Answering the Call to Stop Unjust Deportations
This past Friday night, our Deputy Director Rachel Laser gave a D’var Torah at the Temple in Atlanta about the story of Juan Martinez. Juan was born in Cieudad Hidalgo, Mexico, and when the factory in his hometown closed, Juan crossed the Mexican-American border without papers in search of a job and a better life. He came to a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia to live with his brother, where he has lived for the past 14 years. All that time, he has worked diligently as a painter.
Universal Healthcare Through a Jewish Lens
Jewish tradition teaches us that our bodies and the preservation of our health is above all the most cherished value. God bestowed onto us the opportunity for life and prosperity and we have to obligation to treat our bodies with the utmost care and respect. We see this value reflected in the current U.S healthcare system.
The Fight for Free and Fair Elections
Today is National Voter Registration Day. Over the course of the day, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations across the country will hit the streets in a coordinated effort to educate and register eligible voters. The goal of the day is to reach tens of thousands of voters who might not otherwise get the information they need. In 2008, six million Americans didn’t vote due to a missed registration deadline or lack of information on how to register. National Voter Registration Day hopes to put political differences aside and celebrate democracy, unifying the American people.
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.
UN Summit a Meaningful Opportunity to Impact Climate Change
In advance of the UN Climate Summit beginning tomorrow, Barbara Weinstein, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Director of the Commission on Social Action, issued the following statement:
“We are pleased to join with others
Issues of Extremism in America Today
On Sunday, April 13, 2014, just before Passover began, Fraizer Glenn Cross opened fire outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, killing Dr. William Lewis Corporon and his grandson Reat Griffin Underwood. Corporon was accompanying Underwood to auditions for the KC SuperStar singing competition, which were held at the JCC that day. Cross opened fire again at Village Shalom, a Jewish old age home about a mile away, killing Terri LaManno, an occupational therapist who was visiting her mother. After being taken into custody, Cross yelled, “Heil Hitler.”
What's Next for Campaign Finance?
Campaign finance reform is an immense and complex issue, but the principles behind it are simple: one voice, one vote. In the wake of two major Supreme Court cases, Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) and McCutcheon v.
A Healthy, Nutritious, and Sweet New Year For All Children
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is an opportunity for us to express our support for important government programs as we look towards the year ahead. In the next year, Congress will need to address issues regarding reauthorization for child nutrition programs. While the programs are permanently authorized, Congress uses the reauthorization process to review the laws and re allocate funding when the laws expire. One existing law in this policy area – the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 – is set to expire on September 2015.
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.
A Comparative View of Elder Abuse in the U.S. and Israel
I spend every Tuesday at a local nursing home visiting my dear friend, Fay, a Holocaust survivor. At ninety years old, her mind is as sharp as a nail and she easily recounts the story of her life: from the horrors of the camps, to the beauty of Israel, and finally to the hard work, freedom, and challenges of America. Each week as I ready to leave her and return to school, a look of loneliness washes over the smile on her face and I am reminded that her only other visitors are nurses and her devoted daughter who can only visit once a week.
