Tagged URJ

Why 2 Jewish women say they joined the Women’s March steering committee

Abby Stein, left (Debra Nussbaum Cohen); April Baskin (URJ)
January 16, 2019 / Debra Nussbaum Cohen, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — April Baskin, one of three Jewish women newly appointed to the Women’s March Inc. steering committee, says it is unrealistic to expect co-founder Tamika Mallory to explicitly condemn Louis Farrakhan for his anti-Semitism. There is “a long history of asking black leaders to condemn each… Read more »

Rabbi David Wolfman to help lead Temple Emanu-El services for the High Holy Days
September 5, 2018 /
Rabbi David S. Wolfman

Rabbi David S. Wolfman will help officiate High Holy Day services this year at Temple Emanu-El, along with Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Cantorial Soloist Marjorie Hochberg, and the High Holy Days Choir under the direction of RobertLopez-Hanshaw. Currently, Wolfman is the founder and principal of David S. Wolfman Consulting, LLC:… Read more »

Reform and Conservative leaders to Israeli president: We want equal rights

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, left, met U.S. Jewish religious leaders, including Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, in New York, Dec. 11, 2015. (Courtesy of the Union for Reform Judaism)
December 11, 2015 / Uriel Heilman, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) – It was all hugs and smiles when Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met Friday with leaders of America’s three main Jewish denominations at an event hosted by UJA-Federation of New York. But when it came time to speak, the Reform and Conservative leaders made clear they… Read more »

Jewish Tucson keeps ex-engineer humming
September 26, 2014 / Sarah Chen, Special to the AJP
Simon Rosenblatt

Simon Rosenblatt is emphatic as he speaks about volunteering with the Tucson Jewish community: “Make no mistake, Jewish Tucson is our family.” Rosenblatt spreads his energy and time across a trifecta of local and national Jewish efforts: Temple Emanu-El, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Union for Reform… Read more »

Reform Judaism tries for a ‘reboot’ in face of daunting challenges
December 17, 2013 / Uriel Heilman, JTA
A group of women hold hands around the Torah during the Shabbat morning service at the Union for Reform Judaism's biennial conference in San Diego, Dec. 14, 2013. (URJ)

SAN DIEGO (JTA) – What do you get when you bring together 5,000 of the Reform movement’s faithful for a conference in sunny San Diego in mid-December? Four days of singing, learning, schmoozing and worrying at a gathering that seemed equal parts pep rally and intervention session. For pep,… Read more »

Local donations help JFNA Terror Relief Fund for Israelis
February 21, 2013

In response to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) joined with the Union for Reform Judaism and several other Jewish organizations to create one coordinated campaign to raise relief funds for Israel. To date, the JFNA Terror Relief Fund has… Read more »

Talking trash: leadership camp is ecological eye-opener
September 1, 2011 / Haley Roberts, Special to the AJP

When presented with the opportunity to A) go on a summer trip to Europe, or B) go to a Jewish leadership camp, you could only imagine the look on my parents’ faces when I chose option B! Priceless! This summer I ventured across the country to upstate New York… Read more »

For new Reform leader Richard Jacobs, big tent movement is the idea
March 23, 2011 / Uriel Heilman, JTA
Rabbi Richard Jacobs of Scarsdale, N.Y. was tapped to be the new president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Union for Reform Judaism)

NEW YORK (JTA) — For the man tapped to lead American Jewry’s largest religious denomination, keeping the movement’s 900-plus synagogues welcoming to the unaffiliated, inspiring for members and a home for disaffected traditional Jews may require a high-wire balancing act. As a former dancer and choreographer, Rabbi Richard Jacobs… Read more »