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.
Senate Failure to Vote on Goodwin Liu Deeply Disappointing
Rabbi Saperstein: "Jewish tradition teaches of the importance of a fair and just judiciary, and there is nothing fair nor just about the obstruction that plagued Professor Liu's nomination."
START Treaty Ratification Strengthens Senate's Commitment to Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Rabbi Saperstein: "Today, we welcome the Senate's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and reaffirm our own pledge of working towards a nuclear free world."
Concerns Remain on Impact of Tax Cut Compromise on Working Families
Rabbi Saperstein: "This compromise cannot distract from the need to address urgent structural challenges.
Reform Movement Leader Hails Historic Vote to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Pelavin: "The strong support for repeal reflects the great strides our nation has made since the policy's inception in 1993 and demonstrates the now-widespread understating that every individual, gay and straight, is created in God's image and deserving of dignity
House Vote to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" A Welcome Step
Pelavin: "We appreciate the efforts of those members of Congress who are working diligently to ensure that this congressional session does not conclude without an end to this unfortunate chapter of military policy."
Time Running Out for Senate Action on American DREAM Act
Rabbi Saperstein: "Throughout more than 350 years of Jewish immigration to America, we have been actively engaged in the struggles of new immigrants and in the development of a just and compassionate immigration policy."