Reform Movement Statement on War Against Iran

Posted on by The CCAR

Sunday, March 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on by Tamar Anitai

February 26, 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Joint Statement on ICE Actions from the Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and American Conference of Cantors

Posted on by The CCAR

January 30, 2026

For decades, the Reform Movement has been a clear and unequivocal voice calling for immigration policy that is just, secure, and compassionate. That policy should be transparent and rooted in the United States’ status as a nation founded and strengthened by immigrants throughout the generations. We come to these views not just as Americans, but as Jews cognizant of our own history—as a people living as strangers in strange lands, too often facing exile and banishment from lands turned hostile to us, forced to flee as migrants seeking shelter safety and opportunity. We are also ever cognizant of the frequent biblical commandments to provide for, protect, welcome, never oppress, and love the stranger.

Core American values, rights, and principles are threatened by ICE’s violations of immigrants’ civil rights and of those protesting to protect their neighbors and their communities, as well as ICE’s militaristic actions in cities nationwide that are sweeping up people without probable cause. Too many ICE officials are undertrained or dismissive of basic rights. Countless individuals have been injured while exercising their First Amendment rights. Families have been separated, and children used as bait to ensnare their parents. Horrifically, two civilians, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by ICE agents—and at least six more have died in ICE custody in 2026 so far.

Pursuing enforcement-only measures designed to curb illegal immigration risks human dignity and human rights, as we have witnessed repeatedly in the past months. Top Administration officials have resisted accountability as well as thorough and transparent investigations of ICE agents’ actions, even when fatal force has been used. The Secretary of Homeland Security, top White House advisors, and the President himself have made unfounded accusations and appeared to pursue their ideological goals over discovery of the facts. Under the guise of pursuing its immigration policy, the Administration is fomenting and perpetrating violence and targeting states whose voters, legislatures, and governors have rejected the President’s agenda. Rather than keeping America and Americans safe, ICE’s actions have become a threat to life and liberty.

To restore good faith trust in ICE to protect, rather than endanger, individuals, major reforms in ICE’s mandate are required, including a clear commitment to ensure the rights of immigrants, their families, and those who organize to peacefully protect them and a transparent and consistent system of accountability when violations of those new norms occur. Until such reforms are made, we do not support new funding for ICE. We will take a similar stance in relation to any future federal entity pursuing immigration enforcement through similar means and practices to those used by ICE today.

Let us be clear: secure borders paired with orderly immigration processes reflect a healthy democracy. So, too, does abiding by the international agreements regarding refugees and asylum seekers to which the U.S. is a party. Immigrants who qualify should have a path to citizenship that reflects fair and compassionate eligibility standards. These are policies for which we have advocated over many decades. Indeed, as early as 1913, the URJ’s precursor, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, adopted a resolution in response to proposed, restrictive immigration legislation that referred to it as “foreign to the spirit of American traditions.” The URJ and CCAR have spoken strongly about refugees and asylum seekers, protecting individuals at risk of deportation, the contributions of immigrant farm workers, and the importance of comprehensive immigration reform, in which the URJ’s 2007 resolution noted that, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement units [must] act within the framework of U.S. law, which requires court-ordered search warrants, due process, and humane treatment of detainees and their families.”

Our calls for immigration reform have remained consistent in recent decades, but public debate has shifted. In 2007, President George W. Bush called on the United States Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that would have been “secure, productive, orderly, and fair.” We advocated for the same and pressed Congress to act on bipartisan legislation championed by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). Sadly, that legislative effort ended in defeat. Yet decades of failure by elected leaders from both parties to address the nation’s immigration challenges do not excuse the tragedy unfolding in Minneapolis, Maine, Los Angeles, Illinois, New Orleans, and elsewhere ICE has been deployed by this Administration.

We harken back to the words of the CCAR’s 2006 Resolution on Immigration: “…the United States is a nation of laws, which must be enforced and respected in order to maintain a civil society. At the same time, we expect that—especially in a Constitutional republic founded on principles of human dignity—the laws in question must be both just and equitable.” Today, we would add that enforcement of those laws must also be just and equitable.

We pray for and will work to hasten the time when the United States embraces immigration reform that secures our borders, smoothly processes refugees and asylum seekers, meets the needs of employers, provides a path to citizenship, and respects the humanity of all people.

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

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

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

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

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Reform Movement Statement on the Return of Ran Gvili’s Body

Posted on by The CCAR

January 26, 2026

יֵשׁ־תִּקְוָה לְאַחֲרִיתֵךְ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וְשָׁבוּ בָנִים לִגְבוּלָם׃ (ירמיהו לא:יז) 

And there is hope for your future—declares Adonai:
Your children shall return to their country. (Jeremiah 31:17) 


The Union for Reform Judaism, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the American Conference of Cantors join the people of Israel and Jewish communities around the world in marking the return of the body of Ran Gvili z”l, 842 agonizing days since October 7, 2023. This recovery followed an extraordinarily difficult and painstaking effort that underscores both the complexity of locating the fallen amid war and the profound commitment of the State of Israel—and many in the international community—to bring its people home, even when hope has been reduced to grief. The recovery of Ran Gvili marks the final return of all 251 hostages from Gaza to Israel. 

The return of Ran’s body brings a painful but essential measure of closure. It allows a family to mourn properly, a community to honor a life lost, and a nation to affirm a core moral truth: no one is ever abandoned, and no life is ever forgotten. In Jewish tradition, this act of return is an expression of kavod hamet—human dignity that endures even after death. 

At the same time, this moment reminds us that the work is far from finished. Families will continue to grieve their loved ones who did not return alive, and the trauma from October 7 continues to reverberate across Israeli society. Israel now looks toward the long and necessary work of rebuilding Gaza in a post-Hamas reality, restoring security and creating the conditions for a different future. Ran Gvili’s return is part of this slow, painful process—moving forward and acknowledging loss while refusing to be defined by it. And for innocent Palestinians in Gaza, today also marks the start of a new chapter and beginning of the next phase of the ceasefire that we pray will allow for peaceful recovery, rebuilding, and renewal.  

We hold Ran’s family in our hearts and stand in solidarity with all those who are suffering the impact of war and who continue the arduous work of healing. We remain steadfast in our hope that the people of Israel and their neighbors may yet find a path toward renewal, safety, and peace. 

May Ran Gvili’s memory be a blessing. 

.יהי זכרו ברוך

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

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

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

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

Back to CCAR Statements.

Jewish Cross-Denominational Statement Against Violent Immigration Enforcement

Posted on by The CCAR

January 21, 2026

ואהבתם את-הגר כי-גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Adding our voices to millions of others across the United States, leaders of the Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Movements of Judaism condemn, in the strongest terms, the violence with which the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing American immigration law—above all, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as in cities and towns across the nation.

Many Americans are deeply disturbed as they see their neighbors targeted for detention and deportation in their homes, at work, at their schools, and at their houses of worship. They are deeply concerned about numerous accounts of the use of intimidating and violent detention tactics, dangerous and unhealthy holding facilities, lack of appropriate warrants or due process, and wrongful apprehension of US citizens or individuals with proper visas based on appearance or language. 

In response, some are taking nonviolent steps to warn and protect their neighbors from this immigration enforcement overreach. The right to protest and speak freely are fundamental American rights, protected by the United States Constitution. Too often, though, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience is being met with violence.

The United States is a nation of laws, and as Americans we expect that our laws will be enforced with clarity and consistency. We are pained by reports and videos indicating that in carrying out their assignment, members of law enforcement are engaging in behavior that escalates confrontation, risking the safety of those suspected of having violated the law, of bystanders and protesters, and their own safety. Candidates for law enforcement must be properly vetted, fully and carefully trained, and held accountable when they do not meet appropriate standards. Such accountability includes investigating complaints fairly, transparently, and impartially, particularly but not only, in cases of officer-involved shootings. To that end, we call on the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting death by an ICE officer of Renee Good, z”l.

Our sages taught that the Book of Deuteronomy’s directive צדק צדק תרדף (Tzedek, tzedek tirdof), “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (16:20), implies that the law must be enforced through a fair process, and that one should pursue justice whether it would be to one’s advantage or to one’s loss.[i]

Immigrants are members of our congregations, our families, and people with whom we interact in our broader communities. American Jews cherish our own families’ immigration stories. We recall that, like many being expelled from America today, we or our ancestors came to this country to escape oppression and find opportunity. That is why so many Jewish congregations, rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders have engaged in a variety of legal actions to protect immigrants in our midst. We grieve an American promise that seems to be no more.

We who lead the North American Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Jewish Movements stand with the members and leaders of Jewish communities in Minneapolis—and before that, in the Chicago area and other cities in the United States—who have confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement nonviolently, legally, but resolutely. We fear that additional communities will need to be prepared to do the same in the months ahead.

We call on President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to pursue immigration enforcement and their response to protest through just and non-violent means, upholding our nation’s highest values and commitment to due process and the rule of law. 

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

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism
Shelley Niceley Groff, Chair of the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism

Cantor Josh Breitzer, President, American Conference of Cantors
Rachel Roth, Chief Operating Officer, American Conference of Cantors

Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, Chief Executive Officer, Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Eliot Meadow, President, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Rabbi Jay Kornsgold, President, Rabbinical Assembly

Cantor Matt Axelrod, Executive Director, Cantors Assembly

Edwin M. Baum, Board Chair, Reconstructing Judaism
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, President and CEO, Reconstructing Judaism

Rabbi Renee Bauer, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Megan Doherty, Chief Executive, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

[i] Ramban on Deuteronomy 16:20.

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

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Iranian Uprising

Posted on by The CCAR

January 15, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis lifts the collective Reform Jewish voice in support of the brave people who are risking their lives to protest the terrorist regime that governs Iran. We grieve the deaths of all whom the regime has brutally murdered, in response to the current uprising and before it, in Iran and around the world, and stand in awe of those who continue to oppose the regime.

Reform rabbis have been deeply concerned about the Iranian regime’s sponsorship of terror and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons, with the explicit attempt of destroying our beloved State of Israel and murdering our people there.[i] For decades, the Iranian regime has threatened the stability of its region and the world, even as Iranian people have been deprived of personal freedoms and are increasingly impoverished by the regime’s corruption and diversion of public funds to terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons.

Centuries before democracy was common, our rabbinic sages decreed that a ruler may only lead a people with their consent.[ii] The Iranian regime has forfeited its moral authority to rule the nation and has now lost the popular support required to remain in power. Their reach goes well beyond its own boundaries to impose its terror in the Middle East and the western hemisphere. For the sake of a greater peace that begins in Iran, it is time for the people of Iran to be sovereign.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis calls upon the governments of the United States and Canada, together with their allies, to continue and to strengthen sanctions that cripple the Iranian regime and to take all appropriate steps to support the myriads protesting their cruel government.

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

[i] “The Threat from Iran,” Resolution adopted by the 117th Annual Convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, June, 2006, Threat from Iran, The – Central Conference of American Rabbis.

[ii] Babylonian Talmud, B’rachot 55a.

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

Back to CCAR Statements

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on Threat to Transgender Youth

Posted on by The CCAR

January 6, 2026

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is appalled by the Trump Administration’s proposal to withhold all federal funds from hospitals that provide lifesaving gender affirming care to transgender youth. The withheld funds would include Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for all patient care, effectively closing hospitals that would continue to provide evidence-based medicine to transgender youth.

The claim that gender affirming medical care is not grounded in science is false. Multiple studies have demonstrated that gender affirming care is safe[i]—and more importantly, it saves the lives of youth experiencing gender dysphoria, who are at a heightened risk of suicide if untreated.[ii] If the proposed regulation were to go into effect, medical care across the United States would be withheld from minors experiencing gender dysphoria on the basis of ideology rather than evidence.

Jewish health care providers and Jewish-supported hospitals are bound by a religious obligation, grounded in our sacred texts, to provide gender affirming care to minors as an act of פיקוח נפש (pikuach nefesh), “saving life.” The obligation to provide health care is clear in the sacred texts of our tradition.[iii] Moreover, “To ignore the cries of trans children who beg their doctors to help them materialize their identity would be a crime akin to murder, no different from denying care to a patient with the flu or Crohn’s Disease.”[iv] The same may be true of health-care providers of other faiths. The proposal would therefore impinge upon Americans’ First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

Some CCAR rabbis have transgender children who are accessing or may need to access gender affirming care. Virtually every community served by CCAR rabbis includes children whose lives have been saved by gender affirming care and others whose lives would be threatened if the proposed rule were to go into effect. Reform rabbis pledge our support to one another, to each other’s children, and to the young people in our communities.

In the strongest terms, the Central Conference of American Rabbis urges the Trump Administration to withdraw this proposal, even as we call upon Congress and the courts to invalidate it should it go into effect.

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

[i] Stephanie L. Budge, et al, “Gender Affirming Care Is Evidence Based for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth, Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 75, Issue 6, December 2024, https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(24)00439-7/fulltext.

[ii]Diana M. Tordoff, et al, “Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care,” National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, July 1, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35212746/.

[iii] See, for example, Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kama 85a.

[iv] Beit Yosef, Yoreh Dei-ah 336:2, cited in Daniel Block, “The Halachic Mandate for Gender Affirming Care: Examining the Potential Efficacy of Religious Liberty Claims Made by Jewish Health Care Providers,” Brandeis University Law Journal, Fall 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, 125.

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

Back to CCAR Statements

The Reform Jewish Quarterly Fall 2025

Posted on by Raquel Fairweather-Gallie

CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly

Published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Order the issue

Fall 2025: AI and the Rabbinate

From the Editors

  • At the Gates
    Guest Editors: Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman and Rabbanit Sara Tillinger Wolkenfeld

Articles

  • As Iron Sharpens Iron: AI and Jewish Medical Ethics — Rabbi Oren J. Hayon and Ronni Hayon, MD
  • What Makes a Human — Rabbi Marc Katz
  • How AI Supports Global Progressive Judaism — Rabbi Stacey Blank
  • Rabbis in the Age of AI: Media Ecology and the Reimagining of Rabbinic Authority — Rabbi Noah Chertkoff
  • When AI Meets Sinai: The Creative Soul of Torah — Rabbi Feivel Strauss
  • Man’s Search for Meaning Returns 404 Error — Rabbi Michael Walden
  • The Morality of Generative Artificial Intelligence — Rabbi Cantor Jessica Fox

General Articles

  • The Bible in Politics and Politics in the Bible — Rabbi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, PhD
  • Leading My First Worship Service, High Holy Days 1960, at Age Seventeen — Rabbi Marc Lee Raphael

Book Reviews

  • Above All, We Are Jews: A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler by Michael A. Meyer — Reviewed by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
  • Reading Herzl in Beirut: The PLO’s Effort to Know the Enemy by Jonathan Marc Gribetz — Review by Rabbi Lea Mühlstein
  • A Jew in the Street: New Perspectives on European Jewish History, edited by Nancy Sinkoff, Janathan Karp, James Loeffler, and Howard Lupovitch — Reviewed by Rabbi Beth Schwartz
  • We Who Wrestle With God: Perceptions of the Divine by Jordan B. Peterson — Reviewed by Rabbi Austin Zoot

Poetry

  • Remembering Rabbi Stanley Chyet — Rabbi Marc Steven Dworkin
  • Shofar — Roger Nash, PhD
  • The Small Things — Roger Nash, PhD
  • The Sheitel Macher — Doris G. Traub
  • Vessels — Rabbi Adam Fisher
  • Angels? — Rabbi Adam Fisher
  • Hebrew Letters — Rabbi Adam Fisher
  • Noah’s Wife Speaks — Rabbi Mark Elber
  • Tender Torah — Rabbi Dr. Israel Bobrov Zoberman
  • A Day’s Work — Karl Plank
  • Two Crows — Karl Plank

Responsum 5784.2

  • Artificial Intelligence and Authorship — CCAR Responsa Committee, Rabbi Joan Friedman, PhD, chair

Subscriptions and Ordering 

Back issues are available at $35 per issue plus shipping. To order copies of the CCAR Journal, please visit ccarpress.org.

To subscribe, please email CCAR Press at info@ccarpress.org.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Antisemitic Mass Murder in Australia

Posted on by The CCAR

December 15, 2025

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns in the strongest terms what Australian authorities have determined to be a targeted antisemitic terror attack on Jewish Australians celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach in Sydney. We grieve with the families and communities of those who were murdered. We pray for the healing of the injured. We send support and strength to our Australian colleagues. And we give thanks for the heroic bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the terrorists, risking his life to save Jewish lives. He may be counted among חסידי אומות העולם (chasidei umot ha-olam), the world’s righteous.

This deadliest terrorism directed at the Jewish people since October 7, like too many violent attacks before it, reminds us that antisemitic hate speech—whether ostensibly about Israel, from a White Christian Nationalist perspective, or any other form of bigotry—is deadly dangerous to Jewish bodies. The proliferation of antisemitic hate speech has again led to mass murder of Jews, a phenomenon well known to our rabbinic forebears. In their Talmudic discussion of Psalms 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” our sages observed: “Actually, a person’s tongue is more powerful than their sword. A sword can kill somebody who is nearby; a tongue can cause the death of someone who is far away.”[i]

We are commanded to publicize the Chanukah miracle by placing the chanukiyah in the window.[ii] At times of danger, though, Maimonides permitted us to place the Chanukah lights inside the home.[iii] Some Jews will be and feel unsafe to place their Chanukah menorahs in the window this year. All Jewish communities will take security precautions. Still, CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve—in Australia, in North America, in Israel, and around the world—will follow Hillel’s example by increasing the light of holiness throughout the festival,[iv] proclaiming the prophetic faith of Zachariah that might and power, terrorists and their weapons, will ultimately be defeated by the Divine spark in humanity.

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

[i]Babylonian Talmud, Arachin 15b.

[ii] Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b.

[iii] Rabbi Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, M’gilat Esther v’Chanukah 4:8.

[iv] Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b.

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

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Central Conference of American Rabbis Laments Shooting of National Guard Personnel

Posted on by The CCAR

December 1, 2025

The Central Conference of American Rabbis grieves the heinous shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guard, taking the life of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and severely wounding Staff Sargeant Andrew Wolfe. Among all Americans, we join the people of West Virginia in mourning Specialist Beckstrom and praying for Sargeant Wolfe’s healing. Americans in uniformed service of our country selflessly put their lives on the line to vouchsafe our freedom. Targeting them with deadly violence is an attack on us all.

We commend law enforcement for the prompt arrest of the alleged perpetrator, and we call for his prosecution to the full extent of the law. We support continued investigation to assure that the shooter was acting alone.

Even as we lament this horrific act of violence, Reform rabbis are concerned by actions proposed by President Trump in response, suspending action on immigration status applications of all Afghan refugees in this country and threatening to halt all immigration from developing countries and all applications for asylum. Jewish history is replete with incidents when all of a country’s Jews were held responsible and punished because of the actions of a single individual. Collective punishment must not be tolerated. 

CCAR members and our communities mobilized rapidly in 2021 to welcome Afghan refugees, men who served alongside the US armed forces in Afghanistan, and their families. Rescued by US service personnel whose lives they had protected, these Afghanis and their families faced certain death at the hands of the Taliban had they stayed in their homeland, a threat that has not abated. CCAR members know and cherish many of these refugees and now fear for their safety here in America.

Many CCAR rabbis and the communities we serve work diligently to support refugee resettlement, as Reform rabbis have done throughout CCAR history, whether the refugees were Jews escaping antisemitism or others who have more recently sought America’s promise of freedom from persecution. Reform rabbis pledge to continue this sacred work of הכנסת אורחים, (hachnasat orchim), welcoming those who are new to America and to our communities.

The CCAR calls on President Trump to rescind all forms of collective punishment on the basis of national origin, religion, ethnicity, and/or immigration status.

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

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

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