Why I Organized Hundreds of My Peers to Lobby for Gun Violence Prevention in Ohio
On Wednesday, March 14, one month after the mass shooting that killed 17 students and community members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Matthew Youkilis, along with other Reform Jewish students and their classmates organized nea
Executive Order on Gun Violence is a Historic Step Toward Preventing Future Tragedies
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 5, 2016 — In response to the executive order announced today by President Obama to address gun violence, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:
Do Not Stand Idly By the Blood of Your Neighbor
Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, senior rabbi of Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in Mahwah, N.J., attributes his passion for social justice to his youth group and Jewish camping experiences, but it was a personal tragedy that led to his taking up the cause of gun violence
We have a choice to make - will we act to end gun violence?
Last week, Reform Jewish high school students from across the country came to Washington, D.C for the Bernard and Audre Rapaport L’Taken Social Justice Seminar.
How Our Congregation Went Shopping to End Gun Violence
In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, we are inspired by America’s teens and heartened by the leadership businesses are showing to confront gun violence.
These Are Our Neighbors: Remembering Victims of Gun Violence
When I witnessed a gun homicide, I struggled with how best to incorporate my own mourning and my sense of community loss into my Jewish worship.
March Proudly, March with Hope
I am indescribably proud to have marched with the Reform Jewish Movement at the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC. The songs we sang in the morning, and the powerful speeches that the teens leading our work made about their experiences struck a chord in me. I was inspired by the message that my fellow Jewish students sent – that we will not stand idly by as our country suffers from an epidemic of gun violence. But more profoundly, I reflected on the impact of the violence that affects many of us in our schools and communities in one form or another. I was struck by how deeply these tragedies can mark us, forcing us to grow up in a matter of minutes or days, dramatically shifting our worldviews and understandings of identity.
A Prayer Amid Gun Violence
Guardian of life, liberty, and the promise of peace, may our nation always merit Your protection.
Just Because Something is Normal Doesn't Mean We Have to Accept It
Last weekend, Harvey McGuinness participated in the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism's L'Taken Social Justice Seminar, which brings teens from across the country to Washington, D.C., to learn about social justice, advocacy, and Jewish values.