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.
On World AIDS Day, Reform Jewish Leader Calls for Increased Access to Treatment
Pelavin: "Let us recommit to honoring the memory of HIV/AIDS victims in the most meaningful way - by eradicating this deadly, and preventable, disease."
Reform Movement Condemns Iran's Disregard for International Diplomacy
Pelavin: "We join the nations of the world in this definitive statement of international resolve to stem Irans nuclear threat."
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Senate Health Care Bill Must Protect Women's Reproductive Health
Saperstein: "The Senate must pass health insurance reform that meets the needs of all Americans and repudiate dangerous anti-choice amendments that restrict access to reproductive health care services."
Reform Jewish Leader Calls on Rev. Robertson to Retract Anti-Islamic Remarks
Pelavin: "How disappointing to see a religious leader stoop to this level, attempting to delegitimatize one of the worlds great faiths based on the actions of someone who perverts its teachings."
Reform Jewish Movement Welcomes Passage of Health Care Bill, Expresses Concerns About Anti-Choice Provisions
Rabbi Saperstein: "In the current crisis of health care coverage and access, todays vote moves us closer to the principles of reform that we as Reform Jews have long advocated."
Union for Reform Judaism Endorses Health Care Bill
Dr. Gutmann: "We recognize that the House bill is not perfect, and we will continue our Movements decades of work to provide comprehensive and quality health care to all Americans."