Strong Evidence of the Impact of Reform Movement Youth Programs on Lifelong Jewish Identity
Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Responding to the Mass Shooting in El Paso, TX
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: “Israel’s Decision To Bar U.S. Representatives Is Wrong. Democracies Do Not Hide.”
URJ Youth Department Announces New Leadership Role: Michelle Shapiro Abraham Promoted to Director, Learning and Innovation
Reflecting recent growth in the quantity and quality of year-round youth engagement, and to ensure that the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) continues its leadership engaging the next generation in powerful, meaningful, and fun Jewish experiences, URJ Vice President of Youth Miriam Chilton announced today that Michelle Shapiro Abraham, MAJE, RJE has been promoted to Director, Learning and Innovation. The URJ’s Youth engagement initiatives incorporate 60 immersive programs reaching more than 23,000 youth, teens, and young adults.
URJ President Responds To Supreme Court Kotel Statement
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), issued the following statement today in response to Israel's Supreme Court statement addressing the Israeli government's failure to implement its earlier decision to create an egalitarian prayer space for non-Orthodox worship at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
URJ to Launch New Specialty Jewish Summer Camp Dedicated to Creative Arts, URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) announced today the creation of the premier non-profit Jewish specialty camp for creative arts. The new URJ camp, called URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy, will open in the summer of 2018 in the mid-Atlantic region, and serve several hundred campers in grades 4-11.
Statement Of URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs On The Death Of Shimon Peres
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), released the following statement after learning of the death of former Israeli President Shimon Peres:
Shimon Peres understood that the greatness of Israel lies in its embrace of our better selves, and he spent his life challenging himself and others to reach for the impossible. Often, he achieved it.
URJ President on United Methodist Church Rejecting BDS
This week’s clear decision by the United Methodist Church rejecting the efforts of those who misguidedly sought to draw the Church into the boycott, divestment, sanctions campaign to delegitimize Israel is a welcome step in support of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
URJ Launches JewV’Nation Fellowship: An Interfaith Outreach Incubator for Emerging Jewish Leaders
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) today launched the JewV’Nation Fellowship, an innovative year-long project incubator and leadership development program supporting emerging Jewish leaders and creative interfaith outreach initiatives. The program, which will begin in early 2017, is supported in part with a Jewish Funders Network grant from Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families, in honor of 2015 Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas.
The JewV’Nation (pronounced “juvination”) Fellowship program will be led by April Baskin, URJ’s Vice President of Audacious Hospitality, and seeks to engage a new generation of leadership by valuing the perspectives and insights of the younger members of the community and supporting them with resources and strategies to bring their best ideas to life. The fellows themselves will define and create exciting and contemporarily relevant Jewish programming.