Reform Jewish Movement Responds to School Shooting in South Florida
Reform Movement leadership statements in response to yesterday’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left at least 17 people dead and many more injured.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Israeli Ministers Must Stop Their Hate Speech
Union for Reform Judaism Establishes Presidential Fellowship on Millennial Engagement
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) is launching a new high-level fellowship to strengthen its engagement with millennials. The first Fellow will be Evan Traylor, 21, of Edmond, Oklahoma. Traylor, who will graduate from the University of Kansas in May, will work alongside URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs and leaders of the Reform Movement to develop a toolkit for engaging millennials as partners in creating a more just, whole, and compassionate world.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Ultra-Orthodox MKs Must Learn the Torah of Respect
Statement by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ):
MK Israel Eichler’s comments yesterday are yet another example of the extreme intolerance of the ultra-Orthodox religious establishment. Clearly they feel a seismic shift in their decades-old monopoly on Judaism in Israel. Their stranglehold on Judaism is being loosened, and their response is desperate and pathetic.
It is hard to imagine what twisted Torah MK Eichler studies when he characterizes the largest Movement in Jewish life as “mentally ill.” Our Torah teaches us the values of pluralism and of tolerance - and it teaches us not to use phrases like “mentally ill” as an epithet.
Reform Movement Celebrates Signing of Disability Rights Treaty
Rabbi Landsberg: "With Ambassador Rices signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the United States publicly encourages a worldwide recognition of the inherent value of every human being."
Jewish Clergy Raise Call for U.S. Leadership on Sudan
Community of Conscience Fasts for Lives in Sudan as U.S. Envoy Testifies on Current Situation, Plans for the Future
Contact: Kate Bigam or Micaela Hellman-Tincher
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Defeated Gun Amendment Lends Momentum to Gun Control Efforts
Saperstein: "States and cities that have tougher gun control laws than their neighbors ought not to be forced to lower their standards."
Contact: Kate Bigam or Jason Fenster
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
In Letter to Obama, President of Largest Jewish Denomination Reiterates Support for Administration's Middle East Policies
Yoffie: "I applaud your leadership in seizing the moment and taking vigorous action in your first year in office."
Media contact: Kate Bigam
(202) 387-2800 | news@rac.org
Reform Movement Recommends Questions for Sotomayor Hearing
Speaker: "We believe that any person receiving a lifetime appointment to the highest Court in our nation must go through a comprehensive hearings process . . . We hope that you will consider the questions posed by our members . . .