URJ President to Spend Night at Synagogue Homeless Shelter He Founded 30 Years Ago
Brooklyn, NY, January 14, 2014 – In 1983, when Rabbi Rick Jacobs was the rabbi at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue (BHS), he had a vision to start a shelter to address the growing problem of homelessness in New York City.
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.
Reform Jewish Movement Welcomes New House Resolution on Anti-Semitism, Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Bigotry
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the wider Reform Movement institutions:
“We welcome today’s House resolution condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and other forms of hate. Importantly, the resolution makes clear that these hatreds, though centuries old, feed on and legitimize each other, inflamed in our time by forces on the left and right. There is no place for these, or any form of hate in our society, no matter the source.
Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs in Response to the Attacks on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand
Following the attacks on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement: Yet again the world is shaken by extremist violence against innocent people at prayer, targeted in deadly acts of hatred. Too often we have been sickened that sacred places of worship have become sites of slaughter. A few months ago the massacre happened in a synagogue on a Saturday in Pittsburgh, this time in mosques on a Friday in New Zealand.
Dear Bibi, We're Concerned
URJ Leadership Statement About New York Times Article
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: We Condemn President Abbas' Recent Statements
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, responds to recent statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: We condemn unequivocally President Abbas’ recent statements rejecting the Jewish people’s connections with Israel, denying the legitimacy of a Jewish State of Israel, and promulgating conspiracy theories about the creation of the State of Israel.
Reform Jewish Movement Statement on Expulsion of Asylum Seekers from Israel
Organizations of the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest movement in Jewish life, issued a statement strongly urging the Israeli government to reverse its decision and recognize the legitimate status of the 37,885 asylum seekers in the country.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs’ Podcast “On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah” on ReformJudaism.org Celebrates Third Anniversary with First Live Studio Audience Recording
ReformJudaism.org, the flagship website of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) reaching 3.2 million visitors annually, is celebrating the third anniversary of the On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah podcast featuring Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the President of the URJ with its first episode recorded before a live audience. The special anniversary episode, “Courageous Leadership,” focusing on parashat Yitro, was recorded at the sold-out URJ Biennial convention in Boston last month.
URJ’s Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Statement on Polish Government’s Proposed Holocaust Law
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the statement below in response to the Polish government's approval of a new law barring discussion of Polish responsibility during the Holocaust:
We were deeply disheartened by the Polish government’s approval of a new law that not only bars reference to “Polish death camps” but to discussion of the responsibility of Polish citizens during the Holocaust.