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.
Reports of Lockerbie Bomber's Death Provide Reminder of Terroism
Saperstein: "The war against terror can only be won if those who seek to use such means to achieve their twisted goals know that the world stands unified against their efforts."
Reform Movement Hails Passage of Vital Hate Crimes Bill
Saperstein: Today's Senate vote is a critical step in the long struggle to protect the safety and physical wellbeing of all Americans and we look forward to its swift enactment by President Obama.
Shift in White House Sudan Policy Signifies Move Toward Accountability
Saperstein: "The new policy is both a substantive and strategic approach that dispels the ambiguities of our Sudan policy during the past seven months."
Contact: Kate Bigam or David Goodman
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Anti-Semitic Analogy Prompts Call for Apology from Reform Jewish Leader
Saperstein: "I very much hope that ...
House Addresses Iranian Threat, Passes Vital Sanctions Legislation
Saperstein: "We commend the House for voting to empower individual states to use this tool of economic diplomacy in a constitutional fashion."
Senate Finance Vote a Healthy Step Closer to Insurance Reform
Pelavin: "Todays vote is a milestone in the journey toward giving American citizens the health care coverage they deserve, but it is by no means the end of the line."