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Reflecting on Interfaith Issues in Israel
By Joey Rosen
On the plane back from my Year-In-Israel as part of my first year of rabbinical school at HUC-JIR, I had the privilege of sitting next to a man who had participated in a Christian mission trip in Israel. It was a pleasure sharing with him my journey that led me to rabbinical school, a conversation he might have never had before. I also got to enjoy a different perspective on seeing Israel for the first time, as I had no previous knowledge of how a Christian mission trip to Israel works. But before he said ‘God Bless’ and dozed off for the nine hour flight, he made a comment to me about how the Christians of America were cheering for us in our war against the Muslims, who are polluting the land with violence and treachery.
Advocacy 101 from the Daughters of Zelophehad
This Shabbat in parashat Pinchas, we read the story of the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1–11). After Zelophehad died, leaving no sons, his five daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah, went before Moses, Eleazer the priest and the Jewish people and advocated for their rights to inherit the land their father left behind. Based on the logic of their argument, and the need for self-subsistence, God instructed Moses to grant the daughters their land, and set the precedence that hence, women ought to inherit their father’s property if there was no other direct kin. Within the patriarchal structures of Biblical-era society, this is an enormous moment for Jewish women’s empowerment, and this story is applicable today.
Advocacy 101 from the Daughters of Zelophehad
This Shabbat, in parashah Pinchas, we read the story of the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1–11).
Happy 50th Birthday Medicare and Medicaid!
Fifty years ago, on July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act Amendments, which established Medicare and Medicaid and dramatically changed the landscape of health insurance in America. Before the programs went into effect, approximately half of all seniors lacked insurance and many other people, especially people with disabilities, families with children, pregnant women and low-income Americans were unable to afford the medical services they needed. Today, Medicare and Medicaid provide health insurance to about one in three Americans—that’s more than 100 million people!
Reform Movement Condemns Series of Suspicious Church Fires
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Claire Shimberg
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Responding to the Mass Shooting in El Paso, TX
"Clergy colleagues throughout El Paso will faithfully and lovingly hold up the families of the slain and wounded. So too our hearts – indeed the hearts and prayers of all people of good conscience across the nation – are with those families."
Jewish Leaders' Letter to Under Secretary Sigal P. Mandelker
Dear Under Secretary Mandelker,
7 Things to Know About Jewish Genetic Diseases
Genetics may seem complicated, but even simple messaging can go a long way toward informing members of the Jewish community, especially when it comes to genetic disorders that are more common among Jews than in the general population.
Protect LGBT Students from Discrimination
Currently, federal law explicitly protects students from discrimination in school based on race, color, national origin, sex and disability. However, no federal law explicitly protects students from discrimination based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or their association with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
New Report Addresses Racism and Gender in Israel
Several years ago I attended an urgent Knesset session un which MK Danny Danon told a hushed crowd that Jewish girls, mostly new immigrants, were being kidnapped in the middle of the night by Arab men.