CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on Attacks on Reform Jews in Israel

Posted on September 30, 2026 by The CCAR

September 30, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is appalled by a series of violent attacks on Reform congregations in Israel and on worshipers. Four of these attacks took place at Kehilat Kol HaNeshama in Jerusalem and a fifth at Congregation Darchei Noam in Ramat HaSharon. At Kol HaNeshama, hooligans smashed a window, damaged a work of art, tore down the Pride flag hanging in the sanctuary, threw eggs at worshipers arriving for Rosh HaShanah prayers, and attacked the synagogue again on Yom Kippur. At Darchei Noam, a heavy stone was hurled through a window.

In each instance, reports were made to police. Though several arrests have been made at this point, no member of the governing coalition, the Israel Police, or the Jerusalem government has condemned this extremist violence targeting Reform congregations and worshipers.

CCAR rabbis who are members of MARAM, the Council of Reform Rabbis in Israel, valiantly led their congregations to take steps to protect their congregations while continuing to attend the synagogue for Shabbat and Holy Day worship. In the words of Rabbi David Sperber, a member of Kehilat Kol HaNeshama, “Rabbi Oded Mazor and Rabbi Debi Shoua-Haim asked us to keep an open eye—but also to be careful not to suspect without cause anyone who comes to know us and support us. That is precisely the Judaism we are guarding: resolute against violence, with an open gate for every person.”

Reform rabbis worldwide demand that the Israeli government speak out against violence and task the Israel Police to protect Reform congregations, rabbis, and worshipers. So too, the mayor of Jerusalem must publicly condemn such behavior perpetrated upon inhabitants of his city. Anti-Reform incitement flows from the highest levels of Israel’s government, creating a structure of permission for the violence that must stop now.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

CCAR statements are grounded in the history of CCAR resolutions and platforms. We strive to represent the overall voice of the CCAR leadership and the Reform rabbinate on critical issues of the day. The CCAR is a diverse community of rabbis, and we recognize the multiplicity of viewpoints that exist within our membership. We encourage those of differing perspectives to engage in respectful dialogue. It is our hope that these statements provide the Reform community with deeper understanding of important issues that impact our lives as Jews and as global citizens.

Back to CCAR Statements

A Post-High Holy Day Thank You from the CCAR

Posted on September 22, 2026 by The CCAR

September 24, 2026

יה עוז לעמו יתן יה יברך את עמו בשלום

May strength be granted to God’s people; may God bless our people with peace.
Psalm 29:11

As we mark the end of the 5787 High Holy Days season, we wish to acknowledge CCAR rabbis, who have done so much to make the New Year meaningful, engaging, and inspiring. The resilience and resoluteness that you have shown in a time of great division and insecurity is praiseworthy. Your efforts and commitments to the Jewish community have enabled all of us to thrive.

In too many synagogues and Jewish organizations in North America and worldwide, you have spent tremendous personal and communal resources to keep Jewish communities safe. You have even become security experts, because security has become a sacred role, too. Your work on behalf of the Jewish community makes a difference.

Despite these additional demands, those who serve as k’lei kodesh still led prayer, sang, preached, taught, comforted, and moved the Jewish people. You enabled us to reflect, challenged us to think deeply, spurred us to new insights, and gave us renewed hope. You brought the best of your training and experience in this increasingly challenging time, and we are so grateful.

On behalf of the rabbis of the CCAR, we extend our appreciation to all our partners; the cantors, educators, lay volunteers, and professional staff who shared in the sacred work that benefits us all. Special thanks to police officers and security staff who secured our buildings and sanctuaries, sometimes even putting themselves in harm’s way.

And one additional note of thanks to all those who made the choice to join a Jewish community on the High Holy Days, to worship, study, celebrate, and observe with us. We entered our sanctuaries with our own hopes, fears, pain, doubt, and joy, and we became a sacred community that strengthened each other and continued a chain of tradition begun so long ago.

What a blessing to gather, again, for the High Holy Days. We wish everyone, and all the world, a shanah tovah um’tukah, a New Year of blessing, joy, and peace.

Rabbi David Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on Texas Public School Bible Readings Requirement

Posted on July 1, 2026 by The CCAR

July 1, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis deplores the directive by Texas’s State Board of Education (SBOE), requiring specific Bible readings at nearly every grade level in Texas public schools. The requirement represents a state establishment of religion, which is a gross violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

CCAR rabbis in Texas have vigorously opposed this unconstitutional requirement together with their professional colleagues, members of the communities they serve, and staff leaders of RAC-Texas, a project of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. They have worked in concert with an array of interfaith leaders and church-state separation advocates of every faith and none.

Members of the SBOE majority and advocates for the new requirement frequently invoked the supposed Judeo-Christian foundations of our nation as justification for requiring Bible readings in Texas public school. The term “Judeo-Christian” offensively subsumes Judaism as a subset of Christianity and obscures critical differences between the two religions. America’s founders, who professed a variety of religious views, agreed that our nation should be based on the US Constitution rather than on any religion. A requirement by the SBOE that calls for readings most often from an antiquated Hebrew translation (JPS, 1917) and Christian renderings from the Christian Scripture (New Testament), discriminates against Texas Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, among adherents of many other religions.

Mandating Bible readings in public schools reveals the failure of SBOE’s expectations that the Bible would be lived and taught at home before children ever arrive at school. In Judaism, the home is called a “mikdash m’at,” a small sanctuary dedicated to faith and its lessons for living. Children whose parents and grandparents model faith at home will be the beneficiaries of their faith’s deepest lessons and hopes for them. It must be up to the family to school students in their respective faiths or no faith, if they so choose, just as it should be the responsibility of the education system to teach the essential lessons about the roles of math, science, literature, history, and other subjects in an ever-rapidly changing world.

Reform rabbis call on the SBOE to rescind its unconstitutional requirement. Failing that, we demand that our nation’s courts prohibit its enforcement.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on Antisemitism in Canada

Posted on June 8, 2026 by The CCAR

June 8, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis, today a world-wide organization of Reform rabbis, deplores the continuing antisemitic violence facing Canadian Jewish individuals as well as synagogues, among a range of Jewish institutions. Among those attacked have been two synagogues served by CCAR rabbis: Temple Emanu-El of North York, Ontario, where shots were fired, and Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal, Quebec, which survived a largely unsuccessful arson attempt just this past Friday morning.

CCAR rabbis among Jewish leaders across Canada have been speaking out boldly, naming antisemitism wherever it is found and calling for strong government action to stop the violence and the incitement that causes it. Harsh criticism of Israel from the Canadian government has too often created a permission structure for antisemitism across Canada.

On Monday, June 1, Prime Minister Mark Carney went to Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple, a congregation led by CCAR rabbis including Senior Rabbi Yael Splansky, to deliver a national address confronting antisemitism. The prime minister is to be commended for naming antisemitism clearly as a unique scourge in Canada and a rupture in the nation’s civic compact. He neither downplayed nor denied the problem, nor did he deflect attention from it by grouping it with other forms of hatred. He proposed a bill targeting hate crimes, hate speech, and obstruction of houses of worship. He instructed law enforcement and government prosecutors to prosecute antisemitic vandalism and violence aggressively, and several arrests have been made in the days following his address. He also allocated seventy-five million dollars to security grants to protect houses of worship.

Prime Minister Carney announced the formation of a Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion, with a mandate to include antisemitism among the forms of racism and hate the Council is created to confront.

Critics rightly note that Prime Minister Carney failed to name anti-Israel, anti-Zionist activism as a proximate cause of growing antisemitism in Canada. The prime minister himself has been hypercritical of Israel in ways that are utilized to justify horrific antisemitism.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis calls on Prime Minister Carney and all Canadian federal, provincial, and local municipalities to be consistently vigilant, enforcing existing laws as well as the pending bill which is expected to become law in the days ahead. We conclude with the words of our CCAR colleague Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, after the Friday attack on the Montreal synagogue she leads: “Responding requires being proactive, not reactive. Naming the ways in which external conflicts are being imported. Recognizing that while criticism of Israel can be legitimate, when the Jewish State and those who love it are libelled, violence against Jews is the result… Politicians need courage. Law enforcement needs support. Neighbourhoods need good neighbours.”

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement of Gratitude to Law Enforcement Response to Antisemitic Violence

Posted on May 20, 2026 by The CCAR

May 20, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis and Reform rabbis are horrified that antisemitic threats have become so commonplace that they are increasingly routine in communities we serve. Jewish life is frequently disrupted and fear multiplied by credible threats. Yet, in the shadow of hatred, we continue to show up, bravely, to gather, worship, and celebrate our community and culture, usually surrounded by security.

Just this week, we learned of the arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-backed terrorist charged with plotting deadly attacks against Jewish communities across North America and Europe. The scope of the alleged plot is breathtaking, seeking to murder large numbers of Jews, Israelis, and non-Jewish Americans in cities throughout the United States, Canada, and in Europe, including at an unspecified New York synagogue. The Central Conference of American Rabbis expresses both horror and gratitude upon learning of the arrest.

While some attacks attributed to al-Saadi and his coconspirators have already been carried out in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium, including the arson of Hatzalah ambulances in London that seriously injured two Jewish men, global law enforcement led by the FBI thwarted the gravest dangers of the plot. Notably, al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey and turned over to American authorities for prosecution, Turkey’s antipathy toward Israel notwithstanding.

The CCAR commends local, state, federal, and international law enforcement, working diligently and cooperatively to stop threats from becoming deadly, including Secure Communities Network amidst the Jewish communal apparatus that works with law enforcement to prevent violence.

The CCAR is grateful to the Jewish professional colleagues and lay leaders of our communities who regularly guard and protect Jewish institutions and collaborate with CCAR rabbis to safeguard the communities we lead and serve together. We give thanks for the professionals and volunteers who regularly guard and protect Jewish institutions. To meet these needs, we stand with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism among a coalition of advocacy organizations calling for increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

The CCAR also expresses gratitude for the Jewish Federations of North America and more than 400 Jewish leaders, including members of the CCAR, advocating in Washington, DC for $1 billion in funding to help secure and protect houses of worship and faith-based institutions across America.

We pray for the day when Jewish communal resources that must currently be dedicated to security may again be allocated to תורה עבודה וגמילות חסדים (Torah, avodah ugmilut chasadim), to the Torah, sacred worship, and the performance of acts of lovingkindness.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Back to CCAR Statements

Reform Movement Joint Statement on Death Penalty for Terrorists Law Passed by the Knesset

Posted on March 31, 2026 by The CCAR

March 31, 2026

The Reform Movement strongly condemns the Knesset’s passage of the “Death Penalty for Terrorists Law.” This legislation represents a sharp and dangerous departure from Israel’s long-standing reluctance to employ capital punishment, used only in the most extraordinary circumstances in the state’s history. It also contradicts the Jewish tradition’s teachings about capital punishment that emphasize the rarity with which it should be applied.

We recognize, unequivocally, Israel’s right and obligation to defend its citizens from terror and violence. We mourn all those who have suffered devastating loss through the many terrorist attacks Israelis have suffered. At the same time, we affirm that the pursuit of justice must never abandon the core values that define a democratic and Jewish state.

Jewish tradition is unambiguous in its insistence on equal justice under the law:
“תּוֹרָה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח וְלַגֵּר” — “There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger” (Exodus 12:49). Any system of justice that is applied unevenly—whether in law or in practice— as this new law effectively does, undermines both democracy and Torah. It also raises legitimate questions of racism: As many have noted, the law’s provisions are such that Baruch Goldstein, the 1994 notorious, Jewish murderer of 29 Palestinians at prayer, would all but certainly not have been held to account under this law’s terms. And in this moment when Jewish extremists are acting with greater violence against Palestinians, typically with little or no accountability, this law further shames Israel’s justice system. Moreover, this legislation appears to be driven not by legitimate security needs but by political considerations. Security professionals have long questioned the deterrent value of capital punishment in cases of terrorism, and many argue that such measures risk inflaming tensions rather than enhancing safety. We are also horrified that some proponents of this law have chosen to wear noose pins on their lapels—a symbol that reflects a spirit of retribution rather than justice, and one that diminishes the moral seriousness required in matters of life and death.

The Reform Movement has long opposed the use of the death penalty. Rooted in our understanding of Torah and rabbinic tradition, we affirm the inherent dignity of every human being and the fallibility of any human system of judgment. The rabbis of the Talmud so constrained the use of capital punishment that they effectively rendered it nearly impossible to carry out, teaching that a court that executes even rarely is to be regarded with grave concern.

At a time of profound pain and fear, it is precisely our deepest values that must guide us. Policies of irreversible punishment risk further erosion of moral authority, escalation of violence, and damage to Israel’s democratic character and global standing.

We urge Israel’s leaders to reconsider this legislation, to uphold the principles of equal justice, and to pursue policies that ensure security while preserving the moral and democratic foundations of the State of Israel.

Union for Reform Judaism
Shelley Niceley Groff, Chair(she/her)
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President(he/him)

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David Lyon, President (he/him)
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive (she/hers)

American Conference of Cantors
Cantor Josh Breitzer, President (he/him)
Rachel Roth, Chief Executive Officer (she/her)

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Grieves the Death of Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, ז״ל

Posted on March 4, 2026 by The CCAR

March 4, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is in mourning in the wake of the tragic and untimely death of our teacher, our colleague, and our friend, Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, ז״ל. A prolific scholar whose life and learning were her students’ greatest texts, Rabbi Dr. Weiss shaped a generation of Reform rabbis as Professor of Bible at Hebrew Union College in New York. She would go on to assume a transformative and pioneering leadership role, becoming the first woman to ordain rabbis and cantors at our Reform Movement’s flagship seminary. As Provost, Head of Seminary Programs, and Rabbinical School Director, Rabbi Dr. Weiss guided rabbinical education into a new era with creativity and rigor.

With the Women of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, PhD, and URJ Press under the leadership of Rabbi Hara Person, Rabbi Dr. Weiss oversaw a mammoth project that became a significant contribution to the Jewish canon: The Torah: A Women’s Commentary (CCAR Press, 2008), winner of the National Jewish Book Council’s 2008 Jewish Book of the Year Award. Later, she marshaled scholarship and relationships to speak to divisive moments in American life with two volumes of American Values, Religious Voices.

Reform rabbis will miss Rabbi Dr. Weiss’s menschlichkeit, brilliance, compassion, wisdom, integrity, eagerness to learn, and so much more. A rabbi’s rabbi, she was a generous teacher, mentor, and friend who truly loved her students and was invested in their successes. The loss to our Reform Movement is enormous. The grief of those who were ordained by her and of her faculty and staff colleagues is tremendous.

Andrea’s CCAR family extends deepest sympathy to her beloved husband Alan Tauber, to their children Rebecca and Ilan, to her father Marty Weiss; to her siblings Mitch, Laura, and Robert (Catherine Corrigan), and to her wide circle of friends and colleagues.

The memory of Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, ז״ל, will always be a blessing.

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

A Personal Note from Rabbi Hara Person

If you are lucky, you may encounter someone who winds up impacting you in ways that are unimaginable in the moment. Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss was one such person for me. Andrea was invited in by Rabbi Dr. Tamara Eskenazi to work on The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, a project I had the privilege to oversee. Andrea, then a young scholar who did not yet have tenure, came in first as the Assistant Editor, and then ultimately became the Associate Editor. Through that long and often involved process of creating the book, Andrea became a dear friend and colleague. I came to admire her tenacity, her incredible drive, her high level of organization and astonishing attention to detail, and her subtle sense of humor. It was a huge honor to work with Andrea and Tamara, and the sense of pride and accomplishment we all felt when the book was not just done, but lauded and celebrated, was tremendous. The book was the initial glue that connected us, but our relationship as personal friends and professional colleagues continued on as we moved through our careers, both becoming “firsts” as women in our fields, figuring out how to balance parenting with professional responsibilities, and sharing our successes and challenges. Like so many in our rabbinic community and beyond, I will deeply miss my friend and colleague Rabbi Dr. Andrea Weiss, and am profoundly grateful for all the ways that she generously shared her bountiful gifts with us.

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement in Time of War

Posted on March 2, 2026 by The CCAR

March 2, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis stands with the people of Israel, under attack from Iran and its allies in response to the Israeli-American attack on the oppressive Iranian regime and its nuclear threat. Apartments, synagogues, and shelters have been hit, leading to loss of life and injury. Reform rabbis grieve each death and pray that the injured will be blessed with רפואה שלימה (r’fuah shleimah, complete healing). We are in awe of the efforts of Israeli civil society to assure that Israelis care for one another at this trying time.

Since Shabbat morning, Israelis have repeatedly rushed to their shelters and safe rooms, seeking safety. Missile, rocket, and drone attacks do not distinguish between combatants and civilians or between Jews and Palestinians. Everyone in Israel and the West Bank is living under mortal threat. We are particularly concerned for the welfare of Bedouin citizens living in villages not recognized by the government and Palestinians in the West Bank who lack the security offered by bomb shelters.

The hearts of CCAR members outside of Israel are united with those of our Israeli colleagues, Reform rabbis who are members of both the CCAR and MARAM, the Council of Israeli Reform Rabbis, and members of the communities they serve throughout the IMPJ and beyond. Whether seeking shelter or serving in the Israel Defense Forces, our Israeli colleagues are also providing pastoral care to their communities at a terrifying time. Our thoughts turn toward our future rabbinic and cantorial colleagues who are students in the Year-in-Israel program at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem and of their family members abroad, including CCAR members, who pray for their safety from afar. Our hearts turn, too, to the safety of the American servicepeople involved in this action and the families who await their safe return, as well as to the well-being of all the innocent Iranians.

We pray that the time will soon come when the prophecy is fulfilled:

וכתתו חרבתיהם לאתים וחניתתיהם למזמרות

לא-ישא גוי אל-גוי חרב ולא-ילמדו עוד מלחמה.

וישבו איש תחת גפנו ותחת תאנתו ואין מחריד.

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not take up sword against nation; They shall never again know war; but every family shall sit under its own vine and fig tree, with no one to make them afraid” (Micah 4:4).

Rabbi David A. Lyon, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Back to CCAR Statements

Reform Movement Statement on War Against Iran

Posted on March 1, 2026 by The CCAR

Sunday, March 1

At this perilous moment as the U.S. and Israel are at war against Iran, we stand in solidarity with our Israeli siblings—including soldiers of the IDF—American service members, and all innocent civilians throughout the region who are in harm’s way, including the brave Iranians who have taken to the streets to demand freedom from a tyrannical regime. There are many questions about the lead-up to this war and the way the U.S. Congress has been prevented from fulfilling its constitutional role in making the decision to wage it. And yet, there can be little doubt that Iran has been a malign force against its own people and against Israel, America, the global Jewish people, and so many others in the region and beyond.

Despite international pressure and a devastating attack last summer by Israel and the U.S., Iran continues to foment global violence and instability and, by many accounts, pursue ever-greater nuclear capabilities. Now, for the second time in eight months, the U.S. and Israel are acting with military force to address the threats posed by this dangerous and oppressive regime.

The time is past due for Iran to halt decades of violent, worldwide provocations and aggression—including the threat of nuclear weapons development. And, like countless others within Iran and beyond, we dream of an end to the repression that has kept Iranians from living freely for more than four decades. We were inspired by the resistance shown by Iranians in recent months and deeply pained by the regime’s violent response that took the lives of an unknown number of protestors—likely many tens of thousands.

We had deeply hoped that conflicts between the U.S. and Iran would have been resolved diplomatically. We also have serious concerns about the Administration’s lack of full engagement with Congress in launching this war. Across the highest levels of military, diplomatic, and defense circles, many are questioning whether we have a clear, thought-out strategy to ensure our military power achieves our intended goals. 

Many in our congregations, the Jewish community, and the broader American public want to see regime change to support the people of Iran, eliminate threats to security, and enhance regional stability. While they may recognize that war is not the remedy for every conflict, they believe a case can be made that military force is justified in this moment, and are both deeply concerned about and committed to a successful outcome to the approach that has been taken.

This war has already led to loss of life among innocents in Iran and Israel alike. We are especially pained by the deaths and injuries within Israel as a result of Iranian missiles which have landed in the last day. We are praying for healing for all those who are wounded and comfort for the bereaved. And we are keeping in our hearts those in the direct line of Iranian missiles who are forced to seek safety in bomb shelters—as well as Palestinians who do not have access to shelters—at this very moment.

We urge U.S. leaders, including President Trump and Pentagon officials, to act with the utmost care in ensuring that this military operation is undertaken with minimal harm to innocent Iranian civilians, and call on the President to maintain clarity on the goals of this war and what achievements will mark its end. We also strongly support congressional oversight of any war to maintain the checks and balances that are the hallmark of our system of government.

We do not know how or when this war will end. Until that day, we look to the ancient words of our tradition:

Ufros aleinu sukkat shlomecha—And spread over us the shelter of Your peace.

Baruch atah Adonai shomer amo Yisrael v’kol yoshvei teivel la’ad—Blessed are You, Adonai, who watches over Your people Israel, and all Your children everywhere, forever.

Union for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President
Shelley Niceley Groff (she/her), Chair

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David Lyon (he/him), President
Rabbi Hara Person (she/hers), Chief Executive

American Conference of Cantors
Cantor Josh Breitzer (he/him), President
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Executive Officer

Men of Reform Judaism
Larry Pepper (he/him), President
Steven Portnoy (he/him), Executive Director

Women of Reform Judaism
Karen Sim (she/her), President 
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch (she/her), CEO

Back to CCAR Statements

Reform Jewish Movement Condemns Knesset Vote to Criminalize Egalitarian Prayer at the Western Wall

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Tamar Anitai

February 26, 2026

The Reform Movement unequivocally condemns the preliminary vote in the Israeli Knesset to advance legislation that would criminalize egalitarian Jewish worship at the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest and most enduring symbols. If enacted, the proposed bill by MK Avi Maoz of the far-right Noam party would render forms of Jewish prayer not sanctioned by the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate punishable by up to seven years in prison.

This alarming proposal represents an unprecedented attempt to criminalize mainstream Jewish worship in the Jewish state. It is a direct affront to Jews in Israel, North America, and across the globe who pray in egalitarian settings.

The Kotel does not belong to one stream of Judaism. It is a national symbol and a spiritual inheritance of the entire Jewish people. The existence of a dignified egalitarian prayer space alongside gender-segregated sections does not diminish the rights of Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews to worship according to their tradition. Religious freedom in Israel must not be treated as a zero-sum proposition.

The global implications of this bill cannot be overstated. Outside Israel—especially in North America—85 percent of Jews worship in egalitarian communities. Criminalizing those forms of prayer at Judaism’s holiest accessible site would alienate millions of Jews from the State of Israel at a time when Jewish unity is both fragile and essential. Only months ago, at the October 2025 World Zionist Congress, representatives of global Jewish communities overwhelmingly supported restoring direct access to the Ezrat Yisrael—the section designated for egalitarian worship. This legislation moves decisively in the opposite direction.

At the same time, this is not primarily a Diaspora issue. The bill would directly harm and potentially imprison Israelis who choose pluralistic expressions of Judaism or who visit the Kotel and its outer plaza for heritage visits, IDF ceremonies, and tourism. The number of Israelis seeking egalitarian prayer continues to grow. This legislation would label their Judaism illegitimate and even criminal.

The debate over this legislation raises a fundamental question: Will Israel be a state of the Jewish people—or a state for only one interpretation of Judaism? For North American Jews, engagement on this issue is not interference; it is investment. Jewish sovereignty must reflect the diversity, dignity, and shared destiny of the Jewish people everywhere.

This proposal risks setting a broader precedent. If codified, it could embolden efforts to restrict recognition of non-Orthodox conversions, limit public funding for pluralistic institutions, and expand rabbinic court jurisdiction in ways that further erode religious freedom. This is not an isolated fight but part of a larger ideological project.

We call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use his authority to prevent this legislation from advancing and to instruct members of his coalition to reject this brazen attempt to criminalize egalitarian prayer. Enacting such a law would severely damage Klal Yisrael—the unity of the Jewish people—and undermine Israel’s foundational commitment to freedom of religion and conscience.

The Reform Movement remains steadfast in our love for and commitment to the State of Israel. Precisely because of that commitment, we will continue to advocate for a Zionism that reflects the full diversity of the Jewish people and safeguards the right of every Jew to approach the Holy One in their own voice.

We urge the global Jewish community to take immediate action. Join our Reform and Conservative partners worldwide in calling on Israeli leaders and diplomats to halt this dangerous legislation and uphold Israel’s promise as a homeland for all Jews.

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi David Lyon, President (he/him)
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive (she/hers)

Union for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President (he/him)
Shelley Niceley Groff, Chair (she/her)

American Conference of Cantors
Cantor Josh Breitzer, President (he/him)
Rachel Roth, Chief Executive Officer (she/her)

Association of Reform Jewish Educators
Rabbi Stacy Rigler, RJE, CEO
Stacy Rosenthal, RJE, President

Men of Reform Judaism
Larry Pepper, President (he/him)
Steven Portnoy, Executive Director (he/him)

Women of Reform Judaism  
Karen Sim, President  (she/her)
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch, CEO (she/her)

Women’s Rabbinic Network
Rabbi Lisa Delson, Co-President
Rabbi Simone Schicker, Co-President
Rabbi Mary L. Zamore, Executive Director

Back to CCAR Statements