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Incidence of anti-Semitism in Baltimore over Rosh Hashanah
As we begin the new Jewish year, these Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) are a time for us to reflect on the year that was and renew our commitments to tzedakah (justice) and tikkun olam (repairing the world). We also mark these days by heading to our synagogues to pray as a community, which is why it was even more disheartening to hear about a possible hate crime at a synagogue in Baltimore over Rosh Hashanah. According to reports, a man yelled out in front of a synagogue and shot a BB gun in the vicinity of the building.
Environmental Stewardship on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah: The People's Climate March
Yesterday I was one of over 310,000 people to march across Manhattan the weekend before the UN Climate Summit with the People’s Climate March. Together, we asked our leaders both domestically and internationally to support a strong, global commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the most vulnerable communities worldwide from the devastating effects of climate change. The march included a broad swath of people from environmental, labor, scientific and faith communities. In the hours leading up to the March, Reform Jews stood side by side with Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, Unitarians, Southern Baptists, seekers and pagans for an interfaith prayer service. On a stage propped up in front of an inflatable mosque and an interfaith arc, we watched Rabbi Arthur Waskow give a benediction, Josh Nelson and Neshama Carlebach lead a niggun, monks, preachers, imams and priests all provide blessing in their traditions for the march, the UN Summit leaders, and the earth.
The Promise of the ADA Restored: Reform Movement Applauds President's Enactment of Disability Rights Bill
Rabbi Landsberg: “As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we pray for a sweet new year in which the dreams of inclusion and equality will be realized.”
A New Year for the New Legislative Assistants: Our Reflections on 5775
Last month, the six of us began our new year as Eisendrath Legislative Assistants, complete with apples and honey, a RAC tradition to mark our office “Rosh Hashanah.” After two weeks of orientation and several weeks of familiarizing ourselves with our new portfolios, we are looking forward to the Jewish New Year and excited for the opportunities it will bring:
Reform Movement Commends Senate Lifting of Family Planning "Global Gag Rule"
Wishner: Providing comprehensive and accurate family planning information is an essential step in ensuring a higher quality of life for women everywhere.
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Who Counts? A Census Report That Calls for Economic Justice In The Year To Come
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year, we will think about how we have changed from one year to the next: how we have grown, and we can do differently in the year to come. This evaluative work is also done by the federal government through the United States Census (an official count or survey of the population.)
Earlier this week, the U.S. Census Bureau issued its report on Income and Poverty in the United States for the year 2013. This report presents crucial metrics that can be utilized to evaluate the past year’s policies and ultimately improve current ones for the future. This most recent census report showed some signs of positive development. The U.S’ official poverty rate declined from 15.0% in 2012 to 14.5% in 2013, indicating that there has been some reduction in poverty. The poverty rate for children under the age of 18 declined from 21.8% in 2012 to 19.9% in 2013, making 2013 the first time that the child poverty rate has declined since 2000.
Reform Jewish Movement Applauds House Support for International Family Planning Programs
Feldman: In a world where a new case of HIV is contracted every 7 seconds, and a woman dies from a pregnancy-related complication every minute, we cannot afford to deprive families of life-saving resources.
Double Booked: No One Should Have to Choose Between A Healthy Family and A Job
In this season of renewal, Jews reflect on the year past and look forward to a 5775, a year that brings new opportunity. Since the launch of Double Booked this past January, we have identified some of the challenges that working families face today and discussed a wide variety of cultural, social, and policy solutions. The Jewish new year seems a fitting time to reveal the next phase of our Double Booked initiative, which will focus on working with our interfaith partners to lift up good internal employment policies as well as to engage our denominations and houses of worship in federal, state, and local initiatives to pass much-needed policies to support the modern American family.
One such policy is ensuring paid sick days. We are proud to report that the Union for Reform Judaism (which the RAC is part of) offers its employees a generous paid sick days policy. The Union demonstrated its strong support again for these policies in a new resolution that was passed at our 2013 Biennial.
This Week at the RAC: Apply for Nothing but Nets Fellowship; People's Climate March
As we finish up the last full week of our Jewish year, it’s been typically hopping at the RAC. Our program team of Michael Namath, Shira Zemel, Daniel Landesberg and Ariella Yedwab spent three days at the URJ’s Kutz Camp brainstorming, role-playing and case-studying along with the URJ’s Youth Division Staff, all with an eye to making our many youth-oriented RAC programs (L’Taken, Machon Kaplan, etc.) even better than they already are. Back here in DC, the LAs were zipping around from congressional hearings to mark-ups to meetings to briefings on Israel, voting rights, religious freedom and more.