Persecuted at Home, Uighur Muslims Share Chinese Cuisine in Diaspora
Tensions have long persisted between China’s government and the Uighur Muslim population concentrated in China’s western Xinjiang region. Uighur Muslims are ethnically Turkic, practice Islam, and have close cultural ties to Central Asia.
A Jewish Junta
By Rabbi Jonah Pesner
Who recruited you into NFTY? Who invited you to your first event? Who tapped you on the shoulder, and suggested you should become involved in a Jewish youth group? I remember them. They called themselves "The Junta." Sometimes they were referred to as a "gang of four." They were the four high school seniors who were the founders of the Village Temple Youth Group back in 1983. To those of us who were younger, they were the coolest kids you could imagine. And because of their efforts, an entire generation of Jewish teens found a home in Jewish life.Hineini-Here I Am: Join Our Racial Justice Campaign
9 Principles to Help You Engage Jewish Youth
These nine guiding principles to engage youth were developed by numerous congregations and synagogue professionals in our collaborative work with them. We share them with congregations and use them to inform our own ongoing efforts to develop new camps and year-round programming.
Learning to Pray
This year has been an extremely difficult one for me. My 13-year-old son, the love of my life, returned from a summer visit with his father and announced that he wants to go and live with him at the end of the school year. He said this with no anger, no malice, and no hurtfulness.
The Porch: It’s Southern, It’s Open, and It’s Jewish
For the past 18 months, the URJ supported three “Communities of Practice,” cohorts of congregations that came together to learn, discuss, and experiment in a specific field.
A URJ Update on Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
We are reaching out to all Reform-affiliated congregations in the affected area to provide assistance as appropriate.
I am going to an unveiling. What should I expect?
An unveiling is the ceremony at which a tombstone is erected in memory of one who has died.
How 250 Jewish Teens Are Changing the Face of Youth Engagement
The inaugural Dana Gershon and Rabbi Jonah Pesner Northeast Leadership Summit focused on creating a new and innovative structure to enable Jewish teens to find their purpose and bring it to life.