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.
Religious Bigotry Behind Violence in Nigerian Church Bombings
Rabbi Saperstein: "The bombings are a grim reminder that religious intolerance remains a threat to peace and security around the world."
Reform Movement Supports Vital EPA Mercury Rule
Rabbi Saperstein: "As heirs to a tradition of stewardship that teaches us to be partners in the ongoing pursuit of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, it is our sacred duty as Jews to care for the environment that sustains us.
Reform Movement Expresses Concern Over Lowe's Pulled Ad Campaign
Rabbi Saperstein: "We hope you will make clear your commitment to religious liberty in the context of this matter by reconsidering your decision to pull advertising in the face of anti-Muslim sentiments and establish clear policies related to your advertising prac
No Justification for Gender Discrimination In Israel
Rabbi Saperstein: "For anyone to be discriminated against on the basis of one's gender, or to excuse discrimination based on one's interpretation of a religion's law is unacceptable."