Displaying 1 - 10 of 36
Reform Movement Horrified by Fort Hood Shooting
Rachel Laser: "The Talmud teaches us, 'He who takes one life it is as though he has destroyed the universe.' The loss of so many lives is not just devastating - it is unacceptable.
Response to shooting in Kansas City: A Modern Plague of Violence
Tonight at our Seder tables teeming with life, we pause with heavy hearts as we grieve with the families of those killed yesterday in the shootings that took place in a Jewish Community Center and a nearby Jewish senior living community in Overland Park, Kansas.
Reform Movement Horrified by Fort Hood Shooting
In response to yesterday's tragic shooting at Fort Hood in Killeen, TX, Rachel Laser, Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
A Victory Against Hate and Violence in Israel
For the first time in Israel’s history, a rabbi has been criminally convicted on charges of incitement to violence.
Position of the Reform Movement on Sudan and Darfur
The Reform Jewish Movement has been quite vocal on the issue of universal human rights.
Reform Movement Urges Co-Sponsorship of Safe Schools and Non-Discrimination Legislation
Rabbi David Saperstein: "As Jews, our tradition and history teach us that we should not stand by as others suffer- we envision a government which 'to bigotry gives no sanction, to persecution no assistance' (George Washington, in a letter to Moses Seixas, 1790).
This Purim, Make Noise to Protest Modern-Day Hamans
We know that religious freedom is not a lesson from ancient stories, but an ongoing quest even today. While many of us are fighting antisemitism in our home countries, we are also in solidarity with the Rohingya people, who have been persecuted for decades.
Legislative Update on Criminal Justice
Sentencing Reform As part of a growing tough-on-crime attitude in the 1980s, legislators at the state and federal levels passed a myriad of new laws imposing harsh mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of crimes, most notably for nonviolent drug offenses.
Position of the Reform Movement on Mental Health
Mental health is an important issue for the Reform Movement. In 2001, the URJ passed a resolution titled, "Establishing a Comprehensive System of Care for Persons with Mental Illness.” The resolution urges the URJ to address mental health issues that exist in many arenas of society.
Background on HIV/AIDS in the US
HIV is an epidemic, increasingly affecting more and more people each and every day. It is estimated that at least one American teenager is infected with HIV every hour of every day.