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Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), sent the following letter to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump today in response to statements attributed to his campaign about foreign policy regarding a two-state solution.

New York, NY; July 7, 2016 -- Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ), wrote an open letter yesterday to the campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in response to comments made to CNN by campaign adviser David Friedman about a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Mr. Friedman's comments about the campaign's views on Israel mark a significant departure from the policies of the governments of both the United States and Israel, as well as the traditional positions of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Mr. Friedman's detailed reply to Rabbi Jacobs' letter raises additional questions and concerns. The URJ has posted Mr. Friedman's letter in its entirety below. Rabbi Jacobs has written annotations to the letter which are shown attributed to Union for Reform Judaism.

In response to the police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the deaths of the five police officers in Dallas, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:

The following letter was sent yesterday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the negotiating team supporting implementation of the agreement to create an egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel (Western Wall in Jerusalem) - Yizhar Hess, Masorti Movement; Anat Hoffman, Women of the Wall; Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Union for Reform Judaism; Batya Kallus, Women of the Wall; Rabbi Gilad Kariv, Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism; Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, The Rabbinic Assembly; and Rabbi Steve Wernick, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

New York, NY; July 14, 2016 -- ReformJudaism.org, the flagship website of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), has launched the English translations of every Torah portion to benefit the site’s two million annual visitors. The launch of these English translations of the Torah, Judaism’s most sacred text, is a significant achievement on behalf of users who want to read a modern translation.

 Late last night, the Israeli Knesset passed a law instigated by ultra-Orthodox leadership to overturn a recent Supreme Court decision banning discrimination against non-Orthodox converts from state-funded mikvaot (ritual baths), which are integral to the conversion process. The Supreme Court case was brought by the Israel Religious Action Center, on behalf of both the Reform and Conservative movements. This new legislation is expressly meant as an attack on the role of the Reform and Conservative Jewish movements in religious practice in Israel.

Contact: Lauren Theodore at 212-650-4154

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.

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.