The Black Jews Are Tired
As fulfilling as it was to engage in Shavuot programs, a lot weighs on me. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage Black communities and racist violence all over the news, I almost feel like it’s Yom Kippur instead – the time when Jews are supposed to be most aware of their own mortality.
Ways Reform Jews Can Act Now for Racial Justice
Here are eight ways that white Reform Jews, especially, can act now in pursuit of social justice, both directly on a systemic level. These includes advocacy for policy change and for confronting racism within our own communities, and are guided by contributions and feedback from Jews of Color.
A Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous World
When the world is changing quickly, unpredictably, in new and confusing ways, it seems to be human nature for us to look for ways to try and slow down that change or control it. Or, failing that, we look for someone to blame.
Some in our great nation, in this "VUCA" world, are falling back on the oldest scapegoat in the world, in a desperate move to try to slow the rate of confusing change. They want us to blame 200,000 El Salvadorians who fled earthquakes and gang violence 16 years ago. They want us to blame the 800,000 "DREAMers"-- young people who were brought to this country as children by their parents. They want us to blame the 11 million undocumented residents of this nation who live in the shadows, all while working hard, raising American children, contributing greatly to our nation and, oh, by the way, committing crimes at a much lower rate than native-born American citizens.
Why I Am a Zionist for Black Lives Matter
As an Israeli citizen and white citizen of the United States, I believe that Black Lives Matter – and that no American of good conscience can simply opt out of engaging with the pervasive issue of racism in America. If we will it, it is no dream.
Sheltering in Place: Tents and Torah
My boys are making forts using all the pillows in the house. They strong-armed my husband into setting up our camping tent outside, and they sit there as the day grows hot. They are slinging blankets over couches, pulling mattresses off the frames: they are sheltering in place...
Promised Land Delayed: Meet the Jewish Suffragist Who Changed History
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
Resolution Urging the Israeli Government Not to Carry Out Unilateral West Bank Annexation
As a proud Zionist movement, we hold the value of Ahavat Yisrael – love for the people, the Land, and the State of Israel – as core to who we are as Jews. Our abiding commitment to the security of Israel, to the special relationship between Israel and both the U.S. and Canada, to the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel, and to the importance of Jewish values in shaping our policies and priorities lead us to express our alarm at the possible unilateral annexation by Israel of areas of the West Bank.