A New Film Profiles Jewish Billionaire George Soros
Presidential Proclamation: Jewish American Heritage Month
In his second year in office, President George Washington wrote a letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island - one of our Nation's first Jewish houses of worship - and reaffirmed our country's commitment to religious freedom. He noted that the Government of the United States would give "to bigotry no sanction [and] to persecution no assistance," and that all Americans are entitled to "liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship." Those words ring as true today as they did then, and they speak to a principle as old as America itself: that no matter who you are, where you come from, or what faith you practice, all of us have an equal share in America's promise.
Shalom from Israel! URJ Board Trip is Underway
Shalom from Eretz Yisrael! I’m thrilled to be here in Jerusalem as part of the first URJ Board of Trustees Mission to Israel, led by Rabbi Rick Jacobs. This is a critical, working trip to advance the goals of our movement. We just arrived Tuesday night, but here’s a rundown of some of the highlights so far. We met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit at the Prime Minister’s office. The PM was visibly moved by Rabbi Jacobs' introduction and reiterated his support of the Reform Movement in Israel and throughout the world. Rabbi Jacobs has developed a strong, working relationship with his office, and it was an honor for our board to continue to further that relationship through an in-person visit.
The Most Painful Parts of Joseph’s Story Can Teach Us about Ourselves
Tradition Welcomes Change in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
The Enemy Within Our Military
For years, members of the United States military were fighting a silent, internal battle: sexual assault was rampant and the military was covering it up.
Title IX Protects Students
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under any educational program or activity receiving federal funding,
Packing for Jewish Camp: 10 Tips
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.
Vashti: Finding a Feisty Feminist in our Purim Story
A few years ago, I found myself in a bit of a Purim predicament specifically pertaining to the “to tell or not to tell” dilemma regarding Vashti, one of the oft forgotten players in our Purim tale.