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RAC Reads Guide: Crossing Lines by Melanie Weiss
RAC Reads is a program by the Religious Action Center to encourage reading groups that explore contemporary social justice topics in the context of Jewish teachings and values. The discussion guides are designed for families, congregations and communities. As such, not all of the facilitation tips and discussion questions may be applicable in all cases.
Confronting Violence and Injustice Against Women
Because women close to me had never confided their experiences of sexual violence, I was shocked when they began to tell me – first one, then another, and another– that they had been raped, sexually harassed, touched without permission, or abused in other ways. Listening to their stories, trying to absorb their pain while controlling my rage, I felt guilty about my own ignorance and inaction. Why was I shocked at a truth that has been true for so long? Why had I never spoken out before?
How Judaism Inspires My Mental Health Advocacy
But I need your help to ensure that every student can access mental health care, no matter where they live.
Battered Immigrant Women Robbed of Protections in House VAWA
Although the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act has historically been one of the least polarizing political issues since its introduction in 1994, the House and the Senate have found substantial disagreement over some of the law’s pr
Women, the Driving Force
The author of this post, Barbara Lerman-Golomb, is a member of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism.
URJ Resolution on Filibuster Reform
Year Adopted:
In modern times, a healthy democracy requires the constant balancing of majority and minority rights and voices. In the American political tradition, the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome (known as “invoking cloture” to force a vote), has been characterized as a means of ensuring the minority’s voice is heard in the Senate. In theory, it may also promote deliberation, bipartisanship, and compromise.
Houla Massacre Puts Syria "Outside the Community of Nations"
This weekend, more than 100 civilians were massacred under the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Reform Leader Condemns Attacks on African Refugees in Israel
Saperstein: Such violence has no place in any civilized society, much less Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people who have throughout history known similar horrors rooted in ethnic and religious differences.
UPDATE: House Passes a VAWA that Does Not Protect All Victims
Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to pass a version of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization that prioritizes some victims over others and politicizes the safety and well-being of victims of abuse.
I could not have predicted that a bill called the Violence Against Women Act wou