Reform Movement
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
By Shelley Niceley Groff, 3/27/2019
WRJ's YES (Youth, Education, and Special Projects) Fund granted $10,000 to support the 2019 NFTY Convention held in Dallas, Texas in January 2019. Empowering the next generation of Reform Jewish youth (l'dor vador) has been a core value of WRJ since helping to found NFTY in 1929. NFTY Convention for me is like a proverbial “shot in the arm.” As the URJ’s lay leader for youth, I get to work closely with the URJ Youth professional team on engaging young Reform Jews and developing today’s and tomorrow’s young leaders. Seeing them in action at NFTY Convention fills me with energy, hope,... Read More
By Rabbi Marla Feldman, WRJ Executive Director, 3/21/2019
Earlier this month an intrepid group of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) leaders traveled to Israel to participate in the 30th anniversary celebration of Women of the Wall’s (WOW) gallant efforts to carve out a space at the Kotel for pluralistic women’s prayer. Sadly, what should have been a joyous celebration was instead a harsh reminder of the challenges faced by progressive Jews in our beloved homeland as we were confronted by a violent mob of extremists determined to block our prayer. We will be processing that experience for some time to come. Despite that shocking and dreadful display... Read More
By Alyson Malinger, 3/07/2019
As our mission statement says, Women of Reform Judaism is dedicated to creating caring communities, nurturing congregations, and cultivating personal and spiritual growth. We achieve these goals by using our collective voice to speak up and advocate for change. I was given the immense honor of representing WRJ in the U.S. Capitol last week as we celebrated the 9th annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day (JDAD). JDAD is an opportunity for professionals and lay leaders from Jewish organizations and diverse communities from around the United States to come to Capitol Hill and advocate with,... Read More
By Sara Charney, 11/28/2018
Abraham Geiger College, one of WRJ’s YES Fund recipients, asked WRJ to send a representative to Berlin for the 80th anniversary commemorative events of Kristallnacht, including special services, concerts, art exhibitions and panel discussions. It was my honor to be representing WRJ at these events. November 9, 2018 We began the day with Rosh Chodesh Kislev services organized by Abraham Geiger College. The service was led by a graduate of the cantorial program, a current cantorial student, and one of WRJ’s grantees at Geiger College, rabbinical student Jasmin Adriani. This was the... Read More
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