The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns, in the strongest terms, President Trump’s repeated refusal, most recently during the first 2020 United States presidential debate, to condemn white supremacy and white supremacists, “the most ‘persistent and lethal threat in the United States through 2021,” according to [the Trump Administration’s] Department of Homeland Security. [i]

Whether uttered carelessly or with intent, the President’s words place the lives of people of color, LGBTQ Americans, immigrants and those perceived to be immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and others targeted by white supremacists at unacceptable risk. We are reminded of the President’s equivocation following the deadly racist riots in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017. [ii]

The Central Conference of American Rabbis urges President Trump to unite all Americans, regardless of political leanings, in combating white supremacy unequivocally, that together we might “sweep out evil from [our] midst” (Deuteronomy 13:6).

Rabbi Ronald Segal
President

Rabbi Hara E. Person
Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

[i] Geneva Sands, “White supremacy is ‘most lethal threat’ to the US, DHS draft assessment says,” CNN, September 8, 2020.
[ii] Central Conference of American Rabbis Condemns President Trump’s Response to White Supremacist Domestic Terrorists, August 17, 2017.

August 18, 2020

The Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and Reconstructing Judaism have for many generations been close partners with the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) in the work of making the world more just. We have stood together in the struggles against antisemitism, against hate crimes, against bigotry, and for LGBTQ equality, for Holocaust education, and for civil rights for all people. This work has been done in coalitions alongside cherished partners that span the spectrum of faith and race.

Indeed, every successful social justice change effort in American history has been characterized by its broad engagement of individuals and groups with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, coming together over a shared commitment to bringing more justice into the world. Of course, this has never meant that all groups agree on all issues. It has meant that those differences have never been allowed to supersede our commonalities. Time and again when differences have surfaced that had the potential to impede the work, groups have chosen to engage one another in difficult conversations. Sometimes that has resulted in common resolution, sometimes we have agreed to disagree, even while working together on the far larger range of issues on which we do agree. We must continue on that path.

We vehemently reject efforts to silence or shun the ADL. Many of the criticisms that have been made are unjust or distort ADL’s long record of commitment to civil rights and its successful efforts in legislatures, courts, schools, and communities to fight discrimination and hate. We remain committed to working in our vital coalitions in close partnership with the ADL on our shared desire to fight bigotry, wherever it may be found. In this moment when our nation is rightly reckoning with the systemic racism that has fostered ongoing injustice, we urge greater dialogue, greater engagement, and greater commitment to the power of coalitions of decency. Together, we can continue to heal what is broken in our world.

August 16, 2020

The Central Conference of American Rabbis mourns the death of its esteemed past president, Rabbi Samuel E. Karff, D.H.L., who died after a brief illness on Shabbat R’eih, August 15, 2020, surrounded by his daughters.

Rabbi Karff led the CCAR as President from 1989 to 1991, having previously served as Editor of the CCAR’s Journal of Reform Judaism. However, his leadership and significant influence upon our Reform Movement transcended these high offices, as he provided wisdom and guidance to generations of Reform rabbis and lay leaders.

Rabbi Karff authored three books: Agada: The Language of Jewish Faith; The Soul of the Rav; and Permission to Believe: Finding Faith in Troubled Times, and his scholarship, teaching, speaking, and writing have left a profound and enduring impact upon on the Reform Jewish world and the interfaith community he cherished so highly.

Rabbi Karff was the epitome of a “Rabbi’s rabbi.” Whether the relationship began when growing up in a congregation he led, when serving at his side, when learning with him as a student, or when seeking his invaluable counsel, countless Reform rabbis would say, “Sam Karff was my rabbi.”

Rabbi Karff served congregations in West Hartford, Connecticut, where he met and married his beloved wife Joan, z”l, and in Flint, Michigan. He served Chicago Sinai Congregation as Senior Rabbi from 1962 to 1975, and ultimately led Congregation Beth Israel in Houston, Texas as Senior Rabbi from 1975-1999.

After he transitioned to the role of Beth Israel’s Rabbi Emeritus in 1999, Rabbi Karff undertook a groundbreaking venture, founding the Health and Human Spirit Program—now the McGovern Center for Humanities & Ethics— of The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, where he continued on the faculty until his death.

In the truest spirit of our prophets, Rabbi Karff was devoted to the cause of justice and equality throughout his rabbinate. In Houston, he was known as one of the “three amigos,” working closely with Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza and Reverend Bill Lawson for over a quarter century in the pursuit of social justice. Rabbi Karff had recently attended the funeral of George Floyd with Rev. Lawson.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis extends condolences to Rabbi Karff’s cherished daughters—Rachel Karff Weissenstein, Amy Karff (and Amir) Halevy, and Elizabeth Karff Seitz, and his dear grandchildren. We grieve with the entire Congregation Beth Israel family, especially Rabbi Karff’s treasured colleagues: his successor Rabbi David Lyon, and Rabbi Adrienne Scott.

Rabbi Ronald Segal                                                     Rabbi Hara E. Person
President                                                                      Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

July 17, 2020

The Reform Jewish Movement unequivocally condemns the recent antisemitic statements by some public figures. Yet merely condemning antisemitism is insufficient; it must also be accompanied by education. Nor will antisemitic words from individual members of an oppressed minority diminish our support of Black lives or detract from our commitment to the dismantling of systemic and structural racism.

In recent days, painful centuries-old antisemitic tropes and canards about Jewish influence voiced by some public figures have come to light. We unequivocally condemn these recent statements, just as we have always condemned any and all forms of antisemitism. History has shown that when such harmful views become common, they can too often lead to more virulent and violent acts of antisemitism.

We understand, though, that merely condemning antisemitism is insufficient; it must also be accompanied by education: about debunked sources of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and their tragic consequences if left unchecked; about the ways in which antisemitism, xenophobia, and hate combine to fuel racism in all forms; and about the genuine difference between antisemitic statements rooted in lack of knowledge and antisemitic statements rooted in notions of white supremacy. We must engage all who are prepared to learn about the painful impact of their words, and never hesitate to silence all who are determined to sow hate and fear.

The Jewish community’s diversity—racial, ideological, theological, and otherwise—is a source of our strength, and it also means that no one voice speaks for all Jews. So, too, with our allied communities of faith, race, and other marginalized groups. Consequently, when voices of hate and division are raised, regardless of their source, we understand those voices neither speak for us nor for the entirety of any other community. At this time, when Black Americans, including Black and Brown Jews continue to pay with their lives for centuries of systemic racism, we appreciate the outreach and expressions of support from all who reject antisemitism, and we pledge to remain stalwart allies, even when deeply hurtful sentiments regarding others are voiced within our community as well.

Some in our country are resistant to the overdue changes and glimmer of hope which are blossoming for Black Americans at this moment of national reckoning. However, their efforts to impede important coalitions of change and sow seeds of division belie the fact that when any of us are oppressed, we are all oppressed. We as Reform Jews will not allow antisemitic words from individual members of an oppressed minority to diminish our support of Black lives or detract from our commitment to the dismantling of systemic and structural racism in our country. Instead of questioning the commitment of others, we reaffirm our own.

Rabbi Ronald Segal, President
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, Chair
Union for Reform Judaism

June 15, 2020

The Central Conference of American Rabbis celebrates today’s Supreme Court ruling, at long last acknowledging that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Writing on behalf of a striking majority, Justice Gorsuch proclaimed: “An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.”

The CCAR has advocated for equal rights on the basis of sexual orientation for decades and was the first major national Jewish organization to advocate for full equality for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. In our 2015 Resolution on The Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals, we point to several CCAR Responsa that call for welcoming transgender Jews into our community on an equal basis, including a 2009 declaration: “We have no need as a community…to question any person’s expressed gender identity…Our concern, quite simply, is to welcome [each person] into the midst of the community of Israel” (CCAR 5769.6).

Today is a great day in the history of the United States of America. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Americans now enjoy legal protection against employment discrimination. The Central Conference of American Rabbis celebrates this landmark achievement and, guided by words of Torah (Deuteronomy 16:20), pledges to continue our constant pursuit of equality and justice for all people.

Rabbi Ronald Segal                                                            Rabbi Hara E. Person
President                                                                             Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

May 31, 2020

Once again, the lethal reality of systemic racism has shown its evil face. The rabbis of the Central Conference of American Rabbis are horrified by the murders of George Floyd this past week and Ahmaud Arbery three months earlier, heartbreaking deaths which add further to the already long list of extra-judicial executions of African-Americans in our country. The appalling actions and images we have witnessed, of deadly police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and homicidal armed civilians in Brunswick, Georgia, are shocking, though tragically unsurprising. Racist extra-judicial executions are an American epidemic, a blight that has continued because, time and again, perpetrators have not been brought to justice. In the wake of these latest murders, CCAR members add our voices to all those throughout the nation in demanding that the individuals responsible for these heinous crimes be brought to justice, and also that the policies and systems which have led to few (if any) consequences in the vast majority of prior instances finally be addressed.

In our 2015 Resolution on Racial Justice, the CCAR called for the reforming of police practices through the following actions:

• Acknowledging and honoring the difficult yet vital work done by police every day;
• Demanding a higher level of accountability of local police departments regarding their use of lethal force by:
• Permitting and requiring the U.S. Attorney General to obtain accurate data about every individual who dies in police custody;
• Establishing the office of independent District Attorneys who bring cases seeking indictment of potential police misconduct before Grand Juries;
• Encouraging the current work by the U.S. Department of Justice to collaborate with communities on reforming police department policies, training, and supervision to address issues of racial injustice and limiting police violence.

Today, Reform rabbis vehemently, and with even greater urgency, renew these demands. Further, we invite all Americans to join us in demonstrating our solidarity with Black Americans by [1]:

• Reaching out to African-American friends who are in pain, frightened, or angry to offer support and to demonstrate our enduring presence;
• Patronizing Black-owned businesses;
• Supporting community efforts and organizations that work to empower African-Americans; and
• Learning how to be an anti-racist and joining efforts to change policies that perpetuate systemic racism.

The CCAR mourns the loss of the lives of Mr. Arbery and Mr. Floyd, who were tragically taken, and we grieve with the mourners. We stand in solidarity with communities that are peacefully protesting these murders, and we implore, despite the understandable and justified frustration and anger, that the vandalism, looting, and rioting end. We seek solidarity with good, noble, anti-racist law enforcement officials whose good names have been tarnished by these horrific crimes. And we commit ourselves anew to working to bring closer the day when the policies and systems governing the citizens of our nation treat every person equally—both in theory and in reality—regardless of the color of their skin. May that day come soon.

Rabbi Ronald Segal
President

Rabbi Hara Person
Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis

[1] Adapted from suggestions by Rabbi Wendi Geffen, Senior Rabbi, North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois.

May 12, 2020

Across North America and around the world, communities are considering how and when they should emerge from shelter-in-place practices and safely return to in-person activities.

On March 31, 2020, several Reform Movement organizations[1] issued a statement Recommendations on Covid-19 declaring that, with the exception of strictly monitored funerals, Reform Jewish communities “should not facilitate or endorse any physical gathering of persons who do not already live in the same house.” Since that date—and in most instances even earlier—Reform Jewish communities have gathered virtually to worship, celebrate, grieve, learn, tend to community business, advocate for social justice, and perform acts of g’milut chasadim (lovingkindness).

Now, however, as the vast majority of state and local governments have begun to relax formal restrictions, including explicit allowances for worship communities to gather in person, communities are confronting understandable questions about when or if it is appropriate to reopen our synagogues, buildings, schools, and agencies. In addressing these critical questions, we urge all in our Reform Movement to remember these essential Jewish values and recommendations when making vital decisions about their course of action:

• Minyan—Jews worship in community—traditionally, in a quorum of no fewer than ten Jewish adults. During this time of social distancing, however, Reform Jewish communities have combatted social isolation and loneliness by assembling virtually for services, prayer, and mutual support. Although far from the ideal of being together in person, we emphasize the continued importance of virtual gatherings as long as is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our respective communities and citizens. [See CCAR responsum on virtual minyanim here.]
• Pikuach Nefesh—Saving human life is Judaism’s highest mitzvah, superseding even the commandments concerning the observance of Shabbat. According to tradition, it was permissible to interrupt the ancient Temple sacrifices when necessary to save a life.[2] If continuing to shelter in place will help to save lives, then communities should refrain from in-person religious activities or gatherings.
• Aseih l’cha Rav—We read in Pirkei Avot 1:6, “Find yourself a rabbi.” Though often translated as “teacher,” the term “rabbi” in this phrase, in fact, suggests expertise. In our Jewish lives, we rely upon the knowledge and guidance of our rabbis, cantors, and educators. As we confront a public health crisis, though, it is the expertise of public health authorities, specialists in infectious disease, and epidemiologists to which we must look for guidance concerning the best decisions for our communities.
• Mipnei seivah takum—“You shall rise before the aged” (Leviticus 19:32). We celebrate the multi-generational character of communities throughout our Movement, including the synagogue and Jewish professionals of every adult demographic who lead them. We must not take actions within our respective communities that would either stigmatize or compromise the health and well-being of the elderly and individuals with preexisting conditions who are considered most vulnerable to Covid-19.
• Dina d’malchuta dina—“The law of the land is the law” (Shulchan Aruch). The Reform Movement is a fierce protector of religious freedom and the separation of religion and state, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism was instrumental to the adoption of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Under RFRA, neither federal nor state governments may restrict religious freedom unless there is a compelling reason for doing so; preventing the spread of a deadly disease is assuredly such a reason. Reform Jewish institutions and communities have readily and responsibly honored government restrictions on public gatherings throughout this pandemic, despite the resulting limitations on religious activity.

As governmental limitations are relaxed, Reform Jewish communities, professionals, and lay leaders should make decisions regarding the return to in-person gatherings guided by our Jewish values.  We must continue to heed the advice and wisdom of experts, and when appropriate, act in accordance with specified re-opening phases, more information on which will be forthcoming, and without unacceptable risk to human life, including the lives of the most vulnerable among us.

Information on specific guidelines regarding reopening, created in consultation with experts on infectious disease and security, are forthcoming.

Rabbi Ron Segal, President, Central Conference of American Rabbis

Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis

Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, Chair, Union for Reform Judaism

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism

[1] URJ (Union for Reform Judaism), CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis), ACC (American Conference of Cantors), ARJE (Association of Reform Jewish Educators), ECE-RJ (Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism), NATA (National Association of Temple Administrators), and PEP-RJ (Program and Engagement Professionals of Reform Judaism)

[2] Tosefta Shabbat, Chapter 15, as elucidated by Elana Stein Hain, PhD, “Pikuach Nefesh: The Primacy of Saving a Life, Hartman@Home: Talmud from the Balcony, Shalom Hartman Institute, April 22, 2020.

April 27, 2020

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), guided by the highest mitzvah in Jewish tradition of pikuach nefesh, the saving of lives, urges federal and state governments as well as local municipalities and communities—in the United States, in Canada, in Israel, and around the world—to be guided by medical science as they consider relaxing shelter-in-place orders and guidelines.

The CCAR also asks our nation’s leaders to redouble efforts to ensure reliable virus testing is available on a massive scale so that any return to normalcy may be based on sound information. The permanent eradication of the coronavirus, however, ultimately depends upon the development of an effective vaccine. To this end, we are grateful that Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have introduced a bill to support U.S.-Israeli cooperation in developing new medical treatments and we encourage its full support and adoption as part of the upcoming Phase 4/CARES 2 legislation.

Reform rabbis and our institutional partners are observing shelter-in-place orders, even where the law does not require, in order to best protect the health of our communities. We commend the vast majority of American governors, as well as Canadian federal and provincial leaders and Israeli officials, who have established and enforced strong measures to protect public health. And we encourage our leaders, together with news desks and related media outlets, to focus attention on and to highlight the courageous men and women who are working tirelessly for the same, and to disregard the false claims and dangerous demands of those who are endangering their own health and the health of others by gathering to protest public health measures.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis joins people throughout the world in prayer—for the souls of those lost, for comfort for those mourning loved ones during terribly sad conditions, and for healing for all who are sick. We are grateful to health care providers, first responders, and all essential workers who place their lives at risk in order to assure the rest of us can survive this pandemic. We yearn for the day when we may join hands once again—in prayer, in community, and in person.

Rabbi Ron Segal, President

Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis