Leaving Lucy Pear
Award-winning novelist Anna Solomon’s second novel Leaving Lucy Pear, now out in paperback, is a masterfully woven web of ambition and lies.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Asks Prime Minister Netanyahu About Israel's Entry Ban And Reform Judaism's North American Trips
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), sent the following letter today to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
ReformJudaism.org Launches New Podcast "Stories We Tell"
ReformJudaism.org, the flagship website of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), reaching more than two million visitors annually, has launched a new weekly podcast titled Stories We Tell.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs On Charlottesville
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs on Charlottesville: We Condemn Neo-Nazi hate speech and call for an end to violence; but “Moral Equivalence of violence and hate “on many sides” is troubling. We commend the opening of President Trump’s statement condemning the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence” but are deeply troubled by the moral equivalence evident in President Trump’s statement today.
David Grossman, Award-Winning Israeli Author And Activist, To Receive Union For Reform Judaism’s Highest Honor
vid Grossman, the Israeli author and activist, whose books, essays and public advocacy have inspired a generation, will receive Reform Judaism’s highest honor, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 2017 Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award. The award will be presented at the 74th URJ Biennial in Boston in December 2017.
Outraged Reform Jewish Leaders to Israeli PM: Denounce Degrading Body Searches of Female Rabbinic Students at Kotel
Senior leadership of the Reform Movement, the largest movement in Jewish life, sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to unnecessary and demeaning body searches imposed on female rabbinic students at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,
We are writing to express our outrage and dismay about the humiliation of a cohort of Reform rabbinic students, all of whom are the future leadership of the Jewish people, at the entrance to the Kotel on August 23rd, Rosh Hodesh Elul.
Two of our female rabbinic students, who are spending their first year of studies in Israel, were stopped at the entrance to the Kotel. After they passed through a metal detector (which clearly indicated that they were not posing any security threat), they were asked to lift their skirts and shirts in a demeaning way, an action that completely defied the decisions the Supreme Court reached on this matter.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Important Statement From Israeli Supreme Court Reminding Prime Minister's Government To Abide By Rule Of Law
Today, the Israeli Supreme Court made an important statement by signaling that they are fed up with the Netanyahu government’s decision to “freeze” its own governmental decision forged in compromise with our Reform Movement and our allies. The court gave the Israeli government two weeks to come back with a counter argument to the court, an extremely short window that seems to imply great impatience with the government’s behavior.
A Crucial First Step for Our Environment, Our Economy, and Our Health
Saperstein: "Passage of this vital bill shows that we can tackle climate change in a way that protects our planet and the poorest and most vulnerable members of society, in our nation and around the world."
Reform Movement Commends Report on Prison Rape, Calls for Action
Saperstein: "These numbers, likely underreported, serve as an alarming reminder of the scourge of prison rape and the immediate need for preventative programs, treatment, and investigation."
Reform Movement Condemns Repressive Violence, Mourns deaths of Iranian protesters
Saperstein: "Above all, we mourn the senseless deaths, condemn the violent repression of the rights of free assembly, speech, and dissent, and urge that these human rights violations cease immediately."