of preserving human life extends even to those who seek to destroy it. In 1959, the Reform Movement explained:

“We believe it to be the task of the Jew to bring our great spiritual and ethical heritage to bear upon the moral problems of contemporary society. One such problem, which challenges all who seek to apply God’s will in the affairs of Main, is the practice of capital punishment. The legal execution of a criminal is an anachronism in a society which has long since abolished the primitive concept of an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” We believe that in the light of scientific knowledge and concepts of humanity, the resort to or continuation of capital punishment either by a state or a national government is morally unjustifiable.”

Image courtesy of Crenny/Photobucket.com

The national debate around how to best prevent gun violence took on an international dimension when, on Tuesday, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a treaty to regulate international trade in small arms. The Obama Administration has played a critical role in crafting and developing this treaty and the United States joined 154 countries that voted for it; only three countries voted against it (Syria, Iran and North Korea), and twenty others abstained.

The treaty – which includes tanks, armored combat vehicles, large-caliber weapons, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and launchers, small arms and light weapons – would require that sellers of munitions take steps to ensure that the weapons are not likely to be used in the abuse and violation of human rights.

Much of the discussion around this treaty has focused on Bashar Asad and the Syrian government who, despite well-documented human rights abuses and killing of countless civilians, have continued to receive arms shipments from abroad. Anna McDonald, an analyst for Oxfam International, said of this treaty, “This treaty won’t solve the problems of Syria overnight, no treaty could do that, but it will help to prevent future Syria, It will help to reduce armed violence. It will help to reduce conflict.” Syria was joined by North Korea and Iran in an attempt to block the treaty from coming to a vote late last week.

In order for the treaty to take effect it needs to be ratified by at least fifty countries, and that is likely to be a difficult fight. President Obama, who has repeatedly expressed support for the treaty, will likely face intense resistance in the Senate, where it must pass with a two-thirds majority. The National Rifle Association has come out strongly against the bill saying that it could infringe on the Second Amendment rights of American citizens. There is likely to be considerable resistance from arms manufacturers as the United States is the leading exporter of arms around the world. Finally, there is little appetite for any international treaty for some in Congress, as particularly in light of last year’s disappointing vote on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Religious Action Center has been engaged in a number of actions to help prevent gun violence over the past several months (make sure to call your Senator through Faiths Calling on April 9^th in advance of their vote on a domestic gun violence prevention package! ) and we will continue that work as the attention of U.S. lawmakers turns toward considering this treaty.

Over the past few weeks we have brought you coverage of the Employment and Housing Non-Discrimination Act, introduced in both houses of the West Virginia State Legislature. If passed the bill would expand current protections against discrimination based on race, gender and religion, to include sexual orientation and gender identity and age. The Religious Action Center has partnered with Fairness West Virginia to engage a number of Reform rabbis in the state, including Rabbi Jean Eglinton at B’nai Sholom Congregation in Huntington. Rabbi Cohn joined Reverend Rick Wilson in the following Op-Ed, published in Huntington’s Herald-Dispatch on Sunday March 17th:

West Virginians should no longer refuse to rent an apartment to a person because he is gay. Nor should we refuse to hire someone because she is a lesbian.

House Bill 2856, also known as the Employment and Housing Nondiscrimination Act (EHNDA), is currently being reviewed by the West Virginia House of Delegates. If passed, the bill will simply include sexual orientation in the West Virginia Human Rights Act, which currently prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of race, sex, religion and disability.

As a Jewish rabbi and a Christian minister, we stand together in support of this legislation. HB 2856 includes a broad religious exemption that allows religious institutions to follow their conscience with respect to employment, housing and public accommodations. Should HB 2856 pass this session, different religious denominations will still be free to interpret their scriptures the way they see fit. This legislation will in no way impose its view upon any particular house of worship. Discrimination on the basis of religion is prohibited by West Virginia law, and this simple update would not affect that.

There was a time when many folks felt uncomfortable around people who had a different skin color or a different religion. Discrimination against Jews in regard to housing and employment is largely a thing of the past in the United States, thanks to the principles of justice and equality which are foundational to this nation. For liberal Jews it is unjust to discriminate against a person because of his or her sexual orientation. It is simply a matter of civil rights. They derive the basic value of respect from Genesis 1:27: “And God created humans in God’s own image, in the image of God, God created them; male and female God created them.” Seeing God’s image in each other obliges us to act justly toward one another.

Christians claim Jesus Christ as both model and guide for how they are to demonstrate God’s love to society. It is incumbent upon followers of Jesus to stand with those denied the basic rights of human dignity and respect, even if those followers disagree with, or don’t understand another’s orientation or identity. On his first day of ministry, Jesus declared that his mission was to stand in solidarity with persons pushed to the edges of society by discrimination and bias. In referring to the prophet Isaiah he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:16-19)

As Christians experience the New Life of Easter this year, they will celebrate the sacrificial love of God. The resurrecting God of love is also God of justice and liberation. As Passover approaches, Jews remember how difficult things have been for them as a cultural minority over the past two millennia. Passover is the Festival of Freedom. This is a season to rededicate ourselves to work for basic human rights for all. Everyone should have adequate housing and employment.

Please write or call your representative in the West Virginia House of Delegates to urge him or her to vote for House Bill 2856. In this Passover and Easter season, may we all enjoy a roof over our heads and gainful employment.

Learn about House Bill 2856, also known as the Employment and Housing Non-Discrimination Act, at fairnesswv.org.