Our Job is to Prevent Gun Violence
The utter horror of the murderous shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut remains in all of our minds and has rightly propelled us into a critical dialogue that we hope will produce real action after so many years. And the problem has been with us for many years. Much of the time, families and communities – especially in our inner cities – have fought on the front lines against gun violence without much attention from the rest of society. Now, with the alarming and increasing regularity of mass shootings – every couple of years it seems – like those in Newtown and Aurora, it should be clear to all of us that gun violence is our collective problem as a nation, and must be addressed in all of its forms.
Saving Lives with Universal Background Checks
Roughly 30,000 people die each year in the United States due to gun related violence, the most of any other nation by far. I wish I were surprised when I read about a new mass shooting, but we have gotten to a point where they’ve become a normal part of our lives. Rather than being sa
Reframing Our View of Campus Sexual Violence
At a college house party, a red cup sits comfortably in his hand. His other hand is on the wall, his arm outstretched and his body maneuvered around her in a way that makes her feel trapped. He asks her over the loud music if he can get her a drink.
Jewish Tradition Speaks to Need for International Violence Against Women Act
Gender-based violence, exploitation, and violations of human rights pose a dire threat to women’s overall security worldwide.
Why Two Are Better Than One: North America's Reform Movement
A longtime Canadian Reform leader asks: Can Canadians and Americans feel connected to one Jewish movement? Can they feel equally represented by a single organization?
From Generation to Generation
NFTY Missouri Valley Social Action Vice President Jackie Heymann reflects on her experiences at the Religious Action Center's Consultation on Conscience.
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs On Charlottesville
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs on Charlottesville: We Condemn Neo-Nazi hate speech and call for an end to violence; but “Moral Equivalence of violence and hate “on many sides” is troubling. We commend the opening of President Trump’s statement condemning the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence” but are deeply troubled by the moral equivalence evident in President Trump’s statement today.
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,