Raechel Banks

Just Released: Resource Guide on Mental Health and Gun Violence

Raechel Banks

April 24, 2013

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.

Economic Justice

Pe’ah and the Truth Behind Block Grants

Raechel Banks

March 15, 2013

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.

Rise up Maccabean Style for Rights of the Disabled

Rabbi Lynne Landsberg

Raechel Banks

December 11, 2012

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?

Social Justice

Reform Movement Tells Congress: Deficit Reduction Must Not Increase Poverty

Raechel Banks

December 6, 2012

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

December 5, 2012

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: