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A Prayer for Peace
As Reform Jews, we stand strongly together with our brothers and sisters in Israel. Over the past 48 hours, Hamas has launched a massive barrage of rocket fire on southern and central Israel. At last report, six Israeli civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands more - from Tel Aviv to Beersheba –are confined to bomb shelters. Innocent civilians in Gaza have fallen victim to this latest round of violence as well. Furthermore, the rapid escalation of violence within Israel's own borders between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel is a new, and deeply troubling, development. We pray that calm will be restored soon.
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."
Resources for Understanding the Current Israeli-Palestinian Crisis
While some see this conflict in only stark black and white terms, it is intensely complex. To help navigate this complexity, we offer this resource guide, including material that may be helpful in laying out the context and nuances of this latest round of violence between Hamas and Israel.
A Prayer for Jerusalem
Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, the anniversary of that fateful day in 1967 when the Israeli paratroopers reached the Western Wall and announced: "הר הבית בידנו" -- “The Temple Mount is in our Hands.” That moment ushered in the the promise for Jews everywhere, after years of dreaming and longing, to come and pray before this sacred space.
Ethics Accountability for Sexual Misconduct is Crucial to the Safety of Our Communities
Much communal focus has been appropriately directed at making the places we Jews gather safe from violent attacks by those who wish to cause us harm, from the spread of the deadly coronavirus during the pandemic, and other grave external threats. The time is long overdue, however, to confront an internal threat: abuse, misconduct, especially sexual misconduct in spaces for which the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) is responsible.
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.
This Mother’s Day, Let’s Fight for Black Moms
When my husband and I learned that we were going to be parents, we wondered how the actual birth would go. We had heard some devastating statistics about the maternal mortality rate in the United States. Black women in the United States die from pregnancy-related causes at three to four times the rate of white women, regardless of education, income, or other socioeconomic factors.
Reform Jewish Leader Applauds the Passage of Hate Crimes Legislation
"We celebrate yesterday’s House bipartisan passage of the combined COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act."
To Life: An Israeli Wedding Story
Shira and Ron, two young industrial engineers, approached me this past March, when Israel took its first steps out of the pandemic.