A Major GVP Victory in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to RAC-CA and our allies’ calls by tripling funding for local gun violence prevention (GVP) programs.
Newsom’s announcement came less than a week after the conclusion of our successful call-in week.
Since We Last Met: Recapping Two Years Since the 2017 Consultation on Conscience
These remarks are lightly adapted from those presented before the opening plenary of the 2019 Consultation on Conscience on Sunday, May 19, 2019.
5 Reasons I’m Proud to Work with NFTY Teens
Teens are taking initiative to make sure policies – in NFTY and in our governments – reflect their values. Here are just a few examples of how they've been leading the way this year.
Suicide Prevention and Awareness Is Our Communal Responsibility
Elul is upon us. The sound of the shofar reminds us that this silent epidemic must be addressed. Its cries echo those left in the depths of sorrow, feeling alone, believing that those who love them most would be better off without them. Our fear of mental illness must be replaced with a resolve to educate ourselves and others.
Meet the 2016-2017 Eisendrath Legislative Assistants
The beginning of the program year is always an exciting time at the RAC, as we begin a new cycle of tikkun olam work.
How Your Congregation Can Re-Covenant for Justice
Our Brit Olam helps us protect the vulnerable, ally across differences, be close to people shaped by systemic oppression, and dialogue respectfully among divergent views.
Join Us! Here's How (and When) to Tune into the 2019 Consultation on Conscience from Afar
This year's event is the biggest in our history, but there are so many more would-be attendees who can't be with us in person. We've made it easier than ever for you to tune in from afar and to join us from home.
The Truth about Gaza: One Rabbi's Reflections
Theories about the timing of recent rocket attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad into Israel are numerous. Whatever the cause, they have done little to promote peace.
URJ and CCAR Statement on Israel Under Attack
We hope and pray that the cease fire holds, and at the same time, the Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis deplore the massive rocket attack unleashed upon Israel and its citizens by Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the terrorist clients of the Iranian regime, which controls the Gaza Strip.
The External War and the Internal War
This week's Torah portion is called Ki Teitzei — meaning literally, "When you go out." It is a reference to violence and war. "When you take the field [literally, "When you go out"] against your enemies, and the Eternal your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive ... " (Deuteronomy 21:10).
This sentence is but a tiny portion of more than a thousand verses in the Tanach that deal with war. Our Holy Scriptures came into history in a world in which fighting was a normal and often necessary activity. The ancient communities of the Middle East were governed according to tribal custom and law, and each ethnic community was in a combative relationship with its neighbor. There was no United Nations in those days, no European Union designed to administer diverse people according to collective rules and laws. Some tribal federations such as the twelve tribes of Israel pooled their resources, but that was for protection rather than for advancing peaceful relations with the rest of the world. The harsh social-economic and political reality of the ancient world often triggered violent and deadly conflicts between communities and peoples, and it is rare that we read a comment such as is found in Judges 3:11: " ... and the land had peace for forty years."