Domestic Violence "De-criminalized" During Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time for commemorating the victims of domestic violence and educating ourselves and others about this heinous, and often "taboo," topic.
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.
Too Fast, Too Furious?
Beginning in fall 2009, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives initiated Operation Fast and Furious.
Reform Movement Welcomes Gilad Shalit Home
Reform Leaders: "Gilad's homecoming demonstrates the preciousness with which Israel treats the life of each and every IDF soldier."
Contact: Annette Powers
212-650-4154 apowers@urj.org
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."
Looking Forward: Remaining Challenges, Emerging Opportunities
Rabbi David Saperstein spoke today at a Department of Justice and George Washington University Law School conference titled "Confronting Discrimination in the Post-9/11 Era: Challenges and O
This Sukkot, Support Environmental Protections from Border to Border
Question: On Sukkot, we remember our ancestors' struggles to balance their lives with the surrounding environment in order to produce a bountiful harvest each year. But most of us no longer grow our own food or live at the mercy of natural phenomena in the same ways.
Reform Movement Leader Statement on the Deaths of Terence Crutcher, Keith Scott and Justin Carr
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Graham Roth
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
This Elul, Let's Bring Ourselves Closer to Addressing the Global Refugee Crisis
With 65 million people displaced worldwide, the current global refugee has now surpassed World War II’s record of displaced people.