Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Governor Charlie Baker To Address North America's Largest Jewish Gathering, the URJ Biennial
U.S. Senator for Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker will be among the featured speakers at the URJ Biennial, the largest Jewish religious gathering in North America.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs to Prime Minister Netanyahu: Dismiss Deputy Foreign Minister
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the following statement in response to denigrating comments about North American Jews by Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister: The Deputy Foreign Minister has a right to her ill-informed and insulting views. But such views disqualify her holding such an important role in Israel’s diplomatic corps. Her comments serve to underscore how the Israeli government disdains the majority of North American Jews.
URJ Releases Preliminary Findings From 2 Important Surveys Demonstrating Effectiveness Of Work In Priority Areas
URJ today released preliminary findings from two important surveys concerning the effectiveness of its work in priority areas: Israel and Youth Engagement. On the eve of the largest URJ Biennial ever, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, URJ Presidents says, “Our work raising up the next generation of Jewish leaders in North America and advocating for religious pluralism in Israel are among our very highest priorities, and we are proud to see that these authoritative surveys provide data to support what we have long thought to be true: The URJ’s work in these areas is making a profound difference. Individually, and especially when viewed together, they make a strong, data-driven argument that the Reform Movement is making great progress on priority concerns.”
Pilot Congregations to Revolutionize B'nai Mitzvah
Rabbi Hails Court Ruling Striking Down Texas Voter ID Law
Rabbi Saperstein: "Barriers at the polls are a violation of a basic principle of our democracy; our country relies on the participation of its citizenry in choosing elected officials, without regard to race, gender or geographic location."
Reform Movement Horrified by Attack on Arab Teen
Rabbis Saperstein and Orkand: "The attack, which left one of the victims unconscious, requiring resuscitation, shames both the attackers and those who failed to stop it."
Shooting at Family Research Council Reflects Trend of Violence that Threatens All
Saperstein: The fact remains that this trend of violence threatens us all and violates the values of respect for others that must be paramount in American civic and political life.
Michigan Reform Jewish Clergy Urge Senator Levin to Support Anti-Bullying Bill
Michigan Reform Jewish Clergy Urge Senator Levin to Support Anti-Bullying Bill Michigan Reform Rabbis and Cantors: All of us have a positive moral responsibility to create a world in which no person is bullied to the point where the only escape they can envision is suicide.
Religious Coalition Responds to Tragedies at Sikh Temple, Mosque
Saperstein: "Group-based assaults are more than mere acts of violence. They are nothing less than attacks on those values that are the pillars of our republic and the guarantors of our freedom. They are a betrayal of the promise of America."
Missouri 'Public Prayer' Amendment Passage Concerning
Rabbi Saperstein: "Missouri is dangerously fanning the flames of a false war on religion in a time of divisive politics that must be reigned in to prevent the splintering of one nation, under God."