Little Failure
The Yiddish phrase lachen mit yashtsherkes literally means "laughing with lizards" but is usually meant as "laughing through the tears." It's an idea that is prevalent throughout Gary Shteyngart's latest book, Little Failure, a memoir of his childhood as a Russian immigrant in A
URJ to Expand Campaign for Youth Engagement with New Programming and Grants
October 3, 2012, New York, NY - With a continued goal of increasing the level of Jewish teen engagement within its Movement, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) today announced expansion of its national Campaign for Youth Engagement.
Reform Movement Reacts to Palestinian "Unity Government"
June 5, 2014, New York, NY – In response to the formation of a Palestinian "unity government," Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, issued the following statement:
Divestment Vote Undermines Presbyterian-Jewish Relations
Detroit, June 20, 2014 - In response to the Presbyterian Church's vote to divest from Israel at their General Assembly meeting, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
Reform Jewish Movement Mourns the Deaths of Three Murdered Israeli Teens
JERUSALEM, Israel, June 30, 2014: In response to the news that the bodies of three missing Israeli teens, Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, have been found, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
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.