CCAR Resolution on Health Care

March 23, 2017

Background

Our Jewish Textual Warrant to Provide Health Care

Judaism imposes an obligation on each and every one of us to care for the others among whom we live. If they are poor, we are obligated to provide them with food, clothing, and shelter. This requirement extends to medical care as well.

This obligation is found in multiple places in our holy writings. Leviticus 19:16 commands not to “stand idly by the blood of your neighbor.” Therefore, upon encountering a person in a life-threatening situation, we are required to help.  Deuteronomy 22:1-3 speaks of our requirement to return lost property. We are told that we are obligated to return not only a person’s donkey or garment, but “anything” belonging to your fellow human being which he has lost and you have found.”   That word “anything” is interpreted to obligate us to restore even a person’s health.[i] Furthermore, Exodus 21:19 introduces the requirement of rapoh yirapeh, “you shall certainly pursue full medical healing.” This verse originally required someone who had injured another to pay for medical costs, but has been extended to obligate everyone to pursue medical assistance in situations of injury or sickness. In addition, the Shulkhan Aruch records the view that, while contributions to erect a synagogue take precedence over ordinary forms of tzedakah, even the synagogue’s needs take a backseat to the requirement to provide for the indigent sick. Furthermore, the sick may not refuse such assistance if they require it to regain health (Yoreh De’ah 249:16).

The poor for whom we are obligated to provide care are not limited to the Jewish poor. A 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. 

In summary, Judaism establishes a moral imperative to provide access to health care to all.

Health Care in the United States Today

Since 1966, at the initiative of President Lyndon B. Johnson and by act of Congress, the United States has provided a single-payer health insurance program for all Americans age 65 and over, as well as for Americans with disabilities, with some 55.3 million total beneficiaries in 2015. Medicare is not free, but requires payment of income-based premiums. Beneficiaries typically are required to pay 20% of all covered expenses. Beneficiaries may choose between a number of plans and parts of Medicare, but all eligible Americans are guaranteed Medicare’s benefits.[ii] At the initiative of President George W. Bush, Congress initiated a Medicare prescription drug benefit.[iii]

The same law that established Medicare also established Medicaid, a health insurance program that today benefits low-income families, pregnant women, people of all ages with disabilities, and people who need long-term care.[iv] Together with CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid covered 70 million Americans, “or 1 in 5 people in the country” by early 2015. That number included “10.8 million low-income adults and children [who] enrolled in public health insurance since 2013, when the [relevant] portion of [the Affordable Care Act] took effect.”[v]

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), initiated by President Obama, was enacted by Congress and signed into law in 2010. ACA “include[s] the creation of new Health Insurance Marketplaces where low and moderate income families can receive premium tax credits to purchase coverage and, in states that opted to expand their Medicaid programs, the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to almost all adults with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level.”[vi]

“Prior to implementation of the ACA, over 47 million Americans – nearly 18% of the population – were without health insurance coverage.”[vii] Too many Americans remain uninsured today; but that number has been dramatically reduced since 2010, with some 20 million Americans gaining coverage. Cost remains a factor for many Americans who have not obtained health insurance under ACA. Significantly impeding coverage for low-income Americans are the nineteen states – including populous states such as Texas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Tennessee – that have elected not to expand Medicaid under ACA.[viii] 

ACA includes several provisions that have improved Americans’ access to health care. “[H]ealth insurance companies can’t refuse [coverage] or charge . . . more just because [of] a ‘pre-existing condition.’”[ix] Health insurance plans that cover dependents must typically now offer dependent coverage to young adults up to age 26.[x] All public and private plans must now cover a wide array of preventative services without charging any copayment.[xi] Notably, these preventative services include no-cost coverage for women’s health and well-being, including contraceptive care.[xii] ACA also requires “that most individual and small employer health insurance plans including all plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace cover mental health and substance use disorder services.”[xiii]

 

CCAR’s Historical Support for Health Care

In both 1976 and 1991, the CCAR adopted resolutions favoring a national health care system with universal, affordable coverage, with an emphasis on preventative care.[xiv] In 1993, we adopted a resolution supporting the then-proposed Women’s Health Equity Act.[xv] The CCAR has supported Planned Parenthood going as far back as 1947.[xvi] The CCAR forcefully called for mental health equity in a 2001 Resolution on Establishing a Complete System of Care for Persons with Mental Illnesses.[xvii]

Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Central Conference of American Rabbis calls upon the President, Congress, and the States to preserve and expand access to health care, including:

Reaffirmation of Medicare as a public, universal, single-payer health insurance program for all Americans age 65 and over, with low-cost premiums and co-insurance obligations particularly for low-income beneficiaries.

Continuation of Medicaid as a public, single-payer health insurance program, with significant standards delineated by the Federal Government, for low-income Americans as well as those with disabilities or requiring long term care.

Retention of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Expansion of Medicaid to cover all Americans living at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level in all 50 states.

Assuring that no American can be denied coverage nor charged extra for coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.

Retaining the requirement that all health insurance programs that cover dependents must include coverage of dependent children to age 26.

Requiring that all health insurance programs cover preventative services at no cost to the individual.

Mandating parity for women’s health care services, including contraceptive coverage.

Guaranteeing equity in coverage for mental health care and treatment of substance abuse disorders.

Maintaining laws that require CMS to include all qualified providers, including Planned Parenthood, as authorized providers under Medicare and Medicaid.

Prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or marital status.

 

[i] BT Sanhedrin 73a

[ii] National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare.

[iii] CMS.gov.

[iv] Ibid.

[v] Kimberly Leonard “Medicaid enrollment Surges Across the U.S.,” U.S. News & World Report, February 24, 2015.

[vi] Rachel Garfield, Rachel Licata, and Katherine Young, “The Uninsured at the Starting Line: Finding from the 2013 Kaiser Survey of Low-Income Americans and the ACA,” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, February 6, 2014.

[vii] Ibid.

[viii] Lara Cooper, “Even With Obamacare, 29 Million People Are Uninsured: Here’s Why,” The Financial Times, May 10, 2016.

[ix] HHS.gov. (HHS>Health Care Home>About the Law>Pre-Existing Conditions.)

[x] https://www.healthcare.gov/young-adults/children-under-26/.

[xi] https://www.healthcare.gove/preventative-care-adults/.

[xii] https://www.hrsa.og/womensguidelines/.

[xiii] https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/health-insurance/.

[xiv] CCAR Resolution on Health Care, 1976; CCAR Resolution on National Health Care, June, 1991.

[xv] CCAR Resolution on Women’s Health, June, 1993.

[xvi] ccarnet.org>Rabbis Speak>Resolutions, “Birth Control, Digests of Resolutions adopted by the Central Conference of American Rabbis between 1889 and 1974.”

[xvii] CCAR Resolution on Establishing a Complete System of Care for Persons with Mental Illnesses, June, 2001.

CCAR Resolution Affirming Our Commitment to Women’s Rights

March 19, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis has consistently advocated for issues of particular concern to women—reproductive health, medical care, economic justice, and protection from sexual and domestic violence. These resolutions have directed CCAR and its members in advocacy and position statements for the benefit of women.

However, we find ourselves today in almost unprecedented times, with an elevated national conversation about the impact of misogyny that women face daily in their workplaces and communities. An increase in rape and sexual assault on college campuses and in the military threatens young women and those serving our nation. Women’s health and reproductive rights are under attack by state and federal governments.

Many women today are speaking out more candidly about their experiences of discrimination, name-calling, and other forms of misogyny, especially when safe spaces are provided. Now, more than ever, men and women need to join together in speaking out about the particular concerns and challenges faced by women. The safe spaces and respect we show one another can galvanize our advocacy for the rights and consideration for men and women.

In this current climate, it is critical that we reaffirm our commitment to women’s rights and continue the work that has been set forth in previous CCAR resolutions on women’s health (1992 and 1993), violence against women (1990), pay equity (1984), and international women’s rights (1994).

Therefore, be it resolved that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

Continues to advocate for legislation that assures that all North American women have access to health care, including birth control, abortion and other services related to reproductive health.

Supports our members in educating their communities on Jewish values that relate to women’s rights.

Will provide – in collaboration with the CCAR’s constituent organization, the Women’s Rabbinic Network, among others – opportunities for conversation about women rabbis’ experiences and the ways discrimination and misogyny still exist in our communities.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution on Judicial, Executive Branch, and Federal Agency Appointees

 

January 25, 2017

Background

Jewish tradition teaches the necessity of fair, just and impartial courts. In Exodus 18:21, for example, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, advises him to choose capable, trustworthy, and law abiding members of society as judges. Elsewhere we are taught of the ethical obligation to oppose unjust persons and unfair judgments; judges should neither “favor the poor or show deference to the rich.” (Leviticus 19:15)

These values are also a cornerstone of American democracy. The preservation of the rule of law rests on the independence and fairness of our courts. Judges at all levels must be committed to defending the Constitution, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, acting within the framework of the precedents set by higher courts, and enforcing Constitutional legislation enacted by Congress when cases come before them. Legitimate concern about judicial vacancies and the burdens they impose on an overworked judiciary should not lead us to retreat from insisting that individual nominees meet the highest standards.

In addition to the Supreme Court’s well known and crucial role in our nation’s governance, federal courts at all levels play an increasingly critical role in safeguarding our fundamental freedoms. As the country has grown, and as the number of issues under federal jurisdiction has multiplied, federal court caseloads have burgeoned. At the same time, the Supreme Court has significantly reduced the number of cases that it considers by granting writs of certiorari. This means that even novel precedents set by each of the Federal Courts of Appeals may never be reviewed by the Supreme Court or may not be reviewed for a considerable period of time even when there are conflicts between circuits or significant issues on which a Supreme Court ruling is needed. Those precedent-setting decisions and interpretations by the appellate courts govern all lower court cases in their respective circuits and are effectively final decisions until and unless overturned by the Supreme Court.

Since the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, advocacy groups on both the right and the left have increasingly come to understand the policy-making role of the courts. While in the past, the pattern was to appoint judges across a fairly wide political spectrum, recent administrations have intensified efforts to shape the philosophical balance of the courts by appointing as judges individuals who subscribe to a particular view concerning the Constitution and controversial policy issues. As a result, the philosophical and ideological divisions in the federal judiciary increasingly mirror partisan divisions in Congress. Moreover, anticipated Supreme Court appointments could tip the balance of an evenly divided court on issues of the most fundamental concern to the Reform Jewish Movement, American Jewry, and our nation.

Unlike other presidential appointees, federal judges serve for life; their service often extends far beyond the term of the President who appoints them. Public input on judicial nominations is part of the democratic process envisioned by the founders. The Constitution makes judicial appointment subject to the Senate’s “advice and consent.”

Presidential appointments were never envisioned to be automatic. Appointment and confirmation are political decisions in which the voice of the people should be heard and weighed. As a democratic institution, the Senate needs to hear from the public before exercising its Constitutional power. This is implicit in the Senate’s own rules, which provide for committee hearings on each nominee; it is expected and desirable that interest and advocacy groups make their views known. As a Conference, occasions will arise when we may wish to raise the collective rabbinical voice, articulating the values of Torah in the debate over the future of our judiciary.

Although a President is entitled to significantly greater discretion in selecting Executive Branch nominees who reflect the Administration’s views and philosophy, some similar considerations apply with respect to confirmation of nominees to these positions. Such appointees serve at the will of the President, and their key roles are to provide advice to, and implement decisions of, the President. The President should have wide leeway in appointing people to carry out the President’s policies and reflect the Administration’s viewpoints. Nonetheless, many of these appointments also shape public policy we care deeply about, and may determine the approach of an entire agency of government. Expressing views on confirmation would bring the collective rabbinic voice of Torah into deliberations when our values are affected by appointees who may determine vital policy matters.

Appointees to independent agencies are charged with carrying out policies enacted by Congress, often during different administrations, have terms in office that often extend beyond the term of the President who appoints them; and are usually removable from office only for cause. As a consequence, the views of Congress and of the public relating to how agency policies are to be carried out must also be considered. When a nominee has a demonstrated record of opposition to the policies that he or she would be responsible to administer, or of opposition to protection of fundamental rights that our Conference supports, our Conference may find it necessary for us to oppose confirmation of the nominee in order to protect our rabbinate’s fundamental Torah values.

THEREFORE, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

1. Bring to the attention of the Senate of the United States, without opposing or supporting nominees, issues affecting moral policy concerns as articulated in CCAR resolutions on which the nominees’ views or record need to be clarified before consent is given.

2. Empower the CCAR President and Chief Executive, in accordance with the procedure outlined in paragraph 3 below, to oppose or support a nominee on behalf of the CCAR if, after consideration of what the nominee has said and written, and his or her record, they believe that a compelling case can be made that the appointment would uphold or threaten protection of the most fundamental rights which our Conference supports, rooted in our understanding of Torah – including, but not limited to, the separation of church and state, protection of civil rights and civil liberties, racial justice, LGBTQ rights, climate justice, women’s reproductive freedom, and Israel’s security. Among the considerations that should be weighed in making this determination are whether:

A.   The nominee possesses or lacks the competence, professional qualifications, or ethical standards to serve in the position to which he or she is nominated;B.   A nominee for a judicial position has demonstrated a pattern of support or disregard for generally accepted principles of jurisprudence or a nominee for an executive branch or independent agency appointment has a demonstrated record of support or opposition to the policies that he or she would be responsible to administer;C.   The nominee has a record of bigoted, racist, sexist, misogynist, anti-LGBTQ, or anti-Semitic activity;D.   The nominee has emerged as a major and influential ideologue on one or more issues of core concern to our Conference, and the appointment would likely contribute significantly to reshaping American jurisprudence or policy in a direction that would positively shape or jeopardize those core values;E.   The nomination has engendered a national debate on one or more issues of core concern to our rabbinate so that the outcome of the confirmation or nomination is likely to be perceived as a referendum on that issue and will have significant implications beyond the individual nomination;F.   The nominee’s confirmation would shift the ideological or policy balance of a particular court or independent agency on matters of core concern to our Conference.

3. The President and Chief Executive shall consult with the CCAR Board of Trustees or its Officers before supporting or opposing a nominee, unless urgency precludes such consultation. Guidance shall be sought from CCAR representatives to the Commission on Social Action. While the Union for Reform Judaism will follow its own procedures, and either the CCAR or URJ may act alone, CCAR and URJ may act together through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the Commission on Social Action. 

CCAR Resolution on Hunger in America

May 19, 2016

Background

Providing for the hungry is described by our sages as a sacred task.  “When you are asked in the world to come, ‘What was your work?’ and you answer, ‘I fed the hungry,’ you will be told, ‘This is the gate of Adonai, enter into it, you who have fed the hungry.’”[1]

In 1975, the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolved that the issue of hunger be given high priority among synagogues and Jewish communal institutions.[2] A 1982 resolution[3] decried budget cuts to essential federal nutrition assistance programs, and a 1983 resolution[4] supported the creation of synagogue food banks and distribution centers. These were followed by a 1989 resolution supporting the work of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger,[5] which launched vital efforts by synagogues nationwide to work together to end hunger. In the following decades, the CCAR continued to speak out about the importance of economic justice and the need to ensure that the United States government maintains its responsibility to ensure an adequate, federally-guaranteed safety net to protect our nation’s most vulnerable populations.[6]

Today, hunger in America not only persists, it has reached staggering rates, affecting more than 48 million people.[7] Special populations such as children, seniors, and active-duty military families and veterans face particular challenges regarding food insecurity.

More than 15 million children struggle with hunger, which has devastating effects, impacting their physical development and making it nearly impossible to learn. 9.6 million seniors struggle with food insecurity, and yet 3 out of 5 seniors who are eligible for SNAP[8] benefits do not participate, which means that 5.2 million seniors miss out on receiving the nutrition benefits they so desperately need.[9] And across the country, both current members of our armed forces and veterans regularly turn to food pantries and distribution programs, sometimes in uniform, looking for help to feed themselves and their families.[10] 

The scale of the problem of hunger in the United States is massive.  There are a myriad of complex contributing factors, and the response necessary to address hunger reveals that charity alone is not the answer. Charitable organizations were not conceived to feed entire communities and do not have the capacity to feed the significant and persistent number of people who need help.  Only the government has the capacity to address an issue with this magnitude and work toward a solution to ending hunger.

The longstanding federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a highly effective, efficient, and responsive program that addresses the food insecurity challenges of millions of Americans, including special populations such as children, seniors, military and veterans’ families, and disabled individuals.  SNAP must be protected from harmful policy proposals – such as transforming the program from a guaranteed entitlement program, which effectively responds to changes in need, into a block grant that would cap funding and limit participation. Also, approximately 500,000 childless adults risk losing SNAP benefits in 2016, due to a provision of the Welfare and Medicaid Reform Act of 1996.[11]

SNAP needs targeted program improvements to better help those who are struggling to get back on their feet and support nutritious food purchases for a healthy diet throughout the month.  SNAP benefits would be improved if calculated based on the cost of the USDA low-cost food plan in order to prevent diminished food budgets at the end of the month that have serious health consequences.  SNAP would also be improved by fully funding SNAP Employment and Training programs and by easing the harsh time limits on benefit access for certain jobless adults willing to work. 

Alongside SNAP, the US Department of Agriculture that provides meals to needy children in school is central to combatting hunger in this country. However, in July, 2014, only 16.2 children received Summer Nutrition for every 100 low-income students who received lunch in the 2013-2014 school year. That is, only one child in six children who needed summer meals received them.[12]

According to experts at the US Department of Agriculture, which administers most federal nutrition programs, and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, these changes and improvements would greatly move us forward in our efforts to end hunger in America.

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

Reasserts that domestic hunger is a priority social justice issue, particularly the challenges faced by special populations such as children, seniors and active duty military families and veterans.

Calls upon CCAR members and the communities we serve to advocate for policies and initiatives to end hunger for all Americans, including those special populations noted above.

Calls upon federal, state and local policymakers to:

Protect and improve childhood nutrition programs, including expanding access to summer meals.

Protect, improve and adequately fund nutrition programs for seniors;

Address food insecurity among active duty military families and veterans; and

Recognize and support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a highly effective, efficient, and responsive program that addresses the food insecurity challenges for millions of Americans, and protect SNAP from harmful policy proposals such as transforming it into a block grant program; and

Reestablish access to SNAP for unemployed childless adults beyond the three month limit that exists in many states; and

Fully fund SNAP Employment and Training programs.

Commends CCAR members and the communities we serve, who support the work of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, local food banks, Feeding America, Stop Hunger Now, SOS, and other Jewish, interfaith and community organizations that combat hunger; and urges others to join in these efforts.

[1] Midrash Psalms 118:17.

[2] “Hunger,” CCAR Resolution, 1975.

[3] “Budget and Social Welfare,” CCAR Resolution, 1982.

[4] “On Hunger and Food Banks,” CCAR Resolution, 1983.

[5] “Mazon,” CCAR Resolution, 1989.

[6] “Statement on Our Economic Commitment to America’s Poor,” CCAR Resolution, 1996.

[7] USDA Household Food Insecurity in the United States in 2014; released September 2015.

[8] SNAP is the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. See line 45 and following.

[9] USDA Household Food Insecurity in the United States in 2014; released September 2015, and The State of Senior Hunger in America 2013: An Annual Report by National Foundation to End Senior Hunger, released April 23, 2015, www.nfesh.org/research

[10] mazon.org/military.

[11] “More Than 500,000 Adults Will Lose SNAP Benefits in 2016 as Waivers Expire”, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Released March 2016. http://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/more-than-500000-adults-will-lose-snap-benefits-in-2016-as-waivers-expire#_ftn5.

[12] “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report.”Food Research & Action Center, June, 2015. http://frac.org/pdf/2015_summer_nutrition_report.pdf

CCAR Resolution Condemning the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign against Israel

February 18, 2016

Background:

Since its creation in 1948, The State of Israel has been attacked almost nonstop – by foreign armies, terrorists with bombs, rockets and now knives, and through economic warfare.  In recent years, the movement to delegitimize the State of Israel and separate her from the community of nations has grown through a coordinated campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, known as BDS.  The BDS movement does not recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.  Its leaders ignore the complexity of Israel’s reality and fail to offer a reasonable path forward in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In singling out the Jewish State, BDS often opens the door to anti-Semitic rhetoric and activities and highlights modern anti-Semitic double standards.  While the BDS movement is not explicitly anti-Semitic, BDS supporters and leaders have made anti-Semitic statements and anti-Semitic incidents have occurred alongside BDS campaigns.[1] Moreover, in its efforts to indict Zionism as a whole, the BDS movement seeks to deny Jews the right to our own homeland and therefore the ability to express our national identity.[2]

As Reform rabbis and liberal Zionists, we are deeply supportive of an Israeli society that not only tolerates but encourages critique and discourse. Tochecha, a critique made with care for the sake of correcting wrong behavior, is an important Jewish value and one that should not only be accepted but encouraged by our community. As individual Reform rabbis and collectively as the Central Conference of American Rabbis, we often disagree with specific Israeli policies in the spirit of machloket l’shem shamayim, an argument conducted for the sake of heaven. Such critique is far from rejection and delegitimization of Israel as a whole.  The BDS movement, with its sustained, coordinated effort to oppose Israel’s existence, is flawed both in its spirit and in its execution.

Rather than bringing Israeli Jews closer together with Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, BDS further divides us all. At a time when interactions between Israeli Jews and Palestinians are already scarce, economic, academic and cultural boycotts further lower prospects for coexistence. The “anti-normalization” movement, that calls for ending cooperation with Israelis and with Palestinians who do not support BDS, has the same deleterious effect.[3]

While exercising their own freedom of speech, BDS proponents deny that same freedom to others through academic and cultural boycotts. Such boycotts are intended only to further marginalize Israel.[4] Academic boycotts have rightfully earned widespread condemnation from organizations such as the American Association of University Professors and the Association of American Universities, as they interfere with partnerships between Israeli and international universities that underpin the shared pursuit of knowledge and the exercise of academic freedom.[5] Similarly, the increased pressure artists face to boycott Israeli cultural events impedes their ability to participate in open dialogue with members of Israel’s diverse society.[6] Advocating for boycotts of universities or cultural institutions simply because they are Israeli punishes all who benefit from such ties, exposing the blatant disregard the BDS movement has for the Jewish State as a whole.

The BDS movement is also working to drive wedges between and within progressive communities in North America, recruiting others to its cause by narrowly applying the concept of “intersectionality.” Intersectionality describes the ways in which multiple identities such as race, gender, nationality, sexuality, class, religion and others can overlap to produce unique experiences of power or the lack thereof.[7] While we recognize the importance of intersectionality as a concept that informs our social justice work, we are concerned that the BDS movement paints all forms of oppression with a broad brush and attempts to inject anti-Zionist ideology and tactics into other areas where they are irrelevant and counterproductive to the pursuit of social justice.[8] This puts progressive Zionists in the unacceptable position of having to deny the intersection between their Zionism and their progressivism and forces them to choose between the two. This is a false choice.

BDS is incapable of addressing the nuances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, exacting a disproportionate focus on Israel and ignoring horrific abuses of human rights worldwide. By using the term “apartheid” to describe Israel inaccurately with inflammatory language, BDS sheds more heat than light on the issues it addresses. By imposing demands on Israel that would make a two-state solution impossible, BDS rejects the one path forward that would ensure peace, security and national self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.[9] Ultimately, BDS fails to provide a realistic vision for peace in the Middle East, as it stands in the way of promising peace negotiations aimed at a two-state solution. Instead, BDS emboldens and empowers hard-liners on both sides of the conflict.

The BDS movement has made modest gains amongst church groups, labor unions and most notably on college campuses.[10] During the 2014-2015 school year, 19 campuses considered BDS resolutions, and 520 explicitly anti-Israel events were held on college campuses.[11] Campus debates have been particularly heated and divisive, leading at times to actions directed against pro-Israel students and in extreme cases, anti-Semitic incidents.[12] Pro-Israel students are deeply invested in addressing the challenges posed by the BDS movement, working closely with a number of organizations on strategies to oppose BDS and support Israel on campus.

Stringent opposition to BDS does not conflict with the deeply-held conviction that Israel must end virtually all settlement activity and the West Bank Occupation as we know it.[13] These ends can only be achieved through diplomacy – not boycotts, divestment, or sanctions.

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

Denounces the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

Urges all who support peace and reconciliation and the advancement of a two-state solution to join the efforts of like-minded organizations and to reject BDS in favor of a productive path toward a negotiated peace.

Encourages productive criticism, including tochechah, aimed at achieving peace for Israel and realization of the legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people.

Urges CCAR members and the communities we serve to create opportunities for healthy and robust discussions about Israel and her policies, based upon the fundamental tenet that the State of Israel must thrive as a Jewish and democratic State within secure and defensible borders.

Calls upon CCAR members to engage clergy of all faiths, government officials, and university leaders, who are increasingly bombarded by the BDS movement’s biased and inaccurate information.

Pledges to support organized Jewish communities on college and university campuses, which are often on the front lines of the defense against the BDS campaign.

Affirms our ongoing commitment to overcoming those who seek the destruction of Israel by supporting peace and continuing to educate our communities about the importance of a two-state solution.

[1] http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/05/campus-politics

[2] http://www.urj.org/blog/2014/06/19/rabbi-rick-jacobs-letter-delegates-presbyterian-church-usa-general-assembly

[3] http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/the-jewish-thinker/.premium-1.664018

[4] http://aaup.org/report/academic-boycotts

[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/us/backlash-against-israel-boycott-throws-academic-association-on-defensive.html?_r=0

[6] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/star-authors-jk-rowling-hilary-mantel-israel-palestinian-boycott-guardian-letter

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/09/21/intersectionality-a-primer/?tid=a_inl

[8] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/10/15/the-growing-solidarity-between-blacklivesmatter-and-palestinian-activists/

[9] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/08/why-bds-isn-t-compatible-with-two-states.html

[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/us/campus-debates-on-israel-drive-a-wedge-between-jews-and-minorities.html?_r=0

[11] http://www.adl.org/israel-international/anti-israel-activity/c/bds-on-american-college-2014-2015.html

[12] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/debate-on-a-jewish-student-at-ucla.html

[13] CCAR Declaration of Love and Support for the State of Israel and Its People, 2015-16.

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Expression of Love and Support

for the State of Israel and Its People

December 16, 2015

Amended – January 12, 2016

Reform Rabbis’ Enduring Commitment to the State of Israel

The Central Conference of American Rabbis has a long history of support for the State of Israel.[i] As bearers of Torah, we Reform rabbis hold sacred the Land of Israel and its people.  Our fullest, most formal expression of these core values was the 1997 CCAR Platform on Reform Judaism and Zionism, adopted by the plenary in Miami, which we hereby reaffirm.

The modern State of Israel, as expressed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, is the means to the fulfillment of the age-old Jewish dream to return to the land; to develop it for the benefit of all its inhabitants; to affirm the principles of freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; to establish complete equality of social and political rights for all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; to preserve freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; and to safeguard all Holy Places for all religions.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis gathers each seventh year for our annual convention in the nation-state of the Jewish people as a deep expression of more than 2,300 CCAR members’ love for, support of, commonality with, and dedication to the Zionist project.

The Reform rabbinate worldwide celebrates the modern State of Israel, its vibrancy and creativity in all areas of human endeavor, and it embraces as partners with the people of Israel the many challenges and opportunities to build a modern Jewish and democratic society. We Reform rabbis of the CCAR are grateful that Israel represents a safe haven for Jews from around the world. With a rising tide of anti-Semitism in many countries, we value Israel’s commitment, as stated in its Declaration of Independence, to “be open for Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the Exiles.”

The CCAR supports the growing Israeli Reform Movement and partners with our Israeli sister organizations, institutions and programs – MARAM; Israel Council of Reform Rabbis; IMPJ, the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, its vibrant congregations, communities, and programs; IRAC, the Israel Religious Action Center; HUC-JIR, the Jerusalem Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; the Leo Baeck School in Haifa and the Yozma-Tali School in Modi’in; dozens of Reform-sponsored Tali schools and Ganim; two Reform Kibbutzim: Yahel and  Lotan; an active pre-army program and the Noar Telem Reform youth movement; and dozens of other efforts to spread Reform and Progressive Judaism, democracy, pluralism, and religious diversity in the state. [ii]

The CCAR values its role as a founding partner of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America; and our involvement worldwide in ARZENU, the international Reform Zionist federation. We value ARZA’s and ARZENU’s leading role representing the Reform Movement in Israel’s National Institutions (World Zionist Organization, Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael).  Further, we share in ARZA’s work in encouraging and instilling active progressive Zionism within our congregations and communities, and providing significant financial resources to our partner institutions in Israel.[iii]

CCAR rabbis cherish our role as a partner with the Women of the Wall.[iv]

CCAR rabbis bring thousands of Reform Jews, of all ages, annually to visit Israel[v] in synagogue groups. We support the many programs offered by the Union for Reform Judaism, through NFTY-in-Israel[vi] and Taglit-Birthright Israel.[vii]

We Affirm

The CCAR affirms that our love and support for the State of Israel are unconditional.  When we disagree with specific government policies and pronouncements, we do so according to tradition’s principle of מחלוקת לשם שמים (machloket l’sheim shamayim, disagreement for the sake of Heaven), and the words of the prophet Isaiah (62:1), “For Zion’s sake  I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth like radiance…”

The CCAR calls upon the State of Israel, as both a Jewish and democratic state, to recognize all mainstream expressions of Judaism, and the rabbis that serve them, on an equal basis.[viii] We insist that all Jewish holy places in Israel be accessible to women and men, with options for those who wish to worship together and for those who wish to worship separately.[ix]

The CCAR affirms its commitment to expanding civil liberties in Israel for all citizens of the State, including but not limited to equal rights for both men and women, equality for all LGBT persons living under Israeli sovereignty, and civil liberties not afforded to most of the inhabitants of the wider region.

The CCAR supports the institution of civil marriage and divorce[x] for all marriages, including same-gender marriage. We believe that the continued control by the Chief Rabbinate in determining and judging the personal status of any individual Jew or group of Jews undermines Israel’s democracy, as well as its Jewish nature.

The CCAR affirms that Israel must continue to seek every opportunity to live in peace with its neighbors despite the immense challenges.

Throughout its history, Israel has been beset by enemies. Israel has extended a hand of peace to it neighbors over the years, successfully concluding peace agreements with both Egypt and Jordan.  However, other nations and non-state actors, notably Iran and the terrorist organizations it supports, including Hamas and Hezbollah, remain committed to Israel’s destruction. Other terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, also seek Israel’s demise. We remain unwaveringly committed to Israel’s security. The CCAR takes seriously the government of Iran’s long-standing intention to acquire nuclear weaponry, with the desire and capacity to direct that destructive force upon Israel. We of the CCAR emphasize the need for the ongoing monitoring of Iranian compliance with the agreement it made in 2015 with the P5 +1 nations.[xi]

Many of Israel’s leaders across the political spectrum have expressed their willingness to relinquish territory for the sake of peace.[xii] We of the CCAR encourage the same spirit of compromise among Israel’s leaders today.

We deplore Palestinian intransigence, incitement, terror, and internal divisions, as well as an unwillingness of many Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. These actions impact negatively on the peace process with Israel.  We condemn all incitement to violence by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

The CCAR rejects the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, the primary motivation of which is the delegitimization of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.

We are saddened that some Israeli policies have had a negative impact on the daily lives of non-combatant West Bank Palestinian residents. We firmly believe that the expansion of West Bank Settlements is detrimental to the peace process.[xiii]

Only through direct negotiations can Israel and the Palestinians end their conflict and fulfill both people’s legitimate national aspirations. We of the CCAR encourage Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct peace talks immediately, supported by trusted international partners, with the end goal being a two-state solution to the conflict in which the Jewish State of Israel and the State of Palestine will live peaceably side by side.

We of the CCAR are united in the belief that military force will not resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nevertheless, Israel has the right and moral obligation to protect the safety and security of its people. We support the Government of Israel in its war against terrorism and in its efforts to stop those who execute, support and encourage it. We reject the simplistic moral equation that would draw a parallel between the actions of Palestinian terrorists who target innocent civilians and the generally measured responses of Israel’s defense forces that target Palestinian terrorists. We affirm Israel’s principle of טוהר הנשק  (tohar haneshek, purity of arms) that calls upon all IDF soldiers to employ reasonable restraint in order to protect human life.[xiv]

Peaceful coexistence between Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab states, based on justice and mutual recognition, is a political and moral necessity that will preserve both Israel’s Jewish character and democracy. No final resolution to the Middle East conflict can be achieved until each side recognizes the justice and moral claims of the other for national independence and freedom.

 

Our Call to Action

Therefore, we rabbis of the CCAR:

Pray for the fulfillment of the prophetic vision: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4);

Condemn all incitement to violence and terrorist acts[xv] by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and Iran;

Call upon Israeli leaders to reiterate, clearly and consistently, that Israel accepts Palestinian national rights even as it demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace and security as the nation-state of the Jewish People;[xvi]

Hold that Palestinian right to political self-determination must not be achieved at the expense of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish democratic state with a Jewish majority;

Believe that a Palestinian State can only be established through direct negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli leaders;[xvii]

Call upon Palestinian leaders to discontinue unilateral actions intended to isolate Israel in international forums and circumvent the negotiating process and, instead, accept Israel’s invitation to return to the bargaining table promptly and without preconditions;

Believe that while all parties share responsibility to address the tragedy of Palestinian refugees, the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel should be limited to a symbolic number that would allow Israel to maintain safely its Jewish majority and democracy, recognizing the individual and collective rights of all minority groups.

Urge the government of Israel to work with credible, willing Palestinian leaders and other interested parties within and beyond the Arab world towards a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict;[xviii]

Reaffirm Israel’s and the Palestinian Authority’s obligation to abide by the Oslo Accord;

Call upon Israel’s security forces in the West Bank to do everything reasonably possible to respect and defend the human rights, dignity and property of the Palestinian population;

Call upon Israel to stop building and expanding settlements across the “Green Line” in the occupied territories, except in areas clearly marked for Israel in any future political agreement;[xix]

Believe that the future border between Israel and the future state of Palestine should be based on the 1967 borders with mutually agreeable land swaps;

Hold that any future negotiated settlement should include in the State of Israel the Old City of Jerusalem and all Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem, with access for all peoples to their holy sites;[xx]

Call upon Israel to eschew all collective punishment,[xxi] including demolition of the homes of terrorists’ families;

Call upon Israel to recognize the residency rights of Palestinians who live in the Jerusalem Municipality or any other territory occupied and/or annexed by Israel since June, 1967;

Agree with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin that all citizens of the State of Israel are entitled to full and equal civil, political, economic, and educational rights and privileges.

Oppose any Israeli law that would attenuate the equality of its Arab citizens.

Call upon Israel’s leaders to suppress vigorously all extremist and violent actions and provocations that have characterized a segment of Jewish-Israeli society in recent years;

Call on rabbis of all streams to be seekers and pursuers of peace by rejecting teachings which elevate the dignity and rights of Jews over those of non-Jews;[xxii]

Call upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to end its incitement to violence.[xxiii] Furthermore, we call upon secular and religious leaders among the Palestinian people to reject their teachings which denigrate the dignity and rights of Jews;

Encourage and support grassroots programs that bring Israelis and Palestinians together to understand one another. We support the many NGO exchanges, businesses and academic friendships that currently exist between Palestinian and Israelis and urge the recognized governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to strengthen and support those ties as well;

Commend organizations, including IMPJ and MARAM, who confront vicious terrorist attacks on Palestinian lives and property.

Express pride that the Central Conference of American Rabbis is among those who affirm that Israel is the Jewish homeland and central to our religious and national life, and who work toward a stronger, more secure, safer, and ever-more just Israel living in harmony with its neighbors.

We of the CCAR pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you find serenity. May there be peace within your ramparts, calm in your citadels. For the sake of my kin and my friends, I pray for your well-being; for the sake of the house of the Eternal our God, I seek your good.”(Psalm 122:6-8)

[i] See, for example, the Columbus Platform, 1937; CCAR resolution, “Israel,” 1976; CCAR resolution, “Supporting the State of Israel,” 1979; CCAR resolution, “Israel,” 1980; CCAR resolution, “Support for Israel,” 1990; the CCAR’s “Resolution on Peace in Israel,” 2001; the CCAR Statement, “Where We Stand on Israel,” 2002; and the CCAR resolution, “Engagement with Israel,” 2005.

[ii] Support for Reform institutions in Israel and ARZA is clearly expressed in the CCAR resolution, “Support for Israel,” 1990; in the CCAR resolution, “Religious Freedom in Israel,” 1998; in “Resolution on Progressive Judaism in the State of Israel,” 2002; in the CCAR resolution, “Engagement with Israel,” 2005; and in “CCAR Resolution Calling Upon the Government of Israel to Recognize Rabbi Miri Gold and to Cease Discrimination against Non-Orthodox Jews,” 2009.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] The CCAR was an early supporter of the Women of the Wall, as evidenced in its resolution, “The Women of the Wall,” 1990.

[v] The CCAR previously emphasized the importance of visiting Israel. See, for example, “Israel IV,” 1987; and “Encouraging Pilgrimage to Israel among Reform Jews,” 2005.

[vi] The CCAR particularly supported URJ (then UAHC) summer programs in Israel in its resolution, “Israel Experiences,” 1982.

[vii] The CCAR noted the importance of Kesher Birthright, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Birthright Israel program, in its resolution, “Support for Reform Jewish College Students,” 2005.

[viii] The CCAR has previously called for equality for all Jewish religious streams in Israel, notably in a CCAR resolution, “Religious Pluralism in Israel,” 1994; and in a CCAR resolution, “Religious Freedom in Israel,” 1998; and in “CCAR Resolution Calling Upon the Government of Israel to Recognize Rabbi Miri Gold and to Cease Discrimination against Non-Orthodox Jews,” 2009.

[ix] “The Women of the Wall,” 1990.

[x] The CCAR advocated for “full and equal rights to all of Israel’s citizens in matters of marriage and divorce,” in its resolution, “Non-Orthodox Marriage and Divorce in Israel,” 2006.

[xi] “Reform Movement Response to Iran Deal: Address Important Concerns, Focus on the Day After,” 2015. See also the CCAR resolution, “The Threat from Iran,” 2016.

[xii] We would cite in particular Prime Minister Menachem Begin, z”l, who sacrificed the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Camp David Accords that established a peace treaty with Egypt; Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, z”l, and former Prime Minister and past President Shimon Peres, who advocated – and, in the case of Peres, continues to advocate – for the Oslo Accords, which established a framework of territorial compromise to achieve two states for two peoples; former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who agreed to significant territorial compromise in exchange for a proposed final peace agreement with the Palestinians at Camp David in 2002; Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, z”l, who abandoned Israeli control over the Gaza Strip; and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who proposed territorial compromise in exchange for peace; among others. The CCAR supported efforts of this nature, and particular the Oslo process, in “Where We Stand on Israel,” 2002.

[xiii] The CCAR has taken this position multiple times in the past. Specifically, the 1980 resolution, “Israel,” included these words “[T]he Central Conference of American Rabbis . . . calls upon the Israeli government to freeze the establishing of new settlements in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza Strip.” The CCAR “Resolution on Peace in Israel,” 2001, called “upon the government of Israel to adopt a policy of neither building nor expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.” That position was reaffirmed in the CCAR resolution, “Gaza and the West Bank,” 2006.

[xiv] The points, and in many ways, the words, of this paragraph are found in the section “Israel’s Right to Self-Defense,” in the CCAR’s statement, “Where We Stand on Israel,” 2002.

[xv] CCAR resolutions have previously called for the end to violence, for example, in resolutions on “Israel” in 1978 and 1980; and in the CCAR’s “Resolution on Peace in Israel,” 2001.

[xvi] See “Mutual Recognition” in the CCAR statement, “Where We Stand on Israel,” 2002.

[xvii] CCAR resolutions have previously called for such negotiations, for example, in a resolution on “Israel,” 1980; and in the CCAR resolution, “Gaza and the West Bank,” 2006.

[xviii] Ibid.

[xix] See footnote xii.

[xx] With respect to holy sites, see “CCAR Resolution on the Temple Mount,” 2015.

[xxi] The CCAR called on Israel to “refrain from acts of collective punishment” in its “Resolution on Peace in Israel,” 2001.

[xxii] The CCAR has stressed the equality of Jews and non-Jews in Israel in the past – for example, in “Resolution on Social Justice in Israel,” 2001.

[xxiii] See footnote xiv.

CCAR Resolution on Climate Justice

October 27, 2015

Background

Our sages of old articulated human responsibility to care for the Earth, placing these words in the mouth of God: “See My works, how beautiful and praiseworthy they are. Everything I have created has been for your sake. Think of this, and neither corrupt nor destroy My world; for if you corrupt it, there will be no one to set it right after you.”^[i]

As early as 1977, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) called for “the swift development of an effective national energy policy in consonance with the needs of an environment which will nurture life on earth.”^[ii] Mindful that sacrifices would be required to achieve an end to what was then called “the energy crisis,” and that the burden of both that crisis and potential steps to address it might fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations, our 1977 resolution insisted: “All sacrifices necessary to achieve our goals should be borne equitably by all segments of our society commensurate with their ability to bear such burdens.”^[iii]

Subsequently, the CCAR and Union for Reform Judaism have repeatedly resolved to support measures to address environmental crises domestically and globally, often acknowledging the disproportionate negative impact that environmental changes place upon the poor in North America and internationally.^[iv]

Concern for the future of our planet has become increasingly urgent in recent years. Global climate change has already caused negative impacts predicted by scientists in the past, and scientists foresee devastating results in the years ahead. Sea levels are rising; animal habitats are changing and in some cases disappearing; and climate disruption is increasing in North America and around the world.^[v] An overwhelming consensus of scientists finds that climate change is accelerating and is largely due to human activity.^[vi]

Today, it is widely agreed by the scientific community that climate change is already a reality. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that human activities are altering our climate system and will continue to do so. Over the past century, surface temperatures have increased and associated impacts on physical and biological systems are increasingly being observed. Science tells us that climate change will bring about gradual changes, such as sea level rise, and shifts of climactic zones due to increased temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns. Also, climate change is very likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and storms. While there is uncertainty in the projections with regard to the exact magnitude, rate, and regional patterns of climate change, its consequences will change the fate of many generations to come and particularly impact on the poor if no appropriate measures are taken.^[vii]

Climate change is particularly threatening to poor and vulnerable populations worldwide:

Climate Change will further reduce access to drinking water, negatively affect the health of poor people, and will pose a real threat to food security in many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In some areas where livelihood choices are limited, decreasing crop yields threaten famines, or where loss of landmass in coastal areas is anticipated, migration might be the only solution.^[viii]

As a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, United States leadership through a meaningful commitment to reduce this nation’s carbon footprint would both have an impact and lead the world by example. To that end, President Obama has detailed a Climate Action Plan, including, among other initiatives:

The Clean Power Plan, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal, “to put our nation on the path toward a 30 percent reduction in carbon pollution from . . . [p]ower plants[, . . .] the largest single source of carbon pollution, accounting for about one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions.”^[ix]

A national program to establish tough emissions and fuel efficiency standard for the U.S. trucking industry, jointly proposed by the EPA and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

An Executive Order requiring the federal government to cut energy use in federal buildings 2.5% per year, reduce per-mile greenhouse gas emissions from federal fleets 30% from 2014 levels by 2025, and utilize renewable sources to meet 25% of all federal government energy needs by 2025.

Calling upon Congress to make the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit permanent and refundable, to “provide incentive and certainty for investments in clean energy.”^[x]

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), conceived in 2009, is intended to help poor and vulnerable countries address the challenges and negative impacts of climate change like flooding, sea level rise, drought, and decreased crop production. More than thirty countries have pledged $10.2 billion to initiate the GCF. President Obama has proposed a U.S. contribution of $500 million, which has yet to be approved by Congress.

Lamentably, states and industry often challenge EPA regulations in court, sometimes successfully.^[xi] They argue, not without merit, that environmental regulations are costly. As early as 1977, the CCAR acknowledged that environmental solutions would indeed require sacrifice. We are taught not to imitate Esau, spurning the birthright for a mess of pottage.^[xii] Instead, we are commanded to protect the birthright that is planet Earth, with eagerness to bear our blessed nation’s disproportionate share of the short-term burden to stem the tide of global climate change.

For too long, warnings about climate change and its devastating potential consequences have been ignored. We may derive hope from polls indicating that America’s youngest voters consider the environment to be a much greater priority than do their parents and grandparents.^[xiii] While the CCAR has long recognized this problem and advocated for needed change, we have not made these issues our priority to the extent now being demanded by our youngest colleagues and by young adults in our communities.

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

1.  Articulates global climate justice as a priority social justice initiative.2.  Calls upon the United States of America to lead the world in addressing the climate justice crisis by:Dramatically reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and then       a. Leveraging U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to seek similar reductions worldwide.       b. Endorses The Clean Power Plan.

3.  Asserts that the Executive Branch possesses authority under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act to implement The Clean Power Plan and other initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.4.  Appreciates the new emissions standards for large trucks.5.  Applauds President Obama’s Executive Order reducing the Federal Government’s carbon footprint.6.  Advocates that Congress:Immediately approve seed funding of the Global Climate Fund in the amount of $500 million.7.  Adopt legislation to make the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit permanent and refundable.       a. Urges state governments and industry to abide by federal environmental regulations and/or to adopt their own comparable plans to reduce greenhouse emissions.       b. Prevails upon all U.S. Presidential candidates to:Acknowledge the scientific consensus that global climate change is real and primarily the result of human activity.

8.   Propose a plan to reduce U.S. greenhouse emissions.9.   Articulate a commitment to reducing the impact of global climate change on the world’s poor.10. Commits itself to working in concert with leaders of other faiths who share our commitment to climate justice. 11. Urges its members to advocate within the congregations and communities we serve to reduce our own carbon footprints, as institutions and as individuals.12. Pledges to continue reminding ourselves, our communities and our leaders the teaching of our tradition that, if we corrupt this Earth, “there will be no one to set it right thereafter.”[xiv]

^[i] Ecclesiastes Rabbah, Chapter 7, Section 13.

^[ii] Resolution on Energy, Adopted at the 88^th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1977.

^[iii] Ibid.Liy

^[iv] Resolution on Toxic Substances, Adopted at the 95^th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, June, 1984; Resolution on Environment, Adopted by the 101^st Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, June, 1990; Resolution on Environment, Adopted by the 103^rd Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, April, 1992; Resolution on Endangered Species, Adopted by the 107^th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Submitted by the Commission on Social Action to the Union for Reform Judaism’s 70^th General Assembly, 2009.Rabbis, 1996; Resolution Opposing the Practice of Environmental Racism, Adopted by the 107^th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, March, 1996; Resolution on the Environment, Adopted at the 61^st General Assembly of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, November, 1991; Resolution on Climate Change and Energy, Submitted by the Commission on Social Action to the Union for Reform Judaism’s 70^th General Assembly, 2009.

^[v] climate.nasa.gov/effects, accessed July 4, 2015.

^[vi] This consensus includes American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Medical Association, American Meteorological Society, American Physical Society, The Geological Society of America, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Global Change Research Program, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, among others; climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/, accessed July 4, 2015.

^[vii] Poverty and Climate Change: Reducing the Vulnerability of the Poor through Adaptation, prepared by African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank; Department for International Development, United Kingdom; Directorate-General for Development, European Commission; Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany; Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Development Cooperation, The Netherlands; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United National Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, The World Bank, 2015, p. ix.

^[viii] Ibid.

^[ix] Climate Change and President Obama’s Action Plan, https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change, accessed July 4, 2015.

^[x] Energy, Climate Change, and Our Environment, https://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/securing-american-energy, accessed July 4, 2015.

^[xi] Michigan et al v. Environmental Protection Agency, decided by the Supreme Court in June, 2015, was the most recent example.

^[xii] Genesis 25:34.

^[xiii] Wendy Koch, “Poll Finds Generation Gap on Energy Issues as Millennials Voice Climate Concerns,” National Geographic, October 30, 2014.

[xiv] Ecclesiastes Rabbah, Chapter 7, Section 13.

CCAR Resolution on the Temple Mount

October 27, 2015

Sha’alu Sh’lom Y’rushalayim – Seek the Peace of Jerusalem[i]

Background

The Jerusalem Temple Mount has always been sacred to the Jewish people, as the site of our people’s ancient worship in the First and Second Temples, both of which stood there. Traditionally, our people prayed that messianic redemption would include building a third Temple and restoring sacrificial service there. Jews pray facing Jerusalem, in keeping with a Talmudic tradition that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rests there.[ii] Throughout its history, Reform Judaism has maintained a vision of messianic redemption, one that seeks a world of perfect peace, not building a new physical Temple in Jerusalem or recommencing sacrificial worship.

Still, the Temple Mount has remained holy, for Reform Jews as for all the Jewish people. Israel is our holy land; Jerusalem is our sacred city; and the Temple Mount is at the center of the city’s holiness. Historically as today, Jews appropriately express that holiness by turning toward the Temple Mount wherever we pray, whether in close proximity to the Temple Mount at its Western Wall, which we know as the Kotel, or in any place where Jews gather to pray worldwide.

Observing long-standing tradition, Jews do not pray on the Temple Mount in our day. Moreover, Reform Judaism has always respectfully understood that place to be holy to Muslims as well as Jews, since the Koran teaches that Muhammad began his Night Journey there.[iii] Reform Jews respect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, which stand on the Temple Mount, as we would for any other religious tradition’s holy places anywhere.

During the Six Day War of 1967, the State of Israel captured the Old City and its holy sites. Hours after Israel gained control of the Temple Mount, Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan removed the Israeli flag that had been raised there, recognizing the area as a Muslim holy site. Subsequently, he instituted a ban against Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount and gave religious sovereignty over that area to the Muslim Wakf. This created what has been referred to as the “Temple Mount status quo” which has been maintained from that time forward. In 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court[iv] affirmed the right of Jews to enter and pray in the area of the Temple Mount. However, the ruling went on to declare this not to be an absolute right, but one which the government had the authority to limit in order to safeguard the public good.

Through the years, Palestinian leaders have inflamed Muslim sensibilities and incited anti-Jewish violence with the claim that “Al-Aqsa is in danger!” Currently, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has incited Palestinian violence by falsely claiming that Israel is changing the status quo on the Temple Mount in an effort to “Judaize” Muslim holy sites. While some ultra-Orthodox leaders and members of the Knesset have indeed challenged the status quo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly affirmed Israel’s unswerving commitment to the status quo. More recently, the Prime Minister has temporarily prohibited members of the Knesset from being on the Temple Mount, in order to avoid even the appearance of changing the status quo. Despite the Israeli government’s best effort, the libelous claims and the murderous violence which they have provoked continues.

In the meantime, Palestinians have in essence militarized their holy site through the introduction of weapons and explosives.

For years, Palestinian leaders have denied the existence of a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount, despite the fact that modern archeology and earlier Muslim publications have cast no doubt that the First and Second Temples of the Jews were located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, on or near the present sight of the Dome of the Rock. Palestinians and their allies have gone so far as to petition UNESCO to designate even the Kotel as an exclusively Muslim holy site. Fortunately, that effort proved unsuccessful.

Be it therefore resolved that the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Recognizes the sacred status of the Temple Mount for both Jews and Muslims, having been the site of both the First and Second Temples and the place from which the Koran teaches that Muhammad began his Night Journey.

Affirms that the Jewish holiness of the Temple Mount is due to its historic significance and not to any hope for rebuilding the Temple, reestablishing sacrificial rites, or restoring any future Jewish worship where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock now stand.

Supports the status quo on the Temple Mount which restricts prayer to Islamic, not Jewish, prayer.

Supports Prime Minister Netanyahu’s continued affirmation of the status quo and calls on this and future governments to maintain this status quo until a different status is arrived at through Israeli/Palestinian negotiations.

Stands in opposition to those Jews who attempt to alter the status quo by praying on the Temple Mount, which is contrary both to traditional Jewish law and practice as well as peaceful co-existence.

Affirms the freedom of religion and the right of persons to pray where they choose, while at the same time, asserts that the interests of peace and safety are, in this unique and extraordinary circumstance, best served when some rights are suspended and legitimate religious passions restrained in deference to the rights and sensibilities of others.

Denounces all hate speech and incitements to violence.

Criticizes President Abbas and others in the strongest terms for inciting the present wave of murderous attacks on Jews through his false and libelous accusations.

Calls on the Muslim Wakf to prohibit civilians from bringing weapons and explosives to the Temple Mount.

Urges its members and their constituents to remain vigilant in opposing any attempt, at UNESCO or elsewhere, meant to de-Judaize Jewish sacred sites; and is eager to partner with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to assist in this campaign.

Encourages efforts of the Israel Religious Action Center, in cooperation with the Religious Action Center, to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount while combating terror and incitement to violence.

[i] Psalms 122:6.

[ii] Talmud, Bava Batra 25a.

[iii] Sahih Bukhari: Volume 5, Book 58, Number 226.

[iv] Case 3641/03, ruling of April 28, 2003.

CCAR Resolution on Hon. Jacob Trieber, z”l

August 11, 2015

WHEREAS Jacob Trieber was the first American Jew to serve as U.S. District Judge; and

WHEREAS Judge Trieber was appointed by President William McKinley to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas on July 26, 1900, and served until his death on September 17, 1927; and

WHEREAS Judge Trieber was an outspoken opponent of racism and advocate for women’s rights ahead of his time;[i] and

WHEREAS in Judge Trieber’s best known ruling, in United States v. Hodges, he ruled in favor of African American workers who had lost their jobs when “whitecappers” intimidated their employers, holding that the 13^th Amendment guarantees a right to work, irrespective of race;[ii] but

WHEREAS a regressive Supreme Court reversed Judge Trieber’s ruling in 1906, an injustice that would not be corrected until the adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

WHEREAS Judge Trieber’s legacy has been heretofore unheralded; but

WHEREAS the Arkansas congressional delegation has unanimously proposed legislation to name the Federal Building in Helena, Arkansas, where Judge Trieber lived and served, as the Jacob Trieber Federal Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court House;[iii] and

WHEREAS that legislation was adopted in the Senate on August 5, 2015[iv]; therefore

BE IT RESOLVED that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:

Endorses the naming of Jacob Trieber Federal Building, United States Post Office, and United States Court House; and

Urges its members and members of the communities we serve to ask all Members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the legislation to do so, S. 1707 and H.R. 2954; and

Applauds the efforts of Arkansas residents, most of them not Jewish, who have championed the cause of honoring this great American Jew; and

Commends Senator John Boozman, Senator Tom Cotton, Representative Rick Crawford, Representative French Hill, Representative Bruce Westerman, and Representative Steve Womack, for taking up this effort in Washington, D.C.

[i] Carolyn Gray LeMaster, “Jacob Trieber,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, accessed at www.encycoplediaofarkansas.net, last edited November 21, 2012.

[ii] Pamela S. Karlan, “Contracting the Thirteenth Amendment: Hodges v. United States, Boston University Law Review, Vol 85:783-809, 2005.

[iii] H.R. 2954 by Rep. Crawford, for himself, Rep. Westerman, Rep. Womack, and Rep. Hill; and S. 1707 by Sen. Boozman, for himself and Sen. Cotton.

[iv] S. 1707.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Resolution on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

June 17, 2015

WHEREAS several Reform Responsa have recognized the responsibility of pikuach nefesh (saving a life) as it relates to cigarette smoking and have affirmed the Halakhic (Jewish legal) ban on smoking;[1] and

WHEREAS the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) has twice adopted resolutions affirming the responsibility to speak out against the health hazards of smoking;[2] and

WHEREAS studies have shown that new forms of nicotine delivery systems, such as electronic cigarettes (“e-cigs” or “vapes”), while potentially useful in smoking cessation programs and potentially less harmful than standard cigarettes, still provide substantial health risks, which are often masked by studies shown to have been conducted by industry-supported labs or others with conflict of interest; [3] and

WHEREAS electronic cigarettes are delivery systems for nicotine, which is both addictive[4] and hazardous to health[5]; and

WHEREAS industry marketing has erroneously presented electronic cigarettes as a “safe” alternative to cigarette smoking; and

WHEREAS state and federal regulations have not consistently required accurate health warnings or prevention of marketing to children; and

WHEREAS flavored products for electronic cigarettes are often marketed to and made available to minors;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Central Conference of American Rabbis supports state and federal regulations to control the marketing and use of electronic cigarettes, flavorings, and other nicotine delivery systems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the CCAR supports and will advocate for federal and state legislation to ban the marketing of these products to minors and the use of these products by minors; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the CCAR encourages its members to advocate that non-smoking policies in the institutions our members serve be clarified to include electronic nicotine delivery systems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CCAR urges its members and affiliates, including but not limited to Union for Reform Judaism youth programs, to educate their communities about the harmful impact of using e-cigarettes and similar products.

[1] Contemporary American Reform Responsa, 13. A Ban on Smoking in the Synagogue – December 1985 – http://www.ccarnet.org/responsa/carr-19-20/.  CCAR Responsa – Responsum on Smoking 5753.23 (1993)- http://www.ccarnet.org/responsa/tfn-no-5753-23-331-335

 

[2] SMOKING, Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis 1985, http://www.ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/resolutions/all/smoking-1985/.  ENDORSING THE PROPOSED FDA SMOKING REGULATIONS , Adopted by the 107th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis March, 1996, http://www.ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/resolutions/all/endorsing-the-proposed-fda-smoking-regulations-1996/

 

[3] A Systematic Review of Health Effects of Electronic Cigarettes, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 69, December 2014, Pages 248-260; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514003739

[4] Tobacco Legal Consortium, The Verdict Is In:  Findings from United States v. Philip Morris, 2006.

[5] Sabha M, Tanus-Santos JE, Toledo JC, Cittadino M, Rocha JC, Moreno H (August 2000). “Transdermal nicotine mimics the smoking-induced endothelial dysfunction”. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 68 (2): 167–74. doi:10.1067/mcp.2000.108851. PMID 10976548;  Zhang S, Day I, Ye S (February 2001). “Nicotine induced changes in gene expression by human coronary artery endothelial cells”. Atherosclerosis 154 (2): 277–83. doi:10.1016/S0021-9150(00)00475-5. PMID 11166759; Hawkins BT, Brown RC, Davis TP (February 2002). “Smoking and ischemic stroke: a role for nicotine?”. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 23 (2): 78–82. doi:10.1016/S0165-6147(02)01893-X. PMID 11830264.