Reform Movement
By Courtney Johnson-Benson of Temple Israel Sisterhood, Canton, Ohio, 1/22/2021
This is such a heavy topic to unpack. We must have difficult conversations to move past bias and truly understand what privilege is by peeling back the layers of institutional racism and oppression. So, what are bias and privilege? Implicit or unconscious bias operates outside of the person's awareness and can be in direct contradiction to a person's adopted beliefs and values. What is so dangerous about implicit bias is that it automatically seeps into a person's behavior and is outside of that person's full awareness. Part of learning about unconscious bias means... Read More
By Arlene Pressman, Temple Shalom in Newton, MA, 1/22/2021
Today, January 22, is the 48th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. For nearly half a century, Roe has afforded countless Americans moral agency and bodily autonomy. Today, the future of reproductive rights is under threat, a result of hundreds of federal and state restrictions and court decisions that have chipped away at Roe. Even in my home state of Massachusetts, a state often lauded as an example in the struggle for reproductive rights, there have been significant restrictions on abortion rights since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The... Read More
By Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, 2/24/2020
The first few days of the WRJ 2020 Israel mission have been full of new and interesting visits. We spent Erev Shabbat with the community of Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv, where we were welcomed like old friends, and in fact, many of us saw old friends there. Beit Daniel is the hub of Reform Movement activity in Tel Aviv, and we were delighted to learn about their inspiring programs over Shabbat dinner with Rabbi Meir Azari and Rabbi Galia Sadan. Shabbat morning began with a beautiful worship service led by our special guest, Rabbi Lisa Silverstein. We had a bit of time to explore the center of... Read More
By Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, 2/18/2020
Attending the Conference of Presidents annual Israel mission is both a marathon and a sprint. You have to pace yourself for the overwhelming number of experts, government leaders, entrepreneurs, and military leaders that we meet with while packing everything into just a few days. Within the first 24 hours we met with the Israeli Prime Minister, President of Israel, and numerous MKs (Members of Knesset), visited Mobileye, a high tech company developing autonomous cars, and heard from panels of experts on Israeli technology, cybersecurity, higher education, regional security, missile... Read More
By Ally Karpel, 12/03/2019
In the spring of 2019, an alarming surge in anti-abortion legislation took place in state legislatures across the U.S. Nine states enacted gestational age bans on abortion, many as early as 6 weeks -- before most individuals even know they are pregnant. Fortunately, all bans have been blocked by federal judges from taking effect for the time being. Four states adopted legislation that would ban abortion immediately in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade, joining eight other states that already had so-called “... Read More
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