Raechel Banks was a legislative assistant at the Religious Action Center.
Just Released: Resource Guide on Mental Health and Gun Violence
Raechel Banks
The URJ, as a member of the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC), is proud to release Grounded in Faith: Resources on Mental Health and Gun Violence. We hope you will use this resource guide to inform your personal, professional and congregational life.
Pe’ah and the Truth Behind Block Grants
Raechel Banks
As the House and the Senate release and mark up their budgets this week, there’s a lot of jargon being tossed around. You may have heard that the House-proposed budget include “block grants” for SNAP and Medicaid. What does that mean - and why should Jews care
Rise up Maccabean Style for Rights of the Disabled
Rabbi Lynne Landsberg,
Raechel Banks
The sages of the Talmud had a debate about how we are to light the Chanukah menorah: Should we begin with eight candles and remove one each night, or begin with one and add through the holiday?
Reform Movement Tells Congress: Deficit Reduction Must Not Increase Poverty
Raechel Banks
Yesterday the Religious Action Center sent a letter to all Members of Congress urging them to protect the poor in any deficit reduction agreement. As the end of year approaches and we near the “fiscal cliff,” Members of Congress are meeting with increasing urgency to create a deal that would reduce the deficit, or produce a framework to do so, before January 1. People of faith across the nation are speaking out on the rapid pace of these negotiations and the potential harm they could cause the programs that help the poorest among us.
Reform Movement: Failure to Ratify International Disability Rights Treaty Deeply Disappointing
Raechel Banks
In response to yesterday’s Senate vote failing to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Rabbi David Saperstein issued the following statement:
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