Testimony of Rabbi David Saperstein Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on The Johnson Amendment
There are eight compelling reasons why the Johnson Amendment should not be changed and the current restrictions left in place.
Reform Jewish Leader Strongly Condemns Executive Order on Religious Freedom Including Weakening of Johnson Amendment
The Reform Movement condemns President Trump’s executive order on religious freedom issues in the strongest possible terms.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Urges Israeli Government to Reject Proposed Conversion Bill
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued a statement today on the proposed conversion bill introduced into the Knesset on May 10th, 2017, by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior, led by Shas MK Aryeh Deri.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs In Private Audience With Pope Francis: Faith Leaders Share Commitment To Protect The Vulnerable
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) was received in a private audience today by the Holy Father Pope Francis at the Vatican for a 20-minute one-to-one meeting.
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.
URJ Board Adopts New Resolutions on Paid Leave, Immunizations and Predatory Lending
The Union for Reform Judaism North American Board this week overwhelmingly adopted new resolutions on Paid Family Leave, Mandatory Immunizations and Predatory Lending. The resolutions’ adoption concludes a consultative and inclusive process that began before the recent Biennial assembly held in November 2015 in Orlando, FL. The resolutions add to the canon of hundreds of URJ resolutions adopted over more than a century and which outline the URJ’s values and priorities.
URJ President: We're Opposed to Israeli Legislation on NGOs
In response to attacks against human rights NGOs in Israel, including the advancement of a “Transparency Bill” in the Knesset, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), issued the following statement.