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 and CCAR Statement on Israel Under Attack
We hope and pray that the cease fire holds, and at the same time, the Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis deplore the massive rocket attack unleashed upon Israel and its citizens by Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the terrorist clients of the Iranian regime, which controls the Gaza Strip.
URJ Responds to Accusations Reportedly Made By Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement reacting to reports of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ invocation of the classic anti-Semitic canard of water poisoning:
It is deplorable that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas engaged in spreading libelous accusations against Israeli rabbis in his remarks to the European parliament today. This persistent lie dates back thousands of years and is no more true today than it was in medieval ages.
URJ Responds To UUA Rejection of Divestment From Israel
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), issued the following statement today reacting to a vote taken on June 25th at the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association defeating a resolution to support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel:
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.
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.