Adopted February 9, 2021

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a radical restructuring of professional, communal, social, and spiritual life. New ways to connect outside the bounds of synagogue buildings and other communal spaces have proven invaluable to immunocompromised people, elders, individuals with limited mobility, chronically ill people, and myriad folk who experience disability, permanently or temporarily. The new willingness for employers and public institutions to accommodate technologically-enabled methods for gathering and working have provided inclusive solutions for their employees and customers—no matter their ability. The message is loud and clear: The welcome end to this global health crisis must not mean a simultaneous reversal of the transformations that have improved access for disabled people to many opportunities and institutions.

Systemic inclusion for disabled people requires conscious decision-making and determination. The structural system known as “ableism” leads to widespread discrimination towards disabled and chronically ill people. Although most people will experience disability as they age, the COVID pandemic has highlighted the insidious perception that disabled people are too often deemed “acceptable losses,” in the words[1] of our teacher and colleague, Rabbi Elliot Kukla.[2] Not only do we refuse to treat disabled people as disposable, but we also call on Reform rabbis to lead by example in preparing our communities for inclusion. We will not wait for folks to identify themselves and their needs, we will seek out ways to be more inclusive. As the Mishkan (the traveling sanctuary in the desert) was fitted with poles that were never removed so Torah would always be able to go to where it was needed, we will bring Torah to those in our community by serving them where they are by making our offerings accessible. We call upon our members to work towards broad inclusion for disabled people into all aspects of Jewish communal life.

Within Talmud, we find fulsome expression of the obligation of the community towards those living with disabilities, beyond the Torah’s oft-cited prohibition of “putting a stumbling block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14). Rabbi Yosei, in M’gillah 24b, ponders, “What does it matter to a blind person whether it is dark or light?” One night, Rabbi Yosei encounters a blind man carrying a torch as he walks along the road. Rabbi Yosei asks him directly why he carries the torch, since it certainly does not enable him to see. The man replies, “As long as I have a torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the pits and the thorns and the thistles.”

The CCAR calls on Reform Jewish leaders to answer and to update the call of the man with the torch: not to “save” anyone; but rather, to empower. We must ensure that our communities will indeed work to remove and reduce the pits, thorns, and thistles of communal life that bar disabled people from full and meaningful participation and leadership. Further, we must commit to continually educating ourselves and our communities about visible and invisible disabilities, and to making disability inclusion an aspect of all communal decision-making and practice.

Whereas a lack of access in the communities we serve—our buildings, lesson plans, teaching techniques, hiring, leadership, liturgy, social structures, and more—continue to affect physically, psychologically, socially, intellectually, emotionally, and neurologically disabled people;

Whereas Reform rabbinic leadership and our major institutions (the CCAR, the URJ, and the RAC) have historically worked for inclusion for disabled people;[3]

Whereas we recognize that ensuring full and meaningful access is ongoing and evolving communal work, which involves regular review of communal practices, protocols, and physical structures;

Whereas only ongoing and evolving communal work will assure disabled people that our communities are places where all people are valued and can fully thrive; and

Whereas we understand that a positive impact of the current pandemic is an invigorated, broad communal readiness to make radical changes to established ways of conducting Jewish communal life for the sake of greater inclusion;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Central Conference of American Rabbis calls upon its members to:

1. Pivot to an urgent and ongoing, newly-invigorated and leadership-backed dedication to disability access, one which creates “a new normal,” post-COVID way of doing, with a menu of services and access points much broader than previous “in-person” habits;
2. Calls upon Reform rabbis, congregations, organizations, schools and other educational institutions, and communities to engage in a process of assessing the structural approach best suited to ensure long-term attention to access within their particular community; these might include establishing an Inclusion Diversity Equity and Accessibility Team (“IDEA Team”); recruiting disabled people to serve on any and all committees, especially in positions of leadership; periodic accessibility audits; and ongoing workshops and learning, especially for communal leaders and staff;
3. The CCAR pledges to do our due diligence, and encourage all Reform institutions to do so, in consulting with disability advocates and experts (preferably themselves disabled people) to become aware of any barriers to full participation, inclusion, and belonging for all temporarily or permanently disabled people, thereby honoring the principle, “nothing about us without us” (visit the Ruderman Disability Inclusion Learning Center for resources and suggestions);
4. Urges all Reform Jewish institutions to work to remove or ameliorate access obstacles like exclusionary language (e.g., replace “Please rise for the Amidah” with “Please rise in body or spirit” or similar) and spatial barriers (e.g., access to the bimah or Torah reading table for folks with all types of mobility);
5. Requests that our Reform Jewish institutions establish inclusive practices that address the needs of people with both visible and invisible disabilities, as well as transparency around those practices, e.g., lowering the height of mezuzot; reserving seating near a designated quiet space or exit; creating low-stimulation spaces for sensory-disabled people; providing large print siddurim; creating low- or no-scent gatherings; varying pedagogical techniques; or other solutions that emerge from assessment;
6. Exhorts Reform Jewish institutions to communicate ongoing commitment to and celebration of the diversity within our communities by explicitly disclosing accessibility (or lack thereof) at every program or gathering, featuring people with varying abilities in printed materials, on websites and in social media (e.g., “This event is not wheelchair accessible” or “ASL interpretation available. Please contact XXX.”);
7. Commits that the CCAR will ensure that its own leadership positions are truly available for disabled colleagues and will work through its representatives to the Rabbinic Placement Committee and relationships with other Reform Movement institutions to encourage establishment of hiring committees for Reform Jewish employment that regularly recruit and consider disabled people for all available opportunities, and include appropriate structural and organizational support to make working conditions accessible;
8. Recognizes that disabled people often live with financial insecurity or in poverty and thus calls on Reform Jewish institutions to ensure that access for the disabled includes economic considerations.

With these commitments, the CCAR will continue to consciously and systematically expand the wholeness of our communities and those who find a soulful home within them.

CCAR Resolutions Committee
Rabbi Rachel Greengrass, Chair
Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi, Co-Author
Rabbi Debra Landsberg, Co-Author

[1] New York Times Op-Ed, “My Life Is More ‘Disposable’ During This Pandemic,” March 19, 2020.

[2] At the time of this resolution, there are diverse opinions within the disabled community as to preferred language (namely, “people first” or “identity first”). In consultation with our colleague Rabbi Elliot Kukla, we have chosen to use “disabled,” which follows the model of disability justice advocates, rather than the medical model of disability. For greater understanding of the matter, see: What Is Identity-First Language, & Should You Use It? and Identity-First Language

[3] See, for example, our 1983 Resolution on People with Disabilities and our 2001 Resolution Establishing a Complete System of Care for Persons with Mental Illness.

Adopted January 14, 2021

Background

Confederate monuments have re-emerged in our time as staging grounds and rallying points for white nationalists’ intent: strengthening and normalizing white supremacy in the twenty-first century. In 2017, for example, a Robert E. Lee memorial in Charlottesville was used as a stage for hateful and racist rhetoric that resulted in chaos and violence. The manner in which these divisive symbols are idolized also conflicts with Jewish values. When symbols are viewed as more important than human lives, we have crossed into the practice of idolatry. Torah teaches opposition to avodah zarah, idol worship, and holds idolatry as an extraordinary sin.

In the case of Confederate Monuments, these idols are inextricably intertwined with historical efforts to promote and protect white supremacy. Most of them were not erected immediately after the Civil War, but in the 1890s and early decades of the twentieth century.[1] Often placed on courthouse lawns and other highly visible public areas, they were part of a larger effort to strip African Americans of power through lynching, disenfranchisement, and segregation. Organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy worked with segregationists in Congress and state legislatures to fill the American landscape with monuments honoring the “Lost Cause” and memorializing soldiers who defended the “Anglo-Saxon civilization of the South.”[2] Proponents intended the monuments to send a clear and powerful message about the subordinate role that, in their view, African Americans were supposed to play in American society. Another wave of Confederate memorializing came in the 1950s and 1960s as part of what white Southerners called their “massive resistance” to the Civil Rights Movement, largely through the Confederate Battle Flag.[3]

Our Jewish community includes Black and brown people who are directly targeted by such hateful symbols. We have also long condemned symbols of oppression in any context. In in our 2005 Resolution Concerning the Confederate Battle Flag, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) affirmed that, “The Jewish people know all too well the sting of bigotry, oppression, and slavery triggered by powerful symbols of hate. We will always feel a spiritual kinship to those who suffer under the yoke of oppression and persecution, and together we will work to see that justice is served for all God’s children.” We, as a Central Conference, called for the removal of these symbols. Our understanding of this affirmation is grounded in the ethics learned from Jewish enslavement in Egypt. In Exodus 22:20, we read, “You shall not wrong nor oppress the stranger in your midst, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Protests against racial injustice are flaring again, as the nation continually fails to reckon with the impacts of historic and ongoing systemic racism. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel stated, “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings.” Heschel reminds us that we cannot afford to stand by as vulnerable voices are constantly overwhelmed by fear, prejudice, and animosity. We can no longer allow the idolization and defense of Confederate monuments to prevent the necessary steps towards a national reckoning with ongoing racial injustice.

Fulfilling this commitment also requires us to acknowledge how we as rabbis can teach and embrace the complexities of history with accuracy and compassion. Removing hurtful and hateful symbolism from our lives is not an effort to erase history. Rather, it is to see that painful history in all its complexity. As rabbis, we should embrace all affected by this issue and address the traumas of the past and present, so that healing can occur in the future.

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1. Reaffirms our 2005 call to oppose the display of the Confederate Battle Flag on public property.
2. Urges the removal of public monuments to the Confederacy, and recognizes that these were built as markers supporting the practice of slavery and ideologies of white supremacy.
3. Resolves to educate our membership and the communities we serve on the history surrounding these monuments, their relationship to white supremacy, and the proper place for these monuments in continuing education about slavery and white supremacy.
4. Commits to ongoing assessment and evaluation to strengthen our own institutions’ efforts to combat implicit and explicit bias and promote racial equity.

CCAR Resolutions Committee
Rabbi Rachel Greengrass, Chair
Rabbi Mona Alfi
Rabbi Kenneth Carr
Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi
Rabbi Debra Landsberg
Rabbi Bradley Levenberg
Rabbi Joseph Rosen
Rabbi David Widzer
Rabbi Asher Knight, Adjunct

[1] Southern Poverty Law Center, “Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy,” April 21, 2016 https://www.splcenter.org/data-projects/whose-heritage#words

[2] “I’ve studied the history of Confederate memorials. Here’s what to do about them.” By W. Fitzhugh Brundage Aug 18, 2017, 9:40am EDT

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/8/18/16165160/confederate-monuments-history-charlottesville-white-supremacy

[3] Researching the veracity of Eugene Robinson Stated on June 21, 2015 in comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: The Confederate battle flag in South Carolina was first flown at the statehouse in 1961. “It was flown as a symbol of massive resistance to racial desegregation.”  As covered by Politifact. By Anna Bruzgulis, June 22, 2015. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/jun/22/eugene-robinson/confederate-flag-wasnt-flown-south-carolina-state-/

Adopted October 8, 2020

Background  

The Jewish tradition teaches that one of the ways humans imitate God is through our capacity for speech. The power of speech is a central concept in Judaism; it has both the power to create and the power to wreak vast destruction.

In the Torah story of Balaam, a powerful prophet hired by King Balak to curse the Hebrew people is foiled at every turn by God (Numbers 22). The medieval Spanish Jewish commentator Isaac Abarbanel considers why God is concerned about Balaam’s words. Abarbanel contends that, while it is indeed true that Balaam’s curse would have had no power over God, Balaam’s words could, nonetheless, profoundly influence the Israelites and the other nations, all of whom believed strongly in the efficacy and power of the spoken word. Therefore, while empty of the power to evoke Divine action, Balaam’s words do have significant power—the power to change public opinion and perception. Thus, God impedes Balaam’s journey and ultimately transforms his words. God understands, as do we, that, even when words are not true, they still have the capacity to influence people’s actions and their perception of reality. 

We learn from Proverbs (18:21): “Mavet v’chayim b’yad lashon—Death and life are in the power [lit: hand] of the tongue.” Later Jewish tradition clarifies the verse’s meaning: “Does the tongue have a hand? No,” the ancient rabbis explain, “the verse intends to teach us that, just as a hand can kill, so too a tongue can kill, and not just those who are close by. It can also kill like an arrow that is fired from a bow at a great distance.”

Furthermore, the rabbinic sages taught, “‘Third speech’ [i.e., malicious speech about a third party] actually kills three people. It kills the one who speaks it. It kills the one who accepts the malicious speech when one hears it. And it kills the one about whom the malicious speech is said” (Arachin 15b).

These myriad cautions about the power of speech come within the context of a tradition that celebrates the multiplicity of voices and opinions. Freedom of speech is the bedrock of any democracy, yet misused speech carries deleterious and dangerous consequences. Abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, national origin, actual or perceived gender identity, gender or sexual orientation, cuts at the very soul of society.

Hate speech can be communicated blatantly, in veiled and coded language, knowingly or unknowingly. Both veiled terms (e.g., “globalists,” “crime-ridden,” “deviant”) and microaggressions are particularly pernicious; they are painful and cumulative. Often, only members of the targeted group recognize immediately the harm and hatred inherent in such expressions; by definition small (hence “micro”), such language is dismissed as a misunderstanding, a mistake. The offended party is accused of being “too sensitive.”

Every person has bias. Microaggressions often result not from a place of blatant hate, but from ignorance and unconscious bias. It is important to uncover our unconscious biases so that we are then able to compensate for them. The same can be said for microaggressions. It is up to us to learn what language is hurtful (often by being open to those who are trying to correct us and being grateful to them instead of trying to defend ourselves) and then consciously working to improve.

Jews have a moral responsibility to speak out when hate speech is used, especially by those in positions of power to engender enmity, foster division, or incite acts of violence. No one in the Jewish community should let hate speech go unchecked, in any form, whether explicitly or in coded language.

Beyond resisting hate speech, it is also our responsibility to listen to those who have been targeted. We must learn from the targeted groups themselves how to identify which language is hurtful, which language creates, and which language destroys. We must continue to adjust how we use the power of the tongue to uplift and honor one another.

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

• Reject the use of hate speech, racism, and xenophobic tropes as acceptable expressions of thought, as a basis for policies or procedures, whether in our Jewish communities, amongst friends, or within the halls of government;
• Provide training for members of the CCAR and the communities we serve on how to address hate speech, microaggressions, and unconscious bias;
• Call upon CCAR members to work with the communities we serve to create guidelines and policies regarding hate speech, microaggressions, and unconscious bias in collaboration with our partner organizations, social justice allies, and members to better prepare our tents to welcome Jews of Color, and all marginalized communities, into safe spaces;
• Invite our partner organizations in the Reform Movement, beginning with the Union for Reform Judaism and Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, to join the CCAR in this work, identifying ways to heighten awareness of hate speech within and beyond all the communities we collectively serve.

CCAR Resolutions Committee

Rabbi Rachel Greengrass, Chair
Rabbi Mona Alfi
Rabbi Kenneth Carr
Rabbi Nikki DeBlosi
Rabbi Debra Landsberg
Rabbi Bradley Levenberg
Rabbi Joseph Rosen
Rabbi David Widzer
Rabbi Asher Knight, Adjunct

Adopted November 19, 2020

Background
As Reform Jews, we affirm democracy is strongest when everyone participates, and democracy suffers when citizens are shut out from the democratic process. Our nation was founded on the value, not always realized, of every citizen having a voice in government through elected officials, after the American Revolution was sparked by the slogan, “No taxation without representation.” (Therefore, since 1993, the CCAR has supported statehood for the District of Columbia.)

In BT Berachot 55a, we read: “Rabbi Yitzḥak said: One may only appoint as leader over a community one who consults with the community and they agree to the appointment.” Centuries earlier, the prophet Jeremiah told the Jewish people living outside of the land of Israel to “seek the welfare of the city to which I [God] have exiled you and pray to God in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper” (Jeremiah 29: 4-7). We seek the welfare of our country and its citizens, including the 3.1 million citizens who live in Puerto Rico, roughly 2,000 of whom are Jewish, and their right to equal representation in both houses of the U.S. Congress and full participation in our democracy as a State.

The United States has possessed Puerto Rico since the Spanish-American War. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens without voting representation in Congress or electoral votes for President and Vice-President. Two plebiscites over the years produced plurality support of Puerto Ricans for full statehood. However, because those plebiscites offered several options for Puerto Rico’s status, neither indicated conclusively that a majority of Puerto Ricans prefer statehood.

Congressman Darren Soto, the first person of Puerto Rican heritage elected to represent Florida in Congress, has introduced a bipartisan House Resolution, which calls upon Congress and the President to take action in 2021 if Puerto Ricans vote for statehood.[1]

On November 3, 2020, in accordance with the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, which recognizes the territory’s “right to determine its future political status” through plebiscite, the people of Puerto Rico decisively and clearly indicated their support for statehood.

Congress has the ultimate authority to admit new States, in accordance with article IV, section 3, clause 1 of the Constitution:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1. Congratulates the people of Puerto Rico on their plebiscite of November 3, 2020 in support of statehood.
2. Urges Congress and the President to act expeditiously to grant statehood to Puerto Rico.
3. Reaffirms its 1993 resolution in support of statehood for the District of Columbia.

[1] Read the full Resolution here: https://soto.house.gov/sites/soto.house.gov/files/documents/SOTO_053_xml.pdf

Adopted June 18, 2020 by the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis

This moment requires a strong moral voice. The URJ and CCAR have undergone a process with our respective leadership, listened to experts, worked closely with our beloved Israeli Movement, our partners at IMPJ and IRAC, and consulted with leaders across North America.  As a Movement that puts Ahavat Yisrael as one of its highest values and with our deep commitment to Israel as both a Jewish and democratic state, we must strongly oppose the potential annexation after July 1, 2020. We must do so out of a concern for Israel’s safety and security, for the preservation of Israel’s democratic character, and for the place of Israel among the nations of the world.

We thank you for your support and for taking action at this critical moment. We look forward to continuing our work as a Movement in support of Israel and in championing the values we hold dear.

Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Jacobs         Rabbi Hara Person
President, URJ               Chief Executive, CCAR

______________________________________

As a proud Zionist movement, we hold the value of Ahavat Yisrael—love for the people, the Land, and the State of Israel—as core to who we are as Jews. Our abiding commitment to the security of Israel, to the special relationship between Israel and both the U.S. and Canada, to the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel, and to the importance of Jewish values in shaping our policies and priorities lead us to express our alarm at the possible unilateral annexation by Israel of areas of the West Bank.

We are prompted to speak at this time by the decision to include annexation in the Israeli government’s formal coalition agreement and the prospect that such policies could begin to be implemented as early as July 1, 2020. Whether referred to as “annexation” or, euphemistically, the “extension of Israeli sovereignty,” we believe any such act outside the context of a broader peace accord to be a fundamentally flawed idea that would cause significant damage to the State of Israel, to the special relationship between our countries, and to Israel-Diaspora Jewish relations. Israeli confidence in any viable peace process has been greatly eroded by the persistence of terrorist attacks, by Palestinian leaders’ rejection of generous Israeli offers in prior negotiations, by official Palestinian support for the families of those imprisoned or killed after carrying out terrorist attacks, and by President Abbas’s threats to suspend all prior agreements, including cessation of security coordination and cooperation with Israel and the U.S. At the same time, our Movement has long expressed overwhelming support for the “Two States for Two Peoples” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while expressing deep opposition to the occupation, to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, and to the oppressive treatment of the Palestinian population.

We recognize that some in the Jewish community in North America and in Israel are sympathetic to the prospect of annexation of some limited areas seen as indispensable to Israel’s security, particularly the areas that almost certainly will fall under Israeli sovereignty under a two-state peace agreement. Yet even so, the overwhelming majority of our congregants and leadership in North America continue to believe that Israel’s and America’s strategic interests, as well as Palestinian national aspirations, can only be served by two states living side by side in security and cooperation.

Annexation would have a deleterious impact on the Palestinian people. Annexation may place yet more Palestinians under direct Israeli control while denying them full citizenship rights.  Israel’s moral standing depends on its commitment to ensuring that Palestinians do not live as second-class citizens without the full democratic rights its Jewish citizens enjoy.

Annexation is seen by Palestinians as Israeli repudiation of the two-state solution. As the diplomatic path closes, frustration and despair within the Palestinian community will lead many to abandon faith in the diplomatic approach toward securing their rights, likely enhancing the status of Hamas and other extremist groups who argue that only unilateral Palestinian steps, including the use of violence, can lead to a viable Palestinian state. At the same time, calls will increase for a “one-state solution,” which will negate the continuation of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Annexation creates significant diplomatic risks for Israel. It risks making Israel a pariah in growing segments of the international community. Annexation also risks undercutting the improved relations between Israel and some of the Arab nations in the region, as evidenced in an unprecedented op-ed by the Emirates’ ambassador to the U.S. in one of Israel’s leading newspapers.

Annexation would also provide fodder for those who advocate for Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) toward Israel. In North America, Zionist college students, as well as Israel’s most zealous supporters among members of the U.S. Congress and the Canadian Parliament, will find themselves besieged by BDS activists, having to defend what many will view as an indefensible policy.

Annexation jeopardizes Israel’s security. Throughout nearly three decades, cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian Authority security forces has thwarted hundreds of terrorist attacks and made life in Israel safer. In recent years, cooperation has been strained by lack of progress on the peace process, deteriorating trust, and frozen funding. The result has been increased strain on Israeli security. Annexation would significantly weaken the PA, reducing or even ending security cooperation and further stressing Israeli security forces. Israel will be more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, not less. As the “Commanders for Israel’s Security,” a highly respected NGO of former key military and intelligence leaders, has observed:

“Palestinian security officers and troops, along with their relatives and social circles, must have a sense that their work serves the Palestinian national interest and is not solely an act of collaboration with the occupation…It is impossible to state for certain…the point at which Israel’s unilateral steps, lead to the termination of security coordination by the PA or its collapse.”

Over time, North American political support for Israel would likely be weakened. We are already seeing shifts toward greater sympathy for the Palestinians among pro-Israel supporters, including younger evangelicals.

The bipartisan and cross-party support that Israel has enjoyed for decades in the United States and Canada would be damaged by divisions over Israel’s annexation policy. This shift could seriously jeopardize the eight-decade partnerships between the United States and Israel and Canada and Israel, which have been founded on shared democratic values and shared security interests. Annexation will give ammunition to Israel’s opponents in their efforts to restrict aid packages and Memoranda of Understanding so vital for Israeli security and well-being.

Annexation will deepen the divide between Israel and North American Jews. The overwhelming majority of North American Jewry remains committed to a peaceful two-state solution. We share that commitment and are deeply concerned by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement that unilateral annexation would not include any commitment to the establishment of a future Palestinian state or to a resumption of the peace process; even President Trump’s peace plan includes those commitments. The ties between Jews worldwide—particularly younger Jews—and the Jewish state are strained by two decades of policies that have dimmed the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, expanded settlements, and rejected the full rights of the non-Orthodox streams in Israel. Because the deep, abiding passion of Zionism is rooted in the dream of Israel as embodied in the democratic values of the Declaration of Independence, the more Israel undercuts those values, the more damage it does to Klal Yisrael and to the urgent need of repairing relations between Israel and world Jewry.

As U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, one of Israel’s most effective supporters on Capitol Hill, has said, “A directly negotiated two-state solution is a mainstream position and expressing concern about unilateral annexation isn’t extreme at all. It’s the position of most of the largest cross-section of the American Jewish community.” This is certainly true of our Movement.

THEREFORE, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolve to:

1. Oppose any unilateral annexation by Israel’s government of parts of the West Bank/Judea and Samaria/Area C and acknowledge that refraining from such action reflects Israel’s commitment to its future as a Jewish and democratic state;
2. Affirm that unilateral annexation is fundamentally and deliberately inconsistent with the serious pursuit of lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace;
3. Assert that the permanent status of occupied territory and the settlements should be determined only as a result of bilateral or multilateral negotiations involving both Israelis and Palestinians;
4. Urge our rabbis, cantors, and congregants to express their views to Israeli leaders at consulates and embassies, as well as to opinion-makers and friends in Israel;
5. Call on influential Jewish leaders and public figures in our congregations and Jewish and non-Jewish organizations to publicly oppose any efforts toward unilateral annexation;
6. Call on Israel’s supporters in the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament, past and present, to speak out against annexation and to clearly highlight its dangers for the U.S., Canada, and Israel;
7. Call on the governments of the U.S., Canada, and Israel, together with their friends in the region, to take steps to strengthen the prospects for resumed diplomatic negotiations toward a two-state solution; and
8. Work in cooperation with Jewish and Israeli organizations, movements, and communities that are committed to the values expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, in order to achieve the goals and objectives expressed in this resolution.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution on Free and Accessible Elections

(Recommended for adoption by CCAR Resolutions Committee and Commission on Social Action)

May 18, 2020

The right to vote is fundamental to democracy. Yet in the past two decades, Americans’ access to the ballot box has been curtailed through reduced polling sites, reduced early voting hours, onerous voter ID laws, and other means. The 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby vs Holder compounded these challenges by significantly weakening the Voting Rights Act’s ability to prevent certain states from limiting citizens’ access to the ballot box. The COVID-19 pandemic has created added challenges to voting, as the health of voters and poll workers alike are placed at new risk by congregating on election days and restrictions on movement, including “stay at home” orders. Nonetheless, full and free elections can and must be conducted on schedule to ensure the health and well-being of our democracy, reflecting the words of Rabbi Yitzhak who taught, “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted” (Babylonian Talmud B’rachot 55a). We read as well in the Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 163:1 “Rama: For any community matter on which they cannot find common ground, they should convene all taxpayers, and they should agree that each person will voice their views and they will follow the majority.”

The 2001 Central Conference of American Rabbis and Union for Reform Judaism Resolutions on Election Reform called on federal, state, and local governments to vigorously enforce voting rights laws and to ensure that all Americans have a free, unfettered opportunity to cast their ballot and have it counted. Those principles remain essential today. To that end, a range of registration and ballot casting options must be available to voters. Voting days, hours, and locations should be expanded to reduce travel and spread out the arrival of voters. No-excuse absentee ballots and vote-by-mail options should be universal to reduce the requirement that people leave home to cast ballots. The practice of voter purges that ostensibly “clean up” the voter rolls but in effect disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly among communities of color, must end. And while elections are the purview of the states, the federal government should consider making election day a federal holiday to further facilitate voting nationwide.

While these steps will facilitate voting overall, during the current COVID-19 pandemic they are especially valuable to first responders, medical workers, and essential workers in all fields whose time and well-being are especially precious. We know too that access to the ballot box remains at risk for traditionally disenfranchised groups, such as the elderly, people of color, people with disabilities, students, formerly incarcerated individuals, and others. In the spirit of our forebears who struggled to enact and fulfill the vision of the Voting Rights Act, we remain committed to protecting the right to vote for members of these vulnerable populations.

Therefore, the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1. Affirms our commitment to supporting a healthy democracy through elections that are safe, fair, and accessible.
2. Calls on states to:
   1. Expand access to the ballot box, including but not limited to, universal vote-by-mail, no-excuse absentee ballots, early voting, and new technologies and strategies that maintain the integrity of elections;
   2. End laws and policies that limit access to the ballot such as voter purges that wrongly remove eligible voters from the voting rolls, strict ID requirements, onerous absentee ballot requirements such as witness signatures and/or notarization, and closing polling locations particularly in communities of color;
   3. Expand voter registration including online, same day, and preregistration for 16 or 17-year-olds; and
   4. Ensure polling locations are safe for poll workers and voters, including providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies as necessary.
3. Urges Congress to:
   1. Provide states with adequate funding to prepare for the 2020 primary and November elections and future elections, to ensure access to the ballot is equitable;
   2. Enact legislation preventing states from simultaneously requiring voters to stay at home and denying them the right to file absentee ballots; and
   3. Pass legislation that ensures the integrity of the Voting Rights Act, to better protect the right to vote for historically disenfranchised voters.
4. Calls on CCAR members to:
   1. Participate in the Reform Movement’s Civic Engagement Campaign led by the Religious Action Center;
   2. Encourage 100% voting among members of communities served by CCAR rabbis;
   3. Support nonpartisan voter education and registration;
   4. Work with interfaith and community partners to promote election integrity;
   5. Support initiatives to educate voters about the new ways to cast their ballot; and
   6. Advocate for states to implement measures to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

May 10, 2018

BACKGROUND

The United States is unique in the number and frequency of so-called “mass shootings.” These are defined as events perpetrated by an individual against randomly selected individuals featuring multiple fatalities.[1] They occur in many places, including shopping malls, movie theatres, music concerts, and most notably in schools. The weapon of choice for most of these events has been semi-automatic rifles, such as the AR-15. These rifles are commonly described as “assault rifles.” While there is not an agreed-upon definition of the term, these weapons share common features, such as high-velocity bullets and quickly replaceable magazines. They are often copies of military weapons designed to be highly accurate, highly destructive, and easy to shoot. Often the design is a based on a fully automatic weapon which releases several rounds with each trigger pull. Fully automatic weapons remain under federal ban.[2] The semi-automatic modification allows only one bullet per-pull. However, the high velocity of these bullets coupled with high capacity, quickly reloadable magazines, makes these weapons particularly deadly. Emergency room physicians report that shootings involving assault weapons are far less survivable than those involving handguns or other rifles.[3] Home modifications of the “assault rifle,” for example through the use of “bump stocks” allow these weapons to operate in a manner very similar to automatic weapons, as was demonstrated by the Las Vegas shooting at the Harvest music festival on October 1, 2017.[4]

These weapons are not used for ordinary hunting or self-defense. While they are popular instruments for sport shooting, their utility is only in killing multiple victims.

A federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was enacted in 1994. Its provisions were allowed to expire in 2004.[5] Efforts to reenact this ban have been unsuccessful.

The CCAR has a long history of supporting sensible gun control regulations including resolutions adopted in 1975[6], 1987[7], 1989[8], 2000[9] and 2015.[10] These resolutions call for continued advocacy and legislation.

This is well rooted in our texts. In the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kama 46a we read:

1. Nathan says: From where is it derived that one should not breed a bad dog in his house, or keep an impaired ladder in his house? From the text, “You shall bring not blood upon your house (Deuteronomy 22:8).”

Rabbi Shlomo Luria (1510-1573) points out that many authorities forbid raising a dangerous dog even if it is kept chained. This would indicate that a dangerous object—such as a gun—is forbidden, even if it is safeguarded. There are exceptions to the ban on weaponry for self-defense, but a semi-automatic weapon would hardly fall into the category of self-defense outside of a war zone.

Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018 there has been a renewed call—led by student groups—for school safety measures. These students have grown up in an environment in which preparation for an active shooter on the school campus is as routine as are fire drills. These students are decrying the inaction of the previous generation in preventing school shootings. One element many of these students are calling for is a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. The CCAR supports their efforts.

An assault weapons and high capacity magazine ban will not stop all mass shootings or gun-related deaths. In fact, it is known and recognized that the majority of gun-related deaths are from handguns. While this violence rarely makes headlines, the human toll is tragic—and disproportionally affects communities of color. Assault weapons are, however, used often in indiscriminate mass shootings and a ban on their possession will help to make these instances far less deadly—and will convey the message that weapons of war do not belong in civilian hands.

WHEREAS assault rifles are used in most instances of mass shootings in the United States

WHEREAS wounds from assault rifles are far more damaging and untreatable, causing more death than other forms of firearms

WHEREAS high capacity magazines allow these weapons to be even more deadly by allowing killers to continue firing without reloading

BE IT RESOLVED that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

• Calls on State and Federal Legislatures to renew and make permanent a ban on assault rifles and to include a ban on high capacity magazines and bump stocks (all of which to be defined by law); and
• Calls on our members to lead congregations and communities in advocacy to bring about these bans; and
• Publically supports the teens, including NFTY, who are leading the call for school safety through the ban of assault rifles and high capacity magazines.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting

[2] https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-bill/49

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/04/health/parkland-shooting-victims-ar15.html

[4] https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/04/us/bump-stock-las-vegas-shooting/index.html

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_weapons_legislation_in_the_United_States

[6] https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/gun-control-1975/

[7] https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/gun-control-lobbying-1987/

[8] https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/gun-control-1989/

[9] https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/gun-violence-ending/

[10] https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/ccar-resolution-gun-violence/

Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution on Protecting Individuals at Risk of Deportation From The United States

Adopted April 12, 2017

Background

We are instructed in the Holiness Code to treat the strangers in our midst with justice and compassion: “When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33). This teaching permeates Jewish tradition and is echoed 35 times in the Torah – the most repeated of any commandment. The history of the Jewish people from escaping slavery in Egypt, expulsion from our homeland, centuries of displacement, expulsion from England and Spain and Portugal, the horrors of the Pogroms, the Holocaust until today reminds us of the many struggles faced by immigrants throughout the world. As a community of immigrants, we are charged to pursue justice, seek peace and build a society that is welcoming to all of God’s creatures, regardless of their immigration status. In Genesis, three strangers visit Abraham, and he welcomes them into his home and into his heart without question (Genesis 18:1-22). This virtue of hachnasat orchim, welcoming the stranger, drives both our commitment to protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation and our dedication to the hospitality and inclusion of all people. By introducing the concept of Irei Hamiklat  (Num. 35:6), the Torah gave the world the example of “Sanctuary Cities,” teaching us that this responsibility of protecting refugees belongs not only to individuals but to whole communities as well.                                   

Throughout the Reform Movement’s history, we have worked to protect the rights and lives of those who are undocumented. In 1985, both the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis adopted resolutions urging congregations to provide sanctuary to undocumented Central Americans and other refugees fleeing violence and oppression. That example of supporting those fleeing oppression in search of safety and a more secure future, and opposing laws and actions that fail to uphold principles of hospitality and welcome, continue to inspire us today. As Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs said in a 2013 Biennial address, “Audacious hospitality isn’t just a temporary act of kindness so that people don’t feel left out; it’s an ongoing invitation to be part of a community where we can become all that God wants us to be – and a way to transform ourselves in the process. Audacious hospitality is a two-way street, where synagogue and stranger need each other. Hospitality is not just our chance to teach newcomers but, just as important, an opportunity for them to teach us.”

Once again, the Reform Movement is called to respond to the need to protect the lives and well-being of undocumented immigrants fearing deportation. More than 11 million such individuals currently live within the United States, having entered without legal documentation or having overstayed the period for which they were granted legal status. As a result, they are at risk of deportation from the homes and lives they have built here.

In light of Congress’s failure to comprehensively address immigration reform, the Obama administration took executive action. A 2012 executive order created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, allowing over 750,000 DREAMERs, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, the ability to work and participate in American society without fear of deportation. There was also an attempt, through the 2014 Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) executive order, to allow deferred action status to undocumented immigrants who have children that are either American citizens or lawful permanent residents. That program was never implemented due to challenges in the courts. 

Today, the prospects remain dim for legislation establishing comprehensive immigration reform. Instead, in recent executive orders, the Administration has called for the construction of a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border with an increase in border patrol forces and deportations of undocumented immigrants.

In response to the increased threat of deportations, over 200 cities across the United States have designated themselves “sanctuary cities.” (Some cities have used differing designations, including “welcoming communities” and “freedom cities.”) While there is no formal definition of what constitutes a sanctuary city, in general such cities limit their cooperation with federal enforcement of immigration law.

Houses of worship across the country have committed to taking various meaningful actions to assist undocumented immigrants facing deportation.  Among these actions is the act broadly known as “offering sanctuary” to provide temporary physical shelter (sometimes known as “harboring”), legal assistance, material support, English and citizenship classes, financial support, public advocacy and education.

Some congregations, after serious discussion within the congregation and with legal counsel, have decided to offer temporary physical shelter to undocumented immigrants facing deportation, recognizing the legal risks of their action. In his challenge to King David, the prophet Nathan offers an exemplary biblical model for confronting a state authority that wields its power unjustly and abusively. To a show of might, Nathan responds with rights, with truth.

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

CCAR Resolution on the U.S.-Israel Relationship

March 23, 2017

BACKGROUND

Since its founding in 1948, the State of Israel has enjoyed a special relationship with the United States. President Harry S. Truman, against the advice of some of his senior advisors, became the first head of state to officially recognize the newborn nation, only hours after David Ben-Gurion’s declaration of a “Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.” Since that time, each subsequent American President has continued the close relationship forged from that moment.

The United States Congress has also maintained bipartisan support for the State of Israel, frequently recognizing the strategic importance of this free and democratic ally in the Middle East. Similarly, the Government of Israel, under every governing coalition, has consistently recognized the shared values between these two countries. Military and Intelligence cooperation are held in high regard. For example, while the text of the recently signed “Memorandum of Understanding,” has not yet been released, the 1981 MOU recognizes “the common bonds of friendship between the United States and Israel and builds on the mutual security relationship that exists between the two nations.” Development of new military and commercial technologies has been mutually beneficial. Cultural and business cooperation has been a mainstay of this close relationship, with many U.S. high-tech companies maintaining research and development facilities in Israel. The U.S.-Israel relationship has been traditionally based on both a shared regional strategy and common values. As regional powers change within the Middle East, the United States and Israel share the value of perpetuating democracy and freedom, important now more than ever. Moreover, U.S. aid to Israel benefits the United States and its economy directly, as “Israel spends nearly 75% of U.S. aid in the U.S. to purchase military equipment.”[i]

Presidents of both American political parties have used great political capital over the years in efforts to create a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israel and its neighbors and between Israel and the Palestinian people. These efforts have been based on the goal of creating, through direct negotiations, a “two states for two peoples” resolution of the conflict that assures Israel’s security, democratic and Jewish character. American Presidents have played central roles in helping to negotiate peace agreements between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan, and have made commendable efforts toward facilitating peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Over the years, Israel and the United States have disagreed on policies from time to time, such as the Israeli settlement enterprise beyond the 1967 boundaries. American presidents and Israeli prime ministers have occasionally clashed personally. These disagreements have not weakened the close relationship between these two countries. Even when American administrations of both U.S. political parties have permitted the adoption of resolutions critical of Israel in the U.N. Security Council, a forum that has increasingly and pathologically focused upon Israel as if it were the only nation in the world where human rights may be at issue, the fundamental U.S.-Israel alliance has remained strong.

In recent years, however, there have been efforts among some elements in the pro-Israel American Jewish community and members of Congress to present support for Israel as a partisan issue. Some in the American Jewish community have used derisive language against those on the political Right or Left whom they regard as insufficiently committed to Israel’s best interests. While disagreements may arise on the policies of specific Israeli governments, we remain committed to maintaining and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis and its partners in the North American Reform Jewish community – notably the Association of Reform Zionists of America, the Union for Reform Judaism, and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, among others – remain firmly committed to bipartisan support of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

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

[i] http://www.adl.org/israel-international/israel-middle-east/content/AG/inaccuracy-us-aid-israel.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#.WK8o-DvyvIU.