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 Names Ruben Arquilevich Vice President of URJ Camps, NFTY, and Immersive Experiences
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.
Draft Climate Legislation Marks Significant Step Forward On Environment
Pelavin: "The world is looking to the United States to lead the way in confronting the environmental and economic crisis of climate change, and the draft bill released today is a significant step toward tackling this global problem."
Reform Jewish Movement Praises Amicus Brief on Key Voting Rights Case
Saperstein: "We strongly urge the Supreme Court to affirm the lower courts ruling and ensure that section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act remains a stronghold of protection at the polls for members of minority communities."
Reform Movement to Newspapers: Remove Anti-Semitic Cartoon
Pelavin: "Published during a tenuous cease-fire in Gaza, this cartoon will only add fuel to the proverbial political fire and stroke the flames of anti-Semitism."
Plan B Ruling A Victory for Women's Health
Pelavin: "By allowing for expanded access to emergency contraceptives, we can provide young women with the resources necessary to make decisions about their own reproductive health."
Reform Movement Launds Introduction of Disability Rights Bill
Rabbi Landsberg: "Too often, American society excludes those who need assistance.
Obama's Signing of UN Statement A Win for LGBT Rights
Pelavin: "We are hopeful that last weeks actions by the Obama Administration signal a new US commitment to protect the basic rights and dignities of all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."