February 28, 2023

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns recent terrorist attacks on Jewish Israelis in the Occupied West Bank. We mourn the deaths of brothers, Hillel and Yigal Yaniv—and, most recently, an American citizen, Elan Ganeles.  

Reform rabbis join Israelis, the Jewish people, and decent human beings everywhere in demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice.  

However, at the same time, we are horrified by the vigilante violence carried out by Jewish extremists against innocent Palestinians in the area of the attacks. Violence never justifies violence, and justice is not served by an eruption of extrajudicial action and collective punishment carried out by individuals seeking vengeance.  

The Torah commands, “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). We learn from our Sages that the repetition of the word “justice” demands that we seek a just outcome through a just process.  

Over 250 CCAR rabbis have only now returned home after our convention in Israel, where we stood alongside our Israeli siblings, particularly our Reform rabbinic colleagues and the communities they serve in the Israel Movement for Progressive and Reform Judaism. While in Israel, we lifted our voices together for justice and for peace. We will continue to pray and work for those values in Israel and around the world. 

Rabbi Erica Asch
President 

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

Rabbis Forgo Annual High Holy Days Call with President

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The High Holy Days are an opportunity for reflection and introspection. As the leaders of major denominations in American Jewish life, we have been deeply engaged in both, considering the events of the Jewish year that is ending and preparing spiritually for the year to come.

In so doing, we have thoughtfully and prayerfully considered whether to continue the practice in recent years of playing key roles in organizing a conference call for the President of the United States to bring High Holy Day greetings to American rabbis. We have concluded that President Trump’s statements during and after the tragic events in Charlottesville are so lacking in moral leadership and empathy for the victims of racial and religious hatred that we cannot organize such a call this year.

The President’s words have given succor to those who advocate anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia. Responsibility for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, including the death of Heather Heyer, does not lie with many sides but with one side: the Nazis, alt-right and white supremacists who brought their hate to a peaceful community. They must be roundly condemned at all levels.

The High Holy Days are a season of t’shuvah for us all, an opportunity for each of us to examine our own words and deeds through the lens of America’s ongoing struggle with racism. Our tradition teaches us that humanity is fallible yet also capable of change. We pray that President Trump will recognize and remedy the grave error he has made in abetting the voices of hatred. We pray that those who traffic in anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia will see that there is no place for such pernicious philosophies in a civilized society. And we pray that 5778 will be a year of peace for all.

Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Rabbinical Assembly
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

The Central Conference of American Rabbis Condemns Invasive Body Searches of HUC-JIR students at Kotel

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns, in the strongest terms, invasive body searches of female students of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, conducted by security forces at the behest of Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall, this morning, in violation of an Israeli Supreme Court order forbidding such searches.

Reform rabbis take this incident personally: The women who were violated and dishonored are our future colleagues.

The searches constitute violations of fundamental Jewish values of tzniut (modesty) and kavod(honor), violations committed in service of an unjustified prohibition against women bringing Torah scrolls and tallitot to the Kotel.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis commends Cantor Tamar Havilio of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Rabbi Gilad Gariv, Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, for their efforts to protect the female students’ dignity. We stand in full support of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, its students and faculty, and its President, Rabbi Aaron Panken.

We call for an immediate apology, and for the appropriate discipline of Rabbi Rabinowitz and the security personnel who carried out these immoral, unnecessary, and undignified searches.

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                           Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Condemns President Trump’s Response to White Supremacist Domestic Terrorists

 Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is outraged that the President of the United States has repeatedly equivocated in condemnation of the white supremacists who rained terror and violence upon Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend. The President’s failure to differentiate Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen, and white supremacists of the self-proclaimed “Alt-Right,” on the one hand, from those who stood up to that threat and an imaginary “Alt-Left,” on the other, only encourages racist, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic hate-mongers to continue their reign of terror.

Reform rabbis across America and around the world join in solidarity with our colleagues in Charlottesville and the community they serve. We are grateful to Alan Zimmerman, President of Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville, for eloquently sharing the congregation’s story with the world. That community bravely gathered on Shabbat to serve God and humanity in an atmosphere that no Jewish community has ever faced in this country, reminiscent of Germany as Nazis were coming to power.

We grieve with all who mourn the death of Heather Heyer. May her memory be a blessing to the loving family and community she leaves behind. We pray for the healing of all who were injured. We pray for our country, that it may once again reflect the words of its first President, George Washington, who wrote to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, “Happily, the government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                           Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Deplores White Supremacist Violence

Sunday, August 13, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis grieves with all decent Americans today, during a weekend of racist and anti-Semitic hate speech and violence that led to murder in Virginia and scarred our nation’s soul.

In Pirkei Avot, the Chapters of our Sages, we learn from the great rabbi Hillel: “In a place where nobody is human, strive for humanity.” This weekend, Charlottesville was not devoid of humanity. Brave men and women gathered in that city to stand up to vile rhetoric that would dehumanize Americans of color, Jews, immigrants, and others who are deemed less than rightfully American by neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and others who make up the hateful “alt-right” movement that is the scourge of America in 2017.

Our rabbinic Conference is proud of our Charlottesville colleagues who stood among diverse clergy to create safe space near the violence and hatred today. Those men and women of faith strove for humanity in a place where the divine image was threatened by words, by clubs, and by an automobile wielded as a terrorist’s weapon.

Reform rabbis join our colleague, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, in calling upon the President of the United States to stand up to inhumanity unequivocally. Rabbi Jacobs wrote, “We commend the opening of President Trump’s statement condemning the ‘egregious display of hatred bigotry and violence’ but are deeply troubled by the moral equivalence evident in President Trump’s statement today. White supremacists wielding Nazi flags and spewing racist vitriol need to be specifically condemned, not only violence and hate ‘on many sides.'”

Reform rabbis stand ready to protect the freedom even of those who would deploy American freedom of speech and assembly in an attempt to spread despicable racist hatred. We fervently pray that those who rioted against American diversity this weekend will repent of their racist hatred and violence, and join with all decent Americans who celebrate the humanity of every person in this great land.

Reform rabbis pledge our words and our actions to combat racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia.

Reform rabbis pray for that messianic future foretold by our prophets, when “all shall sit under their vine and fig tree, with none to make them afraid.”

Central Conference of American Rabbis Responds to President Trump on Transgender Equality

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns President Donald J. Trump’s statement that transgender Americans would not be permitted to serve in the United States Armed Forces. Transgender Americans have served honorably in the U.S. military—when they could not do so openly; and, more recently, since evidence led to a change in Defense Department policy to welcome transgender Americans in service. The President’s policy reversal announced today is not only discriminatory; it is an unpatriotic slap in the face of transgender military members.

Reform rabbis affirm our conviction that a humanity created in God’s image includes all people, wherever they may locate themselves on the full, broad spectrum of gender identities.

Reform rabbis urge the President to reverse this discriminatory act. We renew our demand that Congress adopt and the President sign the Equality Act, to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity throughout the United States.

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

The Central Conference of American Rabbis Grieves the Violent Loss of Life in Recent Days

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis grieves the violent loss of life in the Middle East in recent days, beginning with the July 14 terrorist murder of two Israeli police officers at the holy place known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

The murder of members of a Jewish family sitting down to Shabbat dinner is a horrific crime and an unspeakable tragedy, regardless of where they live.  We are saddened too by circumstances that result in the justified taking of life, such as the death of the assailant who sought to kill an Israeli Embassy guard in Amman, Jordan. Escalation of violence in Israel, the Occupied Territories, and Jordan endangers Jews and Arabs alike.

Reform rabbis call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to work with Muslim, Palestinian, and Jordanian authorities to deescalate the violent crisis. Israel must ensure the safety of all at the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary in a way that avoids unnecessary provocation.  We urge Jordan’s King Abdullah to permit the return to Israel of the Israeli Embassy guard who killed an assailant in self-defense. We call on the United States government to play an active role in striving to bring peace to Israel, the Palestinian people, and the Middle East.

We pray for a cessation of senseless bloodshed. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Condemns Terrorist Murder of Israeli Police Officers in Jerusalem

 Friday, July 14, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis mourns the deaths of two Israeli police officers, Haiel Satawe and Kamil Shnaan, murdered in the line of duty by terrorists in Jerusalem’s Old City Friday. The attack took place near the city’s Lion’s Gate, closest to the Temple Mount, holy to Jews for 3000 years and revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, home to Islam’s Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

In praising this murderous act, Hamas terrorists lay bare their indifference to their own people who were endangered as they gathered for Friday prayers nearby. 

As Shabbat approaches, we join with the families of the murdered officers, their Israeli Druze communities, and all the people of Israel in mourning. We ask all to join us in praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on

the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis opposes the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 as proposed by the majority leadership in the United States Senate Thursday and urges the Senate to reject or substantially alter it so that coverage is made more accessible rather than less. We are pleased to join a wide array of Jewish organizations brought into coalition by our Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to oppose this assault on American health care.

In the words of CCAR Responsum 5770.5, grounded in traditional Jewish legal text, “The responsibility for making sure that medical care is available to all and that physicians are justly compensated for their work rests ultimately with the government, which is entrusted with the maintenance of public health and safety.”

The bill proposed Thursday, like the American Health Care Act approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, would deprive Americans of access to quality care. It would particularly harm low-income Americans who depend on Medicaid, who could be forced to choose between bankruptcy and imperiling their health. This Senate proposal would rob the poor to benefit the wealthy, redirecting Medicaid funds to tax cuts for our nation’s privileged few.

In March, the CCAR Board called for any replacement of the Affordable Care Act to include, among other conditions:

1. 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.

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

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

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

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

The proposal before the Senate violates all of these principles. We urge Senators to reject this proposal, and to work toward a better solution of our nation’s health care challenges.

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the Israeli Conversion Bill

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns the bill put forward in the Knesset by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties with support from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Cabinet.

The bill would grant the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate sole legal authority over conversion in Israel for the first time in the State’s history. If adopted, the bill would supersede a 2016 Supreme Court ruling, which permitted all gerei tzedek (righteous converts) to register as Jews with Israel’s Interior Ministry alongside those born into the Covenant. Proponents of the bill seek to erase Jews welcomed into our Covenant by our Israeli Reform and Conservative colleagues and also by the many Israeli Orthodox rabbis who receive converts outside the Chief Rabbinate’s purview.

The fact that the bill would not impact conversions outside Israel is of no comfort to Reform rabbis. Similarly, the threat to Jewish unity posed by the bill is not diminished by the Prime Minister’s action to delay vote on the bill for six months.

In the Babylonian Talmud (Bava Metzia 30b), we learn that the Temple was destroyed because of a refusal to see beyond the letter of the law. Rabbi Donniel Hartman teaches that such legal inflexibility causes societies to crumble, not just in 70 C.E., but in every age.

As ohavei Yisrael (lovers of Israel), Reform rabbis stand among the Israeli majority, calling upon the Netanyahu government to stop dividing the people of Israel, in Israel and worldwide. Reform rabbis are eager to collaborate with all who would build Jewish unity, in Israel and worldwide.

Rabbi David Stern                             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis