Legislative Agenda
RAC-OH Reproductive Freedom Campaign
Our sacred right to access life-saving medical care and our religious freedom will be on the ballot this November and you can help put it there! Join the Jewish community from across Ohio to learn more about RAC-OH's Reproductive Freedom Campaign.
If you are ready to take action, sign up to begin collecting signatures.
Reproductive Freedom in Ohio is tenuous. At any moment, the judicial freeze on our state's Six Week Abortion Ban could be overturned and Ohioans will once again lack access to life-saving healthcare. On Monday, March 13th, the Ohio Ballot Board gave our coalition, Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, the green light to begin collecting signatures. Jewish tradition commands us to choose life above all else. Abortion bans threaten the lives of pregnant people and reduce our sacred access to choice. The non-partisan ballot measure will also explicitly protect birth control and fertility treatments, safeguarding our right to choose life, health, and safety. Join us in the fight to regain bodily autonomy and religious freedom - each of us has a stake in this issue. Register to join us on 4/20 today!
This Shabbat is observed as "Repro Shabbat" as we read from Parsha Mishpatim. This Torah text defines a fetus as a potential life - different and distinct from a human life and teaches us to value the pregnant person's life first and foremost. Reproductive Freedom aligns with our Jewish values.
Today, we are proud to share the news that our community has joined Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom in a campaign to pass abortion rights through a ballot amendment this Fall. We invite you to join Reform congregations and others across the state in the fight for reproductive freedom by signing up to volunteer or donate today.
Let this Shabbat call us to act for reproductive freedom and our religious freedom which are both on the line in Ohio. We are building a broad coalition across the state of Ohio and it will take everyone to win. Check out the RAC's NCJW Repro Shabbat resources as you study, pray, and get ready to act this Shabbat.
"We are so energized to have RAC-Ohio and its strong statewide member congregations leading, as part of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a formidable ballot effort to enshrine the explicit right to reproductive care, including abortion, into the Ohio Constitution. Through RAC, Reform Judaism speaks and advocates with bold moral clarity about both the human right and sacred value of bodily autonomy. RAC Ohio's endorsement is hugely significant because, together, unified Ohioans - led by inclusive religious leaders - will make clear why reproductive freedom matters to each of us and must be protected for all." - The Reverend J. Bennett Guess, Executive Director of the ACLU of Ohio, on behalf of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom.
In the weeks ahead, we will be building our Reproductive Freedom Campaign Team, comprised of members just like you from across the state. We need your passion, your resources, and your stories. We expect to begin collecting signatures for the ballot measure along with our partners early this spring.
If you are interested in signing up to volunteer, please fill out this form. Donate to support RAC-OH's Reproductive Freedom campaign.
In selecting Reproductive Freedom as our primary issue this year, RAC Ohio maintains our commitment to #Nodeathpenaltyoh and will still be active in the long-term fight to abolish Ohio's death penalty. Though it did not pass, the bill advanced farther than ever last session and we will be there as it is reintroduced later this year.
Organizing Training
Join the RAC's State Projects for our Don't Kvetch Organize Cohort. Learn how to make social change and grow in leadership and connect with Reform Jews working for justice in your state.
Register now
Registration Deadline: March 31
Early Bird Discount Deadline ($50 off): March 17
Meeting Dates and Topics – meeting Wednesday nights from 7:00-8:30 EST
April 10th: Optional state cohort meeting
April 19th Session 1: Welcome to Don't Kvetch, Organize! & What is Organizing?
April 26th Session 2: Cycle of Organizing & Story of Disability Justice
May 3rd Session 3: Reflections on Racial Justice
Week of May 8th: Week Off
May 17th Session 4: Introduction to your Organizing Project (Ohio Abortion Ballot Initiative)
Week of May 22: Week Off (May 22 - May 28)
May 31st Session 5: Practicing 1:1 Relational meetings
Week of June 5: Week Off (practice 1:1 in real life)
June 5 - June 11 June 14th Session 6: Organizing Project Reflection
Week of June 19: Week Off
June 19 - June 25 June 28th Session 7: Cycle of Organizing Review & Post-Course Survey
July 5th Session 8: Next Steps & Celebration
Post course: State Cohorts Connect in person
Our Partners
We will be continuing our partnerships with the Ohio Transformation Fund, the ACLU, Women of Reform Judaism, and state-wide faith-based organizations as we pursue legislation that supports our key priorities.
RAC-OH Victories
Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison (TCAP) program
Thanks in part to Reform Jews across the state of Ohio, after Shabbat fell on Friday night, June 30, Governor Kasich signed the Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison program (TCAP) into law. TCAP diverts low-level felons away from incarceration in favor of community supervision or treatment and will keep an extra 3,400 people a year in their communities receiving the support and rehabilitation they desperately need.
Senate Bill 66: Record Sealing and Probation Reform
Teshuvah means a return to our true selves, a return to our community and ultimately a return to our Creator. Citizens returning and making teshuvah after prison face a period of probation and a permanent criminal record viewable by prospective employers, lenders, renters etc. Senate Bill 66 (SB66) returns autonomy to judges to treat probation violators within the community. It provides the options of intervention and treatment in lieu of conviction and makes time in prison for violating probation shorter and less likely.
SB66 was the focus of RAC-OH’s first lobby day in 2017. Seventy Reform Jews traveled to Columbus, Ohio to lobby to our representatives to pass this important legislation. The power of the Reform Movement in Ohio shows, as the bill was passed in 2018.
Past Events
Ohio Lobby Days
On October 25, 2017, RAC-OH gathered in Columbus, Ohio to lobby our elected officials on criminal justice reform and other important Jewish issues.
On November 13, 2019, RAC-OH returned to Columbus with a focus on criminal justice reform and preventing gun violence.
Contact Us
Contact Rabbi Lindsey Danziger to learn more and get involved.
RAC-OH Email Sign Up
Learn more about the RAC's key issues and get involved by signing up for the RAC-OH email updates.
Thank you for subscribing to emails from the RAC! Please check your inbox for our emails and to manage your subscription.
Learn More and Get Involved
RAC-OH is led by a Core Team of rabbis and lay leaders. The Core Team meets monthly to discuss state-wide legislative issues, determine opportunities for partnerships, participates in selected actions taken by faith-based organizations, and offers outreach and support to Reform congregations as they engage in social justice work. The Core Team is led by Rabbi Rick Kellner of Congregation Beth Tikvah and Amy Katz, a lay leader and past president of Isaac M. Wise Temple. We are supported by national RAC staff overseen by Joy Friedman, the RAC’s organizing director. Core Team members include Rabbi Allison Vann of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami, Rabbi Josh Caruso and Laura Katz of Anshe Chesed-Fairmount Temple, Rabbi Josh Brown of Temple Israel Akron, Rabbi Karen Bodney Halasz of Temple Israel Dayton, and Maria Rosenthal of Congregation Beth Tikvah.