URJ Leaders Welcome Election of Dr. Andrew Rehfeld as President of HUC-JIR
New York, NY; December 18, 2018 – The leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism today offered their enthusiastic support for the election of Dr. Andrew Rehfeld as the 13th president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
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.
Reform Movement Selects 25 Camp Leaders and 25 Congregations for Service Corps to Engage Jewish Youth
October 7, 2013, New York, NY – The camping movement of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) announced recently the selection of 25 camp staff members
Registration Open for First Science and Technology Jewish Camp
October 8, 2013, New York, NY -- Registration is now open for URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, a new summer camp offering high-level programming in science and technology. This innovative new camp will open in July 2014 on the campus
Reform Movement Announces New Chief Philanthropic Officer
"Tamar brings great strengths, competencies and passions to the URJ," said URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, adding "she
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Address the URJ Biennial
October 24, 2013, New York, NY -- The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) is proud to announce that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the 72nd URJ Biennial and
Reform Movement Marks One Year Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy
October 25, 2013, New York, NY – This week marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, which caused dozens of deaths, billions of dollars in damage, and left more than 7.5 million people without power.