Reform Movement Opens Fund for Alberta Flooding Victims
URJ Names Ruben Arquilevich Vice President of URJ Camps, NFTY, and Immersive Experiences
Six Teen Leaders To Watch: Newly Elected NFTY Board Steers the North American Reform Jewish Youth Movement, Including New Racial Justice Campaign
Six outstanding teen leaders have been elected to serve on the North American Board of NFTY, the Reform Jewish youth movement, for the 2017-2018 program year. Reform Judaism is the largest and most diverse movement in Jewish life, reaching nearly 900 congregations and more than 1.5 million people.
Israeli Government Poised To Walk Away From Agreement To Provide Egalitarian Prayer Space At The Kotel In Jerusalem
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement today about the Israeli government's agreement to provide an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
We have seen the recent reporting that the Israeli government will suspend its plan to move forward with an egalitarian, pluralistic prayer space at the Kotel. Those reports are deeply alarming, but, sadly, not surprising.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Israeli Government's Reversal On Egalitarian Prayer Space At The Kotel In Jerusalem Is "An Unconscionable Insult"
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Israeli Government's Reversal On Egalitarian Prayer Space At The Kotel In Jerusalem Is "An Unconscionable Insult"
Reform Movement Cancels Meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: “We cannot go about our scheduled meetings as if nothing has happened. The annulment of the Kotel resolution and the passing of the conversion law have caused an acute crisis between the Israeli government and diaspora Jewry. After yesterday's shameful decisions, we feel that at this moment, after more than four years of negotiations, it is not clear that the current Israeli government honors its agreements."
Reform Movement Leadership on Today's Conversion Bill Postponement
Leaders of the Reform Movement in Israel and North America, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, President and CEO of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, have issued the following statement:
Today’s decision by the Israeli cabinet to postpone further action on the offensive “conversion bill” is an important rebuke to the aggressive behavior of the ultra-Orthodox toward diaspora Jewry and the non-Orthodox streams. That is why we supported the temporary delay.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Addresses URJ North American Board of Trustees
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.