Shooting at Family Research Council Reflects Trend of Violence that Threatens All
Saperstein: The fact remains that this trend of violence threatens us all and violates the values of respect for others that must be paramount in American civic and political life.
After Wildfire Severely Damages Camp’s Home, URJ Camp Newman Announces Summer 2018 Plans
Contacts:
Alaina Yoakum, AYoakum@urj.org, 415-991-0364
Lauren Theodore, LTheodore@urj.org, 212-650-4154
Outraged Reform Jewish Leaders to Israeli PM: Denounce Degrading Body Searches of Female Rabbinic Students at Kotel
Senior leadership of the Reform Movement, the largest movement in Jewish life, sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to unnecessary and demeaning body searches imposed on female rabbinic students at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,
We are writing to express our outrage and dismay about the humiliation of a cohort of Reform rabbinic students, all of whom are the future leadership of the Jewish people, at the entrance to the Kotel on August 23rd, Rosh Hodesh Elul.
Two of our female rabbinic students, who are spending their first year of studies in Israel, were stopped at the entrance to the Kotel. After they passed through a metal detector (which clearly indicated that they were not posing any security threat), they were asked to lift their skirts and shirts in a demeaning way, an action that completely defied the decisions the Supreme Court reached on this matter.
URJ Releases Preliminary Findings From 2 Important Surveys Demonstrating Effectiveness Of Work In Priority Areas
URJ today released preliminary findings from two important surveys concerning the effectiveness of its work in priority areas: Israel and Youth Engagement. On the eve of the largest URJ Biennial ever, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, URJ Presidents says, “Our work raising up the next generation of Jewish leaders in North America and advocating for religious pluralism in Israel are among our very highest priorities, and we are proud to see that these authoritative surveys provide data to support what we have long thought to be true: The URJ’s work in these areas is making a profound difference. Individually, and especially when viewed together, they make a strong, data-driven argument that the Reform Movement is making great progress on priority concerns.”
Religious Coalition Responds to Tragedies at Sikh Temple, Mosque
Saperstein: "Group-based assaults are more than mere acts of violence. They are nothing less than attacks on those values that are the pillars of our republic and the guarantors of our freedom. They are a betrayal of the promise of America."