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.
URJ Grants Support Innovative Outreach Programs
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.
Court Decision Overturns DOMA, Welcome Step Toward Equality
Pelavin: "Today's decision is a vital, overdue, and very welcome step toward marriage equality and a more just society."
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Jewish Leader Testifies in Support of Carbon Standards
Barbara Weinstein: "If we fail to preserve and protect this world _ our only world - by failing to address rising levels of carbon pollution, we betray our responsibility to one another and to future generations."
Reform Leader Condemns Attacks on African Refugees in Israel
Saperstein: Such violence has no place in any civilized society, much less Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people who have throughout history known similar horrors rooted in ethnic and religious differences.
Rabbi Saperstein Welcomes Public School Guidelines on Harassment, Bullying, and Free Expression
Saperstein: "This document, along with existing state laws and policies and the 2010 guidance issued by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, will help administrators and teachers respond appropriately when challenges arise concerning speech and harassm
Reform Movement Hails President's Endorsement of Marriage Equality
Rabbi David Saperstein: Today's statement is an important expression of solidarity with same-sex couples who wish to have their marriages recognized, and LGBT teens, who deserve the support of their government.