Reform Movement
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
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
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