Sukkot in Jerusalem: A Precarious Balance
Jerusalem is home to a unique type of sukkah: precarious and cantilevered, they hang off the sides of buildings – and between the two Jerusalems, one above, one below.
My Open Heart is Leading Me on an Unending Journey
In 2016, I arrived at a Reform Jewish summer camp, knowing nothing about Reform Judaism. I returned to Israel transformed by my experience, eager to continue my journey.
Union For Reform Judaism Announces Riva Silverman Will Join URJ Executive Team As Vice President Of Philanthropy
Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) President Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Chair of the Board of Trustees Daryl Messinger announced today that Riva Silverman will join the URJ’s executive leadership team as Vice President of Philanthropy.
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,
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.
How Jewish Summer Camp Gave Me My Whole World – and How I’m Giving Back
Recent California wildfires devastated Camp Newman’s physical space. I feel that it is my duty – and my honor – to give back to the camp that has given me the world.
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.
5 Jewish Ways to Help After Hurricane Harvey
Recovery for a storm of this magnitude will take months, if not years. We are working hard to provide resources to affected families, and we encourage you to do the same.
What's in a (Jewish) Name?
Our family rejected one name’s legacy of slavery for another’s possible intimation of anti-Semitism. It was a small, quiet act of brit olam, our vision for a world filled with justice and compassion.