Adopted by the CCAR Board
November 3, 2022

Central Conference of American Rabbis 

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is the Reform rabbinic leadership organization that fosters excellence in the Reform Jewish rabbinate. The oldest and largest rabbinic organization in North America, the CCAR strengthens the Jewish community by providing religious, spiritual, ethical, and intellectual leadership and wisdom for the 2,200 rabbis who serve more than two million Reform Jews throughout North America, Israel, and the world. The CCAR’s unique contribution to a continued vibrant Jewish community and Reform Movement lies in its work fostering excellence in Reform rabbis, enhancing unity and connectedness among Reform Jews, applying Jewish values to a contemporary life, and creating a compelling and accessible Judaism for today and the future. 

Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition 

In spring of 2022, CCAR signed on as a founding signatory to the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (JCLC). The JCLC is a coalition of major Jewish organizations committed to climate action. Each signatory publishes a Climate Action Plan (CAP). Inspired by Jewish values, JCLC members are working to do the Jewish community’s part to mitigate the worst effects of climate change and build a livable future together.   

The Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition uses a nine-point framework for Climate Action Plans. Each year, certain areas may be more impactful or relevant for an organization than others. CAPs are revised annually, and organizations are encouraged to make their goals as robust as possible and build on previous years’ successes.  

1. Primary Energy Use (Quantity) 
2. Renewables 
3. Transportation 
4. Food 
5. Offsets 
6. Education & Celebration 
7. Finance 
8. Advocacy 
9. Resiliency 

Actions Prior to 2023 

The CCAR and its members have a deep commitment to climate. CCAR Press publications have addressed climate change. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, which engages in extensive advocacy, including on the topic of climate change, is a joint instrumentality of the CCAR and the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ).   

In May 2022, the CCAR Board adopted a Resolution on the Global Climate Crisis. That resolution, far from the CCAR’s first on the topic, covered the science behind human-caused climate change, key Jewish wisdom informing our response, the intersections between climate change and other forms of oppression, including racism and sexism, the leadership of young people on this issue, and the need for action in a range of concrete ways. That resolution serves as the basis for this JCLC Climate Action Plan.  

CCAR’s operations have seen substantial pivots because of the coronavirus pandemic, including a temporary reduction in travel and in food. As we seek to restore our robust programming and services, we will use 2019 as a baseline against which to measure ourselves.  

Climate Action Plan for 2023   

Summary 

The CCAR’s most significant impact will be in our ability to inspire and engage our members and the communities we serve to advance action on climate.  

1. Primary energy use

CCAR has a relatively small staff, several of whom work remotely, and it utilizes rented office space. The CCAR does not have control over the building’s carbon footprint.  

We will encourage all CCAR members who serve organizations that own their buildings to measure their emissions from direct energy use and to develop mitigation plans as part of their own CAPs.  

While we do not currently have the capacity for a full-scale audit, we will partner with Hazon’s resources and staff support to benchmark our 2018–2019 greenhouse gas emissions from food served at events, where we have control over that, and work-related travel. This will enable us to have a baseline from which to measure future success.  

2. Renewables

See #1 above.   

3. Transportation

During the coronavirus pandemic, we developed creative ways to meet our mission without traveling. We commit to incorporating that learning and making climate impact a factor in evaluating travel post-pandemic.  

Some work-related travel will remain essential to our mission of supporting Reform rabbis. For work-related travel, and for participant travel to conferences, we commit to exploring the possibility of offsetting the climate impact of that travel through purchasing climate offsets when information about the process and cost of doing that becomes available.  

4. Food

The CCAR rarely if ever serves mammalian meat at its own events and conferences, and fowl is only rarely served. Our 2022 resolution calls on all members and their organizations to seek to reduce the amount of animal protein served at events, recognizing conventionally farmed meat’s impact on the climate. Vegetarian meals are always offered on an equal basis with meals that include fish—or, rarely, meat. Meals that also do not include dairy are similarly offered on an equal basis with those that do.   

5. Offsets

See #3 above.  

6. Education & Celebration

CCAR provides support and resources to Reform rabbis across North America and worldwide. We will incorporate climate-related resources into what we offer to rabbis. We will especially seek to offer climate-related materials in advance of holidays. We are prepared to work with Hazon and/or the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assembly and the Rabbinical Assembly, which are also JCLC members, to develop and compile the resources.   

Ideas articulated in our May 2022 Resolution on the Global Climate Crisis include but are not limited to:  

1. Community engagement programs that address key aspects of climate change across lines of difference like race and religion; 
2. A speaker event or series on topics about climate change;
3. A documentary or movie screening and discussion about climate change and what needs to be done; 
4. Hosting a service project or community event, paired with discussion of climate change. 

CCAR Press has lifted the collective rabbinic voice to address climate change in several of its publications, including The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic and The Social Justice Torah Commentary. CCAR Press looks forward to the projected 2023 publication of an anthology devoted to the topic, The Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on Our Planet.  

Additionally, CCAR will play a leadership role in the Reform Movement and in other institutions served by CCAR rabbis. We will work with the URJ, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and our members to encourage and inspire Reform congregations, other Reform-affiliated organizations, and other Jewish organizations led and served by CCAR rabbis to participate in JCLC and develop their own Climate Action Plans. Collectively, the Reform Movement will be able to achieve significant scale and impact with our climate action.   

7. Finance

We are proud that the Reform Pension Board has developed a Reform Jewish Values Stock Fund, which is an option for pension participants. The Reform Jewish Values Stock Fund does not invest in coal stocks and has a positive screen for renewables. We will engage in a campaign to educate our members about the Reform Jewish Values Stock Fund as an option for their consideration.  

8. Advocacy

Through the Religious Action Center (RAC), CCAR already engages in extensive advocacy, including on climate change. This is an area where we take real leadership on behalf of the Jewish community. CCAR’s 2022 Resolution on the Global Climate Crisis highlighted a range of specific advocacy asks of the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch that we as an organization (through the RAC) will pursue and will encourage our members to pursue, including:   

1. Creating incentives for the most egregious greenhouse gas emitters to dramatically reduce the emissions they pump into the atmosphere; 
2. Transitioning to a low- or zero-emission clean, green economy by 2050 or earlier;
3. Incorporating environmental justice into governmental action;
4. Empowering the constituencies most impacted by climate change and centering them and their needs in the process of finding and implementing the best possible solutions to the crisis; 
5. Ensuring that the procurement of necessary materials for a zero-emission economy do not cause or advance unfair or exploitative labor practices, community harms, and/or human rights violations; 
6. Supporting a just transition of fossil fuel workers to meaningful and sustainable employment; 
7. Contacting local, state, and federal level legislators to express concerns about climate change, voicing support for proposed legislation that will help resolve climate change and protect the environment; 
8. Holding the governments of the United States and Canada accountable for our share of the problem, with special regard to our obligations to vulnerable nations experiencing the first and worst effects of climate change.

We will continue to support the RAC to elevate climate as a key issue with direct impact on the Jewish community. We may partner with organizations like Dayenu to support our climate advocacy.   

9. Resiliency

A key piece of resiliency is supporting our CCAR rabbis, in their work to counsel congregants around the climate crisis. The educational resources and events mentioned above will be opportunities to do so. We will seek to weave climate explicitly as a topic into any resources we provide to rabbis around spiritual counseling.

Some language in this resolution, particularly in the background section, is adapted from a 2021 sermon by Rabbi Ron Segal, Senior Rabbi of Temple Sinai, Atlanta, Georgia and CCAR President 2019–2021.

May 20, 2022

Background

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. body comprised of international climate scientists, issues an assessment report once every six to seven years. Its most recent report, released on February 28, 2022, presented “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Endorsed by one hundred ninety-five countries and created by two hundred seventy researchers from over sixty countries, the report reaffirmed that climate change is human-caused and emphasized that unless greenhouse gas emissions are quickly reduced, the world’s collective ability to overcome the crisis will soon be overwhelmed. The report also concluded that nations are not doing enough to ameliorate current symptoms of the crisis, which will only worsen over time until the root of the problem is resolved.[i] Extreme weather phenomena such as floods, fires, droughts, and storms are increasing in intensity and frequency; such events displaced millions of people worldwide over the last four years,[ii] exacerbated global hunger and malnutrition through crop destruction, and enabled wider spread of malaria and dengue via increased mosquito range. Deadly heat waves have killed thousands of North Americans, half of the global population lives with water scarcity for at least some part of the year, and wildfires in Australia, Siberia, and the United States have led to habitat and biodiversity loss as well as fatalities and property damage.[iii] Some CCAR members and their communities have personally experienced the ravages of climate change, living through or with the after-effects of superstorms, floods, wildfires, and other events. In 2017, URJ Camp Newman was lost to the Tubbs wildfire.

The IPCC report’s numerous disconcerting findings include a harbinger of worse events to come: “The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”[iv]

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global temperatures from rising two degrees Celsius (ideally less than 1.5 degrees Celsius). If countries continue to emit greenhouse gases at current levels, global temperature rise will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will cause or exacerbate extreme heat waves, droughts, decreased rainfall, decreased crop yields, species loss, ocean acidification resulting in coral reef bleaching, and sea level rise. All of these will impact global health and mortality, food security, water supply, and economic growth. With methane a significant factor in global temperature increases, 2022 reports on methane indicate that sudden surges of methane emissions may disrupt international efforts to stop the planet from warming 1.5 degrees Celsius. Although methane represents only ten percent of U.S. greenhouse emissions and has a shorter lifespan in the atmosphere, it is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, with deadlier consequences: one ton of methane in the atmosphere has about eighty times the warming impact of a ton of carbon dioxide.[v] Plugging abandoned wells, sealing unused pipelines, covering landfills, and preventing crop waste can help reduce dangerous methane emissions, buying the world a little more time to address more significant emissions categories.[vi]

It is not just those with advanced degrees who are signaling that the time is now for action to reduce the human-made causes of climate change. Many organizers, especially young people, have readily perceived climate change as an ever-growing threat to American safety and global well-being. In their personal practice and in their advocacy, these youths have swiftly moved to act on the seriousness and long-term implications of climate change. “For children and young people,” wrote four youth climate change activists, “climate change is the single greatest threat to our futures.”[vii] Young adults who are empowered to guide our families and our communities in the battle against global warming might very well inspire and lead us to better choices, stronger action, and greater commitment to climate change redress.

CCAR members may also take heed from Jewish tradition to support the need to engage in efforts to counter climate change. Numerous sources and texts implore us to recognize our sacred obligation to be responsible stewards of the earth, beginning with the creation narratives in Genesis, where we read that God placed the first humans in the Garden of Eden and told them to care for and tend to it. Three distinct times in the Torah, we are commanded to observe Sh’mita, the seventh year of rest for the land during which we must let the land lie fallow so that it can rejuvenate itself. In Deuteronomy, we learn about bal tashchit, the ethical commandment prohibiting the wanton destruction of trees—and, by extension, other elements of nature—even during times of war. And in the midrash, there is God’s prescient warning to the first human beings: “Look at how beautiful and excellent My works are! Take care not to spoil or destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you”[viii] The holiday of Tu BiSh’vat is celebrated as the birthday of the trees; the midrash of Honi and the carob tree speaks of our responsibility to posterity so that they will enjoy, cherish, and leave behind a fruitful world.[ix] When considering the IPCC report and the cascading effects of climate change, especially catastrophes such as fires and floods, the stirring and moving words of Un’taneh Tokef pierce the soul with new resonance: “Mi yichyeh u’mi yamut… mi va-eish umi vamayim—who will live and who will die… who by fire and who by water…” 

An additional and compelling chapter of the results of climate change is the intersection of historic environmental racism, climate change, and poverty. A recent nationwide tally of trees, generating a Tree Equity Score for one hundred fifty thousand neighborhoods and four hundred eighty-six urbanized areas,[x] revealed that a map of tree cover in America’s cities is often a map of income and race as well, reflecting the New Deal era’s racist legacy of redlining.[xi] Researchers found that neighborhoods with ninety percent or more residents living in poverty have less than half the amount of tree canopy that more affluent communities do. Fewer trees compromise an area’s ability to cool down, resulting in urban heat islands, leading to sustained exposure to extreme temperatures from which there is often little escape, and consequently causes far more heat-related deaths. A study published in 2020 showed that redlined neighborhoods are an average of five degrees Fahrenheit warmer than non-redlined neighborhoods in the same metropolitan area; in some cities, the temperature difference is as high as twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Cheap land and disregard for the residents’ health resulted in heat-absorbing projects like construction sites and highways being built in redlined neighborhoods. Such industrial projects also worsened air quality. A study released in March 2022 found that even fifty years after redlining was outlawed, its results are still causing harm: forty-five million Americans, mostly Black and Latino, breathe dirtier air due to increased vehicle emissions and other industrial air pollutants, causing long-term health problems like asthma and strokes in vulnerable communities that have fewer resources or recourse to redress such grievances.[xii] These environmental injustices are further compounded by the effects of climate change.

Climate change also exacerbates existing gender inequalities due to a multitude of social, economic, and cultural factors. Around the globe, women have less access to resources such as land, credit, agricultural inputs, decision-making structures, and technology. Seventy percent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women. Women are more dependent on natural resources, especially in rural areas where they must ensure adequate supply of household necessities such as water, food, and energy sources for cooking and heating. The time they must devote to these tasks prevents them from accessing education and training, which precludes them from developing skills or earning income, which in turn are vital in staving off consequences of climate change.[xiii] Childcare responsibilities may also hinder women from migrating, seeking refuge, or working when a disaster hits. When this happens, women must travel farther for resources like water and fuel, increasing their risk of violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault.[xiv] Climate refugees are more likely to be women; and, when displaced, women and girls are less able to access education, economic opportunities, and contraception.[xv] Economic hardship exacted by the climate crisis forces families to marry off their daughters for survival: in Malawi and Mozambique in 2017, extreme floods and droughts caused dire penury and food insecurity for many families, which put 1.5 million girls at risk of becoming child brides. UNICEF warned in 2015 that the total number of child brides across Africa could reach three hundred ten million by 2050.[xvi]

Climate change has and will continue to harm vulnerable nations that lack the resources to protect themselves from increasingly worse climate consequences. Worse, these nations often contribute little to no greenhouse gas emissions themselves, leaving them to suffer the consequences of wealthier polluter nations such as the United States, China, India, Russia, Japan, and the European Union. Even though Madagascar has contributed less than 0.01 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions in the last eighty years, the country is experiencing the world’s first famine resulting directly from climate change. This famine has caused severe or extreme hunger and malnutrition for thousands of Malagasy people, including children, and the effects of such food insecurity will cause long-term damage. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the United States has emitted over four hundred billion metric tons of carbon dioxide—twice the amount of the second biggest emitter, China. Ice core analyses of greenhouse gas emission find that concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide were always lower before industrialization.

Reflecting upon the challenges we know we will have to navigate, and considering the recommendations of professionals, experts, and passionate volunteers who are deeply immersed in environmental work, we understand that we must make climate change a priority: Forward editor Rob Eshman emphasized, “Climate change needs to be on the agenda and priority list of every single Jewish organization, agency, synagogue [and individual].… Jews must take climate change as seriously as we do antisemitism, [because] if we as humans get climate change wrong, [then] it will make very little difference what we as Jews get right.” [xvii] A 2021 Jewish Electorate Institute poll of eight hundred Jewish voters prompted them to choose two issues on which they wanted President Biden and Congress to focus. Climate change was at the top of the priority list.[xviii]

The Reform Movement has a robust history of addressing climate change, evidenced in recent years by the 2015 CCAR Resolution on Climate Justice,[xix] and the 2017 Union for Reform Judaism Resolution on Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change.[xx]

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis hereby resolves to:

1. Urge all CCAR members to further educate themselves and the individuals and communities they serve about climate change and its deadly cascade of impacts, especially those impacts that incorporate an intersectional and/or international consideration of climate change inquiry such as racial inequity, gender inequality, and social justice.
2. Encourage CCAR members and the congregations and organizations they serve to lead and participate in events that raise awareness of climate change and its harmful effects, particularly in conjunction with environmental groups, other faith groups, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) or its state organizing teams, and other appropriate organizations. Ideas include but are not limited to:
   1. Community engagement programs that address key aspects of climate change across lines of difference like race and religion;
   2. A speaker event or series on topics about climate change;
   3. A documentary or movie screening and discussion about climate change and what needs to be done;
   4. Hosting a service project or community event, paired with discussion of climate change;
3. Advocate, and urge CCAR members and the communities we serve to join in advocacy efforts, in support of comprehensive public policies at the local, state, and federal levels designed to curb American greenhouse gas emissions and address the harms of climate change in an equitable and just way, with guidance from the RAC when appropriate, that may include but are not limited to:
   1. Creating incentives for the most egregious greenhouse gas emitters to dramatically reduce the emissions—such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases—they pump into the atmosphere that destroy our world and endanger all life on Earth;
   2. Transitioning to a low- or zero-emission clean green economy by 2050 or earlier;
   3. Incorporating environmental justice into governmental action; that is, seeking to research, understand, and repair the historical harms done by environmental racism;
   4. Empowering the constituencies most impacted by climate change and centering them and their needs in the process of finding and implementing the best possible solutions to the crisis;
   5. Ensuring that the procurement of necessary materials for a zero-emission economy do not cause or advance unfair or exploitative labor practices, community harms, and/or human rights violations;
   6. Supporting a just transition of fossil fuel workers to meaningful and sustainable employment;
   7. Contacting local, state, and federal level legislators to express concerns about climate change, voicing support for proposed legislation that will help resolve climate change and protect the environment;
   8. Holding the governments of the United States and Canada accountable for our share of the problem, with special regard to our obligations to vulnerable nations experiencing the first and worst effects of climate change.
   9. Recycling products such as paper, plastic, metals, and food waste, and strongly encouraging all members to recycle in all the places they frequent if possible;
   10. Adopting the use of biodegradable products such as bamboo over single- or one-time use products;
   11. Reducing the amount of animal products offered for meals and gatherings;
   12. Exploring the use of alternative energy sources such as solar power;
   13. Replacing energy inefficient bulbs with LED lights;
   14. Installing motion sensors to disable lighting when a room is vacant; and
   15. Supporting national and local initiatives aimed at growing trees and community gardens, especially in areas impacted by inequities correlated to income and race.
4. Commend the Reform Pension Board (RPB) for establishing the Reform Jewish Values Stock Fund (RJVSF), which excludes coal companies from its investments and invests in clean energy, and pledge to educate RPB participants about the RJVSF as an option for their consideration; and urge all members to be more conscious of their own personal financial investments, remembering that “voting with our wallets” is an important way to live our values and make a difference.

[i] Brad Plumer and Raymond Zhong, “Climate Change Is Harming the Planet Faster Than We Can Adapt, U.N. Warns,” The New York Times, 28 February 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/climate/climate-change-ipcc-report.html.

[ii] “Over 10 million displaced by climate disasters in six months: report,” Reuters, 17 March 2021, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-displacement/over-10-million-displaced-by-climate-disasters-in-six-months-report-idUSKBN2B90Z8.

[iii] Plumer and Zhong.

[iv] IPCC Sixth Assessment Report: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Summary for Policymakers, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/.

[v] “U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Plan,” 2 November 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-tackles-methane-emissions-spurs-innovations-and-supports-sustainable-agriculture-to-build-a-clean-energy-economy-and-create-jobs/.

[vi] Pearce, Fred, “Why Methane Is a Large and Underestimated Threat to Climate Goals,” Yale Climate 360, 24 February 2022, https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-methane-is-a-large-and-underestimated-threat-to-climate-goals.

[vii] Thunberg, Greta, Adriana Calderon, Farzana Faruk Jhumu, and Eric Njugana, “This is the World Being Left to Us by Adults,” The New York Times, 19 August 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/opinion/climate-un-report-greta-thunberg.html.

[viii] Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13.

[ix] Taanit 23a.

[x] Tree Equity Score “About” page, https://www.treeequityscore.org/about/.

[xi] Cooperman, Courtney, “Environmental Injustice and the Legacy of Redlining,” RAC Blog, 11 August 2021, https://rac.org/blog/environmental-injustice-and-legacy-redlining.

[xii] Fears, Darryl, “Redlining means 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air, 50 years after it ended,” Washington Post, 9 March 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/03/09/redlining-pollution-environmental-justice/.

[xiii] Osman-Elasha, Balgis, “Women…In the Shadow of Climate Change,” UN Chronicle, https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/womenin-shadow-climate-change.

[xiv] McCarthy, Joe, “Understanding Why Climate Change Impacts Women More Than Men,” Global Citizen, 5 March 2020, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/how-climate-change-affects-women/.

[xv] Medlicott, Lauren Crosby, “The five devastating reasons climate change affects women more than men,” EuroNews.Green, 11 September 2021, https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/11/09/the-five-devastating-reasons-climate-change-affects-women-more-than-men.

[xvi] Chamberlain, Gethin, “Why climate change is creating a new generation of child brides,” The Guardian, 26 November 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/26/climate-change-creating-generation-of-child-brides-in-africa/.

[xvii] Eshman, Rob, “Five things Jews can do to stop climate change,” The Forward, 10 August 2021, https://forward.com./news/474019/five-things-jews-can-do-to-stop-climate-change/.

[xviii] “July 2021 National Survey of Jewish Voters”, Jewish Electorate Institute, July 13, 2021, https://www.jewishelectorateinstitute.org/july-2021-national-survey-of-jewish-voters/.

[xix] CCAR “Resolution on Climate Justice,” October 2015, https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/ccar-resolution-climate-justice/.

[xx] URJ “Resolution on Addressing the Impacts of Climate Change,” December 2017, https://urj.org/what-we-believe/resolutions/resolution-addressing-impacts-climate-change.

March 31, 2022

Whereas: The climate crisis is here and is affecting the most vulnerable among us the hardest; and

Whereas: Jewish and universal values compel us to confront this challenge; and

Whereas: A coalition of over twenty major Jewish organizations has come together to launch the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (founding statement below), and Rabbi Hara Person, CCAR Chief Executive, has already signed on to the Coalition, as has our colleague Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism; and

Whereas: The Board’s support of this Coalition will represent an important affirmation of the CCAR’s commitment to this initiative and to the development of an organizational Climate Action Plan.

Therefore, be it resolved that the CCAR Board of Trustees authorizes the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ participation in the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition and supports CCAR’s efforts to take action in response to the climate crisis.

THE JEWISH CLIMATE LEADERSHIP COALITION FOUNDING STATEMENT

March 3, 2022

Recent changes in the climate are widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and unprecedented in thousands of years. Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5°C will be beyond reach. It is indisputable that human activities are causing climate change, making extreme climate events, including heat waves, heavy rainfall, and droughts, more frequent and severe. Climate change is already affecting every region on Earth, in multiple ways. The changes we experience will increase with further warming…However, some changes could be slowed and others could be stopped by limiting warming. To limit global warming, strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gasses are necessary. This would not only reduce the consequences of climate change but also improve air quality. The climate we experience in the future depends on our decisions now. — Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (August, 2021) ^[1]

And who knows, you may have been chosen for just such a time as this.
Esther 4:14

The climate crisis is real, and it is here. Nearly one-third of Americans lived through a weather disaster last summer.^[2] The overwhelming global scientific consensus confirms what we see with our own eyes: hurricanes, superstorms, wildfires, drought, dangerous air quality for months at a time—each year worse than the last.

The impact does not affect us all equally. Those in our society with less power and fewer resources, already more vulnerable, are hit hardest by the traumatic impact of climate change. Jewish values compel us to confront this crisis, and our commitment to Jewish community compels us to do so together.

Our coalition represents major Jewish organizations engaging millions of people of all ages and backgrounds, across the world. Together we recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and our obligation to do more. We commit to climate action.

Over the next six months, we will come together to learn, share, and support each other as we plan to take on new climate actions in the years ahead. By Rosh Hashanah 2022-5783, we will release our draft Climate Action Plans, with commitments from each of us. We will continue to meet regularly and to publicly report on our activities, accomplishments, and commitments at least twice a year.

The Jewish people have a long history. Our ancestors endured suffering and calamity, then rose to meet the next challenge. It is now our generation’s imperative to confront this existential crisis together with communities across the world. Our children and grandchildren need us. Our hope is not yet lost.

SIGNED:

Jakir Manela, CEO, Hazon & Pearlstone
Marc Terrill, CEO, Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore
Gidi Mark, CEO, Birthright Israel
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, Central Conference of American Rabbis
Jeremy Fingerman, CEO, Foundation for Jewish Camp
Adam Lehman, CEO, Hillel International
Gideon Behar, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability, State of Israel, through the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Doron Krakow, CEO, JCC Association of North America
Amira Ahronovitz, CEO, The Jewish Agency for Israel
Eric Fingerhut, CEO, Jewish Federations of North America
Andrés Spokoiny, President and CEO, Jewish Funders Network
Russell Robinson, CEO, Jewish National Fund USA
Ilana Aisen, CEO, JPro
David Cygielman, CEO, Moishe House
Reuben Rotman, CEO, Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO, Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Mark Dratch, Executive Vice President, Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, President and CEO, Reconstructing Judaism
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, Executive Director, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg, Chief Program Officer, United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism

^[1] “Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 1 – The Physical Science Basis.” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. August 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Press_Conference_Slides.pdf

^[2] Sarah Kaplan and Andrew Ba Tran. “Nearly 1 in 3 Americans experienced a weather disaster this summer.” Washington Post. September 4, 2021. https:///www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/09/04/climate-disaster-hurricane-ida/

March 31, 2022

Background 

Following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, thousands of Afghans fled the country. Many feared for their lives and wellbeing, as they had worked in the government or assisted the United States and other coalition forces. More than 76,000 Afghans have been brought to the United States, passing through a thorough vetting process and living on stateside military bases until being processed into local communities. More are expected in the months ahead. Canada intends to resettle approximately 40,000 Afghans. The new Afghan arrivals face the uncertainty experienced by all refugees and the challenges of beginning their lives anew in a strange land.

In addition to the hardships of resettlement, many of the Afghans who have arrived in the United States face legal and bureaucratic hurdles. Many were admitted under humanitarian parole, which is a less permanent status with fewer support structures. An Afghan Adjustment Act would provide a route to lawful permanent resident status, access to greater assistance, and a path to citizenship. Similar legislation in the past benefited refugees from Cuba, Southeast Asia, and Iraq, following conflicts or humanitarian crises in those lands. Such legislation is not needed in Canada, as the challenges for the Afghans who arrived on humanitarian parole are unique to the United States.

In addition to the Afghans who qualify for admission to the United States and Canada, others who fled the country continue to be in need of protection. They include human rights activists, religious minorities, and female judges.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis has long championed the plight of refugees.[1] We know the heart of the stranger, having been strangers in numerous lands throughout our history. Living our values, many rabbis, congregations, and Jewish communities have welcomed Afghan evacuees, providing friendship, housing, clothing, and other assistance. In many instances, these efforts have been partnerships with other communities of faith and local agencies. HIAS has taken a leading role on behalf of the Jewish community—as has our Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, with its mini-grants offered through the generosity of the Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus Initiative for Immigrant and Refugee Justice.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1. Commends our colleagues, congregations, and organizations that have been involved in resettlement efforts for those fleeing Afghanistan;
2. Applauds HIAS for its tireless efforts on behalf of refugees;
3. Expresses gratitude to the Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus Initiative for Immigrant and Refugee Justice and the leadership of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for making grants available to Reform congregations that are welcoming Afghan refugees;
4. Urges CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve to continue, in increasing numbers, to welcome Afghan families, helping ease their adjustment into their new homes;
5. Calls upon the United States Congress to enact an Afghan Adjustment Act to provide a clearer path to permanent legal status in the U.S. for the Afghan evacuees; and
6. Calls upon the Biden Administration and the Canadian government to work with the international community to secure safe haven for endangered Afghans who do not currently qualify for resettlement in North America.

[1] See, for example: CCAR Denounces Inhumane Treatment of Immigrants and Refugees, June 27, 2019, Central Conference of American Rabbis Denounces Inhumane Treatment of Immigrants and Refugees (ccarnet.org); CCAR Resolution on Vietnamese Refugees and Amnesty, Vietnam Refugees and Amnesty – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org); CCAR Resolution on Refugees from Kosovo, 1999, Refugees from Kosovo, Resolution on – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org); CCAR Resolution on Haitian Refugees, 1992, Haitian Refugees – Central Conference of American (ccarnet.org)

November 11, 2021

Background

More than two decades ago, in its Responsum on Compulsory Immunization, the CCAR Responsa Committee wrote:

“Any discussion of our she’elah (question) must begin with this fundamental fact: Jewish tradition regards the practice of medicine as a mitzvah, a religious obligation. It is an aspect of pikuach nefesh, the preservation of human life, a mitzvah that takes precedence over virtually every other requirement of the Torah…[W]e are…required to follow the law of nature and to call the physician when we fall ill. Whoever refuses medical treatment in favor of the other, non-natural responses, is guilty of the sin of arrogance, of assuming that one deserves to be healed by way of a miracle. It follows from all this that we are obliged to accept appropriate medical treatment and to provide it to our children, for their health and well-being is our responsibility.”[i]

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCAR stated that we “urge every individual to join in lifesaving efforts to reduce any possible risk of infection through increased hygiene and social distancing.”[ii] Many months later, when COVID-19 vaccines became available, we further resolved: “We learn from the best available guidelines of the World Health Organization that widespread, equitable vaccination is key to drastically slowing the spread of COVID-19 and preventing many deaths.”[iii]

Now, after nearly a year with vaccines available, we have learned of the great efficacy of the available vaccines. Persons not fully vaccinated face a tenfold higher risk of COVID-19 mortality.[iv]

The vaccines are saving lives.

In addition, we have seen the power of vaccination mandates. In government agencies that have required vaccination, the rate of vaccination greatly increases. For example, the New York City Teachers Union reports that, because of the vaccine mandate, as of the October 2021 deadline, there was a 96 percent compliance rate; whereas, in July 2021, when the vaccine was readily available but not mandated, the city’s education department estimated that around 60 percent of its employees were vaccinated. Henry Ford Health System in Detroit increased its vaccination rate to 98 percent (from around 60 percent) after implementing a mandate, according to senior leaders at the organization.[v]

Mandates work to encourage individuals to get vaccinated. As we stated in our aforementioned resolution on COVID-19 vaccination, “Scientists recognize that protection of individuals from serious diseases depends not only on their own immunization, but on the immunization of others in the community.”[vi] Vaccination is important not only for the health of the individual, but for the health of the entire community.

Resolution

WHEREAS the CCAR has repeatedly affirmed that pikuach nefesh takes precedence over other Jewish ethical obligations; and

WHEREAS the CCAR has previously determined that the value of minyan, worship in community, must also “ensure the safety and well-being of our respective communities and citizens,”[vii] especially the most vulnerable among them, including the disabled, the elderly, and others for whom infection would bring additional risk; and

WHEREAS the World Health Organization and other medical institutions, based on emerging data, have shown the efficacy of several available COVID-19 vaccines in preventing the spread and curbing the morbidity and mortality of the disease;[viii] and

WHEREAS vaccine mandates have proved to be effective in increasing vaccination rates, lowering infection rates, and preventing severe sickness and death;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN RABBIS

• Urges its members, and members of the communities we serve, to be vaccinated unless medically disqualified; and
• Encourages our Jewish institutions to mandate vaccination for all employees to whom the vaccine is available, unless medically contraindicated; and
• Supports Jewish institutions that choose to restrict participation in programs and services to those who are vaccinated; and
• Urges all employers and labor unions to require workers to be vaccinated except when medically contraindicated, with paid time off to secure vaccination and recover from any side effects; and
• Supports federal, state, provincial, and local legislation and executive orders mandating vaccination; and
• Demands that federal, state, provincial, and local governments ensure that vaccinations and vaccination education are available to the whole population, with special attention to at-risk and historically underserved communities.

[i] “Compulsory Immunization,” NYP No. 5759.10, CCAR Responsa, NYP no. 5759.10 – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[ii] CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic, May 12, 2020, CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings During The COVID-19 Pandemic – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[iii] CCAR Resolution on the Covid-19 Vaccination, April 26, 2021, Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution on the COVID-19 Vaccination – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[iv] Monitoring Incidence of COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, by Vaccination Status — 13 U.S. Jurisdictions, April 4–July 17, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, September 17, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7037e1.htm?s_cid=mm7037e1_w.

[v] Steven Otterman and Joseph Goldstein, “Thousands of N.Y. Healthcare Workers Get Vaccinated Ahead of Deadline,” September 28, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/nyregion/vaccine-health-care-workers-mandate.html.

[vi] CCAR Resolution on the Covid-19 Vaccine.

[vii] CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic, May 12, 2020, CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings During The COVID-19 Pandemic – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[viii] COVID-19 advice for the public: Getting vaccinated, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/emergencies/disesases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice.

The CCAR gratefully acknowledges resolutions on the Rohingya crisis previously written and adopted by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Those resolutions were utilized with permission in crafting this resolution.

September 30, 2021

 Background

Since August 2017, the Myanmar military has engaged in a brutal genocide against the Rohingya people of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Soldiers have razed entire Rohingya villages; indiscriminately massacred thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children; and forced over 700,000 others to flee their homes and make the perilous journey to Bangladesh’s refugee camps—which already housed many thousands of Rohingya from earlier periods of violence targeting them. Myanmar government officials have shielded military officials from accountability by denying or downplaying these atrocities, and by accusing the Rohingya of burning their own homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called the attacks “a textbook case of ethnic cleansing.”[i]

In 2017, a coalition of Jewish organizations came together to create the Jewish Rohingya Justice Network,[ii] a consortium of Jewish nonprofits advocating for the rights of the Rohingya people. Despite repeated calls for a firm response, the United States, Canada, and the international community have taken insufficient measures to address these atrocities.

The Rohingya people, an ethnic minority group from the Rakhine State of Myanmar, have a unique language and culture, and while they live in a predominantly Buddhist country, the majority of Rohingya people are Muslim. Despite having a presence in Burma for centuries, they are often reviled as outsiders, unjustly accused of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. In 1982, the Myanmar government stripped Rohingya residents of their citizenship, and through subsequent waves of violence destroyed many of their communities and severely restricted their rights, including the right to work, travel, marry, and access health services. Those forced to flee to Bangladesh lack food, proper shelter, and medical care in the camps. According to UNICEF, the Kutupalong-Balukhali refugee settlements in Bangladesh—consisting of thirty-five smaller camps, which together now comprise the largest refugee camp in the world—are home to approximately 877,000 people. Many refugees are malnourished and in need of psychosocial support for their trauma, including the sixty percent of the refugee population who are women and girls, many of whom were victims of sexual violence.

The camps currently offer only one hospital facility per 130,000 people. COVID has greatly aggravated the plight of the refugees and further overwhelmed the medical facilities there. On top of all of this, a massive fire, which raced through four of the thirty-five camps of Kutupalong-Balukhali in the spring of 2021 left some 45,000 people homeless and scores more children separated from their parents. In addition, approximately 150,000 Rohingya are still living in terrible conditions, mostly in primitive refugee camps, in Rakhine province.

As Jews, we have so often over the centuries been the victims of ethnic cleansing, banishment, and exile, and we continue to live with the legacy of the Holocaust. We therefore know all too well the brutal consequences of global indifference, when people and nations turn their backs on those persecuted for their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other distinction, degrading the value of human life.

Resolution

Whereas, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, among others, has found compelling evidence that the Myanmar military committed genocide against Rohingya people—the deliberate and intentional destruction of their community based on their ethnicity and religion;[iii] and

Whereas, it is incumbent upon the Jewish community to raise awareness about and advocate against the slaughter, persecution, and displacement of the Rohingya people at the hands of the Myanmar military; and

Whereas, the Jewish community, for whom the phrase “Never Again” is a rallying cry against genocide and other atrocities, cannot remain silent;

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1. Calls upon the governments and legislatures of the United States, Canada, Israel, and every nation of the world, as well as the United Nations, to take crucial steps in stopping the violence by condemning the genocidal ethnic cleansing, imposing strong economic sanctions on Myanmar, and providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugee communities.
2. Urges these governments and the international community to:
3. Continue to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar military officials and others involved in the ongoing atrocities;
4. Expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees to a level necessary for their subsistence and well-being;
5. Explore international justice mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, to adjudicate the crimes committed by the Myanmar military against civilians, including the Rohingya people; and
6. Pressure the Myanmar government to ensure the safety and well-being of the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar and to allow international observers to monitor, and relief groups to coordinate, with the government in serving the Rohingya.
7. Commends the U.S. and Canada for their arms embargo of Myanmar and calls on all nations to immediately cease and prohibit arms sales to the Myanmar military.
8. Calls on international bodies to ensure that any repatriation planning process includes Rohingya decision-makers and restores full and equal citizenship to the Rohingya people with unfettered human rights and safety guarantees;
9. Implores CCAR members and the communities we serve to educate themselves about the urgent plight of the Rohingya people, to advocate on their behalf, and to build interfaith, intercommunity coalitions to advocate for the rights and well-being of the Rohingya people.

[i] Zachary Perdek, “The Rohingya and International Laws of Ethnic Cleansing,” Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, September 24, 2017, The Rohingya and International Laws of Ethnic Cleansing – Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce.

[ii] Members include American Jewish World Service, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, American Jewish Committee, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, CCAR, HIAS, Anti-Defamation League, Jewish World Watch, JACOB, T’ruah, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Rabbinical Assembly. Allies: Hebrew College, The New York Board of Rabbis, Uri L’Tzedek, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and The Shalom Center.

[iii] The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has concluded that there is compelling evidence based on its own on-the-ground research, which resulted in a joint 2017 report with Fortify Rights, as well as recent State Department and United Nations reports. American Jewish World Service has also determined that the atrocities constitute genocide.

August 12, 2021

Jewish tradition celebrates the meaningful exchange of ideas and respect for minority viewpoints. The Talmudic debates of the houses of Hillel and Shammai remain examples of ways to respectfully advance differing views. In fact, the Babylonian Talmud tractate Eiruvin 13b teaches that Jewish law follows the school of Hillel precisely because it humbly preserved the opposing opinion in its teachings. A page of Talmud also includes minority opinions as well as the majority consensus. Mishnah Eduyot 1:5 teaches the importance of preserving the individual or minority’s opinion as it may become relevant later. We recognize there may be truth and wisdom in opposing views on many issues. As the Talmud teaches of debates between the Houses of Hillel and Shammai, “These and these are both the words of the Living God” (Eiruvin 13b). We value wrestling with and trying to reconcile such conflicting views.

In modern times, a healthy democracy requires the constant balancing of majority and minority rights and voices. In the American political tradition, the Senate filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome (known as “invoking cloture” to force a vote), has been characterized as a means of ensuring the minority’s voice is heard in the Senate. In theory, it may also promote deliberation, bipartisanship, and compromise.

Yet the filibuster may also be used as an offensive weapon to obstruct legislative business and has too often been used to thwart important American values of equality and justice. As we noted in our 2005 Resolution on Protecting Minority Rights and the Filibuster in the U.S. Senate,[1] the most memorable uses of the filibuster in real life have been to thwart attempts to pass civil rights statutes in the 1950s and 1960s. The longest filibuster on record was 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Researchers have found that between 1917 and 1994, half of all bills that were defeated by filibuster focused on civil rights.[2]  By threatening meaningful progress to ensure civil and voting rights—as well as other important protections of our democracy and issues, such as gun violence prevention and immigration reform—the filibuster continues to be a tool that can perpetuate white supremacy and systemic racism.

Nonetheless, as Reform rabbis, we are mindful of the importance of debate and recognize that elimination of the filibuster can be used to promote tyranny as easily as justice. We are especially wary of the tyranny any uncontrolled majority group can perpetrate upon a minority. To that end, we resolved in 2005 to “oppose legislation or other procedural changes that would eviscerate the rights of minorities in the Senate.”[3] We therefore seek not to abolish but to reform the use of the filibuster to accomplish its worthy goals, which have been lost through a series of procedural changes that encourage its abuse.

A 1970 procedural change effectively changed the filibuster from a process to encourage dialogue to one that precludes dialogue. Until 1970, the filibuster required a senator to continue speaking (with interruptions for questions). As this had the effect of stopping other Senate business, the Senate rules were changed to eliminate the “talking filibuster” and to allow any senator to merely indicate the intent to filibuster and oppose reaching any vote on legislation. Although this permitted other Senate business to proceed, this “silent filibuster” has allowed a single, anonymous senator to indefinitely obstruct a bill without speaking on the Senate floor. The modern filibuster is fundamentally voiceless, secretive, and obstructionist.[4]

Since the procedural change to the silent filibuster more than five decades ago, a growing body of evidence shows that today’s filibuster has contributed to political stalemate and obstruction by the minority. Senate action requires not merely a majority but 60 votes within the 100-member body, which happens rarely.[5]  Though there were just 49 votes to end a filibuster (invoke cloture) between 1917 and 1970, there were 298 votes to invoke cloture in 2019–2020 alone—indicating the exponential growth in use of the filibuster as a legislative tactic. The filibuster, once a rarity, is now a central governing principle of the Senate. Rather than encouraging compromise between senators with differing views, the filibuster allows senators to avoid the need to compromise—or even to discuss. The Senate has gone from being known as “the world’s most deliberative body” to one that often avoids deliberation of the most controversial and meaningful issues. As Reform rabbis who recognize the importance of dialogue and disagreement, we seek to change this pattern wholly apart from the substantive issues at stake.

Filibuster reform that would contribute to dialogue rather than eliminating it has the potential to rebalance majority and minority rights in the Senate. A return to the “talking filibuster” with other possible changes suggested below would better balance the right of the minority to voice its opinion and have a meaningful say in the legislative process with the need for Congress to legislate on the most pressing issues of our time effectively and deliberately. It would also shine light on the views and identity of those who are filibustering, allowing constituents and all Americans to see their motives and values more clearly.

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

1. Support filibuster reform that balances the constructive impact of debate and the ability of the minority to participate meaningfully in the legislative process with the need for the Senate to advance legislation effectively, including but not limited to the following:
   1. Restoring the pre-1970 “talking filibuster” through continuous speech by the minority related to the legislation at issue, with breaks where appropriate to effectuate other Senate business;
   2. Eliminating duplicative opportunities for senators to filibuster the same legislation;
   3. Ending silent holds so that it is known which senator(s) wish to filibuster (if the talking filibuster is not reinstated);
   4. Expanding opportunities for the minority to offer amendments with sufficient time for debate;
   5. Adopting rules and procedures to encourage discussion and negotiation between those holding different positions; and
   6. Considering a lower number of senators needed for cloture (e.g., to 55 senators or 55% of seated senators) under certain circumstances.

2. Educate our members and the communities we serve on the historic and ongoing role the filibuster plays in upholding and strengthening systemic racism and white supremacy.

[1] “Protecting Minority Rights and the Filibuster in the U.S. Senate,” Adopted by the 116^th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Houston, TX, March, 2005, Protecting Minority Rights and the Filibuster in the U.S. Senate – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[2] https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/3/25/22348308/filibuster-racism-jim-crow-mitch-mcconnell

[3] “Protecting Minority Rights and the Filibuster in the U.S. Senate,” CCAR, 2005.

[4] Two exceptions to the filibuster have been created to allow continued basic functioning of government. A Senate majority has been sufficient for current budget measures under the process of “reconciliation” and for approval of executive branch appointments and judges. We recognize that any carve-out for any substantive issue likely opens the door to carve out of any other substantive issue and risks eliminating any benefit of the filibuster. Elimination of the filibuster might improve current odds of passing CCAR-supported reforms in voting, police accountability, and environmental justice but risks later facing repeal of hard-won legislation on reproductive, LGBTQ, and immigrant right, among other CCAR priorities.

[5] Although the Democratic caucus held 60 votes for about six months in 2009–2010 after one special election and one change of party, the last time 60 sitting senators had been elected from the same party was after the election of 1976, the first presidential election following Watergate.

This resolution is significantly based on the work of the Women’s Rabbinic Network’s (WRN’s) Writers Circle who were instrumental in the creation of this resolution, and language was also drawn from the WRN Paid Family Leave Standard & Resource, https://www.womensrabbinicnetwork.org/Family-Leave. The CCAR is deeply indebted and grateful to WRN.

June 15, 2021

Creation is a holy act. Parental leave time ties us to the Divine within every human life. The first command that God gives to humanity is to “be fruitful and multiply.” Leviticus 12 describes a time after birth when the mother has designated time with her newborn child. No matter how an individual becomes a parent to a child, they need time to heal, to tend, and to bond.

We call for a season’s worth of time (12 weeks) as the minimum standard after the birth, adoption (of any kind), or fostering of a child. Paid time off to address important life events, like adopting, birthing, or fostering a child, cannot be a negotiable benefit in contracting, but should rather be a fundamental worker’s right, a fundamental human right, and a fundamental obligation of any community. All efforts should be made to treat it as such.

Jewish tradition acknowledges that human beings must choose among equally compelling obligations, such as working and caregiving. When faced with two competing commandments, the Talmud teaches osek bamitzvah, patur min hamitzvah, “One who is obligated in one commandment is exempt from another commandment” (B’rachot 11a). By financially and socially supporting parental leave, our Jewish communities allow parents—of any and all genders, who become parents through any process—to perform the obligation of care while being exempted from the obligation to work.

For too long, women, those who identify as female, and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) have disproportionately carried caregiving responsibilities within families, often at the expense of advancement within their professional roles. They have faced dire economic consequences when they have prioritized their children. Practices of negotiating parental leave only with married employees place an undue burden on workers who are not married or only with women. This practice must end, and the first step in rectifying this imbalance is to standardize parental leave in our communities.

The Talmud teaches, “All Israel is responsible for one another” (Shavuot 39). Just as all clergy and professional staff of synagogues and Jewish institutions spend their days caring for and supporting the Jewish community, it is the responsibility of Jewish institutions and communities to also support all staff members in their times of joy and in their times of sorrow. “Staff” extends to anyone who works in our institutions, in any capacity. Parental leave is a Jewish value and is one that must be acted upon with care whether after the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child, for parents of any and all genders, including male, nonbinary, trans, and all other folks.

Whereas:

• Torah prioritizes the role of parents in building Jewish community;
• Reform rabbis value a Jewish community in which professionals and all employees look after lay people and lay people look after professionals and all employees;
• Jewish law provides for prioritization of competing values and obligations;
• COVID has shown the urgency for codified leave policies and protections as the need for caregiving has expanded exponentially;

And whereas women and others who bear children disproportionately shoulder the responsibility of caregiving, forcing them to step out of the workforce or to attempt to carry more responsibility than is reasonable, which results in:

• A short- and long-term risk to the job security for women and others who bear children;
• A dramatic, national rollback of the gains in the fight for gender equality; and
• A drastic decline in the mental, financial, and physical health for parents of all genders.

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

• Urge all Reform Jewish institutions (movement institutions, synagogues, schools, camps, etc.) to guarantee a minimum of 12 weeks paid parental leave for every employee, regardless of gender identity or presentation, sexual orientation, race, religious affiliation, or length of tenure. This leave will be set aside as paid for the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child.
• Encourage all eligible employees to use the parental leave afforded to them, trusting that their employers will honor this time. We similarly encourage management to refrain from any punitive action against those who do so—for example, in considering promotions—and to assist actively in the transition as an employee returns to work after leave. Professional and lay partnerships and leadership will be essential in managing the distribution of work while employees are on leave.
• Especially encourage men and other non-childbearing parents—in particular, white, straight, cisgender men—to model taking and prioritizing parental leave. Because historically lower-paid workers and women have been negatively affected by the pervasive devaluing of caregiving, systemic change in this area requires leadership to model taking and prioritizing leave, in practice and in our language.
• Hold ourselves to the highest standards of equity, refusing to penalize caregivers in the workplace for caregiving by limiting promotions or income, by making assumptions about who will take parental leave, or by commenting on or about any individual’s choices pertaining to such leave. For example, we will not call fathers “babysitters” when they take time to be with their children, and we will not assume that mothers will be the primary caregivers of newborns. Nor will we refer to parental leave as “vacation” or treat it as such in employment policies.

This Resolution is based on a very similar resolution adopted by our partner organization, the Union for Reform Judaism, in 2019.

May 6, 2021

Background:

Torah and the Jewish tradition that emerges from it insist time and again on justice in the halls of judgment: b’tzedek tishphot, “you shall judge with justice” (Leviticus 19:15). The Book of Exodus also teaches, “When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless help raise it” (Exodus 23:5). Rabbinic authorities understand this verse as instructing human beings to treat one another with respect, even when costly or the person of interest is an “enemy.”[i] The pursuit of justice should not be intertwined with the pursuit of financial gain.

In this spirit, as early as 1928, the CCAR resolved: “The right of society to protect itself against those who constitute social menaces implies also the solemn obligation to do everything possible to remove the causes which tend to make men [sic] criminals and to make punishment corrective in spirit rather than retributional.”[ii] In our 1999 Resolution on Race and the Criminal Justice System, we decried police brutality, racial profiling, sentencing disparity, and disproportionate minority confinement in the juvenile justice system.[iii] In our 2015 Resolution on Racial Justice, we again called for an end to racial profiling and for reform of police practices, and we focused on an end to mass incarceration by eliminating the focus on communities of color for drug arrests; revoking non-discretionary judicial restrictions such as mandatory minimum sentences and “three strikes and you’re out” provisions; ending initiatives that push juveniles into the adult penal system of courts and prisons; and removing post-sentencing sanctions, including ineligibility for federal housing or subsidies.[iv]

Today, although public and private prisons both experience challenges that must be addressed to ensure the just administration of justice, private prison facilities raise particular concerns. Private prison facilities are used both in the criminal justice and the immigration justice systems, with resulting and related challenges. We have spoken in other resolutions about the importance of a just immigration system, including condemnation of “the punitive enforcement-only approach” to immigrants who lack legal documentation of their immigration status.[v] CCAR rabbis actively work to free immigrants from both for-profit and government run detention facilities.[vi] This resolution focuses on the privatization of the U.S. criminal justice system, which has experienced a dramatic growth since the 1980s. Between 2000 and 2016 alone, The Sentencing Project found that the American private prison population increased five times faster than the total prison population.[vii] At the end of 2017, eight per cent of the 1.49 million Americans incarcerated in state and federal jurisdictions were held in private facilities, totaling nearly 120,000 people.[viii]

The number of Americans held in private prisons has boomed, despite decades of studies that show no cost savings as compared to government-run facilities and increased concerns about the quality and safety of private facilities.[ix] Poor medical care, unsanitary conditions, and generally unsafe living conditions are well documented.[x] A 2016 federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) report found “in a majority of the categories we examined, contract prisons incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable BOP institutions.” Problems included higher rates of both inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults.[xi]

Additionally, the private prison industry holds significant influence over criminal justice policy. As reported by the Justice Policy Institute, “Through campaign contributions, lobbying and building relationships and associations, private prison companies engage in an aggressive political strategy to influence criminal justice policies in ways that lead to more people in prison and more money in their pockets.”[xii]

Compared to public facilities, private prisons are motivated largely if not exclusively by profit. The more inmates held in their facilities, the better the company’s bottom line. A 2010 annual report from the Corrections Corporation of America stated: “We believe we have been successful in increasing the number of residents in our care and continue to pursue a number of initiatives intended to further increase our occupancy and revenue.”[xiii] The company’s pursuit of more incarcerated individuals calls into question the ways in which the profit motive contributes to the United States’ status as the nation with the world’s highest incarceration rate: though only about 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. houses nearly 25% of the world’s incarcerated population.[xiv]

In August 2016, the United States Department of Justice began to eliminate federal contracts with private prisons.[xv] However, in February 2017, the Department of Justice reversed course, instructing the BOP to “return to its previous approach.”[xvi] More recently, in his opening days in office, “President Joe Biden … signed an executive order that will phase out the Department of Justice’s use of private prisons.”[xvii] In addition, “22 states—under both Democratic and Republican control—do not house incarcerated people in for-profit prisons.” Indeed, Vox reported that, in 2019 alone, three states—California, Nevada, and Illinois—banned or expanded bans on for-profit prisons.[xviii]

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

1. Commend President Joe Biden for resolving to phase out to end the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ utilization of private prisons and detention centers;
2. Call on states that have contracts with private prisons to end those contracts as expeditiously as legally permitted.
3. Support legislation banning construction or implementation of new private prisons and detention centers;
4. Encourage CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve to participate in local, state, and federal efforts to close private prisons; and
5. Continue to work toward a more just criminal justice system overall.

[i] Tur HaAroch, Exodus 23:5.

[ii] “Human Rights,” Digests of resolutions adopted by the Central Conference of American Rabbis between 1889 and 1974, item 5, 1928, p. 83 (presumably of the CCAR Yearbook).

[iii] This sentence, taken from the CCAR Resolution on Racial Justice, June 17, 2015, refers to the CCAR Resolution on Race and the Criminal Justice System, May 1999, Race and the Criminal Justice System, Resolution on – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[iv] CCAR Resolution on Racial Justice, June 17, 2015, CCAR Resolution on Racial Justice – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[v] CCAR Resolution on Immigration Reform, June 2006, Immigration Reform – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[vi] “Let Our Families Go: Rabbis to Lead Pilgrimage to TX/Mexico Border,” November 2018, Let Our Families Go: Rabbis to Lead Pilgrimage to TX/Mexico Border – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[vii] Karin Gotsch and Vinay Basti, “Capitalizing on Mass Incarceration: U.S. Growth in Private Prisons,” The Sentencing Project, August 2, 2018, Capitalizing on Mass Incarceration: U.S. Growth in Private Prisons | The Sentencing Project.

[viii] E. Ann Carson, “Prisoners in 2018,” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, April 2020, Prisoners in 2018 (bjs.gov).

[ix] Gotsch and Basti.

[x] “Investigation into Private Prisons Reveals Crowding, Under-Staffing, and Inmate Deaths,” Fresh Air, NPR, August 25, 2016, Investigation Into Private Prisons Reveals Crowding, Under-Staffing And Inmate Deaths : NPR.

[xi] Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, “Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Monitoring of Contract Prisons,” August 2016, Review of Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Monitoring of Contract Prisons (oversight.gov).

[xii] Paul Ashton, “Gaming the System, How the Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote Ineffective Prison Policies,” Justice Policy Institute, June 22, 2011, Gaming the System: How the Political Strategies of Private Prison Companies Promote Ineffective Incarceration Policies — Justice Policy Institute.

[xiii] Collier Meyerson, “Private prisons and the profit motive,” MSNBC, April 12, 2013, Private prisons and the profit motive (msnbc.com).

[xiv] Michelle Ye Hee Lee, “Yes, U.S. locks people up at rate higher than any other country,” The Washington Post, July 7, 2015, Washington Post.

[xv] Sally Q. Yates, Deputy Attorney General, “Reducing Our Use of Private Prisons,” Memorandum for the Acting Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons, August 18, 2016, Memorandum for the Acting Director Federal Bureau of Prisons (justice.gov).

[xvi] Jefferson B. Sessions, III, Attorney General, Rescission of Memorandum on Use of Private Prisons, Memorandum to the Acting Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons, February 21, 2017, Attorney General Memorandum Advising the Federal Bureau of Prisons That the Department Will Continue to Use Private Prisons (justice.gov).

[xvii] Char Adams, “Biden’s order terminates federal private prison contracts. Here’s what that means,” NBC News, January 27, 2021.

[xviii] Catherine Kim, “Private prisons face an uncertain future as states turn their backs on the industry,” Vox, December 1, 2019, A growing number of states are banning private prisons – Vox.

April 26, 2021

As public awareness and understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has evolved, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) has repeatedly prioritized the Jewish value of pikuach nefesh, the preservation of life. With our partner organization, the Union for Reform Judaism, we released “Guidelines on Values-Based Decision-Making in Returning to In-Person Gatherings during the COVID-19 Pandemic,”[i] highlighting the importance of balancing key values, including pikuach nefesh.

As we stated at the beginning of this pandemic, we “urge every individual to join in lifesaving efforts to reduce any possible risk of infection through increased hygiene and social distancing.”[ii] We learn from the best available guidelines of the World Health Organization that widespread, equitable vaccination is key to drastically slowing the spread of COVID-19 and preventing many deaths.[iii]

A 1999 CCAR responsum (Jewish legal analysis) on the topic of “Compulsory Immunization” emphasizes, “Immunization … is a matter of social ethics and responsibility as well. Scientists recognize that protection of individuals from serious diseases depends not only on their own immunization but on the immunization of others in the community.”[iv] We are reminded that immunization is not just for the sake of the individual, but for the sake of the community, including those who cannot get vaccinated.

That same responsum bolstered a Jewish communal institution’s right to “make legislative enactments … for the maintenance of its vital institutions and the governance of its public affairs,” including requiring record of immunization prior to participation in certain programs and events.[v]

As a religious body, we also call upon governments to ensure accessibility to vaccines for all. As we taught in our 2017 Resolution on Health Care, “medieval rabbinic authority, Rabbi Nissim of Gerona (Barcelona, 1320-1380), noted that health care funds are specifically designated for the ‘poor of the world,’ not only the ‘poor of the city.’ Thus, when it comes to providing health care, a community must offer help to all who are in need, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or nationality.”[vi] According to recent studies conducted by the CDC, “there is a consistent pattern across states of Black and Hispanic people receiving smaller shares of vaccinations compared to their shares of cases and deaths and compared to their shares of the total population.”

WHEREAS pikuach nefesh takes precedence over other Jewish ethical obligations; and

WHEREAS the CCAR has previously determined that the value of minyan, worship in community, must also “ensure the safety and well-being of our respective communities and citizens,”[vii] especially the most vulnerable among them, including the disabled, the elderly, and others for whom infection would bring additional risk; and

WHEREAS the World Health Organization and other medical institutions, based on emerging data, have shown the efficacy of several available vaccines against COVID-19 in preventing the spread and curbing the morbidity and mortality of the disease in some (though not all) individuals;[viii]

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CENTRAL CONFERENCE OF AMERICAN RABBIS

• urges its members and members of the communities we serve to be vaccinated, unless ineligible or medically disqualified; and
• calls upon all Reform rabbis, leaders, congregations, camps, schools, and institutions to be role models by following their state and local guidelines on obtaining the vaccine against COVID-19 for all eligible individuals as they become available, prioritizing those most at risk; and
• deems it the responsibility and the right of our Reform Jewish institutions to continue to evaluate and implement meaningful safety precautions, that may include social distancing, proper mask-wearing, and other appropriate protocols for in-person communal activities until deemed safe; and
• encourages Reform institutions to follow the CDC guidelines in reopening and gathering; and
• calls upon governments to ensure that vaccinations and vaccination education are available to the whole population, with special attention to at-risk populations and historically underserved communities.

[i] CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic, May 12, 2020, CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making: Returning to In-Person Gatherings During The COVID-19 Pandemic – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[ii] Central Conference of American Rabbis Responds to the Covid-19 Pandemic, March 12, 2020, https://www.ccarnet.org/the-central-conference-of-american-rabbis-covid19-pandemic-statement/.

[iii] “The effects of virus variants on COVID-19 vaccines,” World Health Organization, March 1, 2021, htts://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-effects-of-virus-variants-on-covid-19-vaccines.

[iv] CCAR Responsa 5759.10, “Compulsory Vaccination,” NYP no. 5759.10 – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[v] Ibid.

[vi] CCAR Resolution on Health Care, March 23, 2017, Resolution on Health Care – Central Conference of American Rabbis (ccarnet.org).

[vii] CCAR/URJ Guidelines on Values-Based Decision Making.

[viii] COVID-19 advice for the public: Getting vaccinated, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/emergencies/disesases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice.