The Hue and Cry at Our House: A Year Remembered
A prism on a kitchen windowsill performs the miracle of fracturing sunlight into the complete spectrum, throwing rainbows on mundane surfaces, elevating them to something celestial and rare. Benjamin Taylor, in his compact and precise memoir, The Hue and Cry at Our House: A Year Remembered (Penguin, 2017), performs the same miracle. His last year of childhood in Forth Worth, TX, explodes into multicolored fragments, illuminating intersecting themes from the Kennedy assassination to Taylor’s homosexuality and eventual diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome.
The Netanyahu Years
On November 21, 2016, Benjamin Netanyahu surpassed David Ben Gurion’s record of longest continuous service as prime minister of Israel. Though Netanyahu’s years in power have been marked by scandal and political intrigue, his popularity with the Israeli electorate over the past seven years has grown, allowing him to do practically anything he wants.
The Shoah Through Muslim Eyes
A Pakistan-born Muslim woman with a Ph.D. from a South African university who directs the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College, a New York City Catholic school, has written a pioneering and courageous book about the Shoah (Holocaust).
Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Responding to the Mass Shooting in El Paso, TX
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: “Israel’s Decision To Bar U.S. Representatives Is Wrong. Democracies Do Not Hide.”
Reform Movement Leader on UNESCO's Hebron Resolution
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: It’s hard to fathom how UNESCO can, once again, vote to delegitimize what is demonstrated Jewish history at an ancient holy site. The place where Judaism’s patriarchs and matriarchs rest must not become a political pawn.
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."