Reform Movement Opens Fund for Alberta Flooding Victims
Reform Movement Condemns Murder of Journalist James Foley and Spreading Influence of ISIS
August, 22, 2014, New York, NY -- The leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis and Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism today posted the following statement:
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs On Charlottesville
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs on Charlottesville: We Condemn Neo-Nazi hate speech and call for an end to violence; but “Moral Equivalence of violence and hate “on many sides” is troubling. We commend the opening of President Trump’s statement condemning the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence” but are deeply troubled by the moral equivalence evident in President Trump’s statement today.
David Grossman, Award-Winning Israeli Author And Activist, To Receive Union For Reform Judaism’s Highest Honor
vid Grossman, the Israeli author and activist, whose books, essays and public advocacy have inspired a generation, will receive Reform Judaism’s highest honor, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) 2017 Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award. The award will be presented at the 74th URJ Biennial in Boston in December 2017.
Outraged Reform Jewish Leaders to Israeli PM: Denounce Degrading Body Searches of Female Rabbinic Students at Kotel
Senior leadership of the Reform Movement, the largest movement in Jewish life, sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to unnecessary and demeaning body searches imposed on female rabbinic students at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,
We are writing to express our outrage and dismay about the humiliation of a cohort of Reform rabbinic students, all of whom are the future leadership of the Jewish people, at the entrance to the Kotel on August 23rd, Rosh Hodesh Elul.
Two of our female rabbinic students, who are spending their first year of studies in Israel, were stopped at the entrance to the Kotel. After they passed through a metal detector (which clearly indicated that they were not posing any security threat), they were asked to lift their skirts and shirts in a demeaning way, an action that completely defied the decisions the Supreme Court reached on this matter.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Important Statement From Israeli Supreme Court Reminding Prime Minister's Government To Abide By Rule Of Law
Today, the Israeli Supreme Court made an important statement by signaling that they are fed up with the Netanyahu government’s decision to “freeze” its own governmental decision forged in compromise with our Reform Movement and our allies. The court gave the Israeli government two weeks to come back with a counter argument to the court, an extremely short window that seems to imply great impatience with the government’s behavior.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Addresses URJ North American Board of Trustees
Reform Movement Condemns Murder of Journalist James Foley and Spreading Influence of ISIS
Contact: Annette Powers, Union for Reform Judaism
apowers@urj.org
Urgent Need for Justice and Peaceful Resolution of Unrest in Ferguson
Weinstein: The challenges of racial divides and mistrust that afflict cities across the U.S. are a tragic emblem of how much work remains to be done to overcome divisions rooted in our nation’s history.
Reform Jewish Leader Urges Areas of Study on Keystone XL Pipeline
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 7, 2014 — As President Obama deliberates over approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, Chair of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, sent the following letter to the White House, urging several key areas for considerat