Central Conference of American Rabbis
Deplores Netanyahu’s Government’s Reversal
on Kotel Compromise

The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns the Israeli government’s announcement today that it is officially freezing implementation of its January, 2016 compromise agreement to create space for egalitarian prayer at the Kotel equal in stature to the Orthodox sections for gender-segregated prayer, which would remain fully intact.

Reform rabbis recall the moving egalitarian worship service we held at that designated section at the southern end of the Kotel, when we were gathered in convention in Jerusalem in February, 2016. Nevertheless, the Robinson’s Arch area of the Kotel, slated for the future Ezrat Yisrael or “section for all Israel,” may best be currently described as a makeshift prayer space, in no way comparable with the sections of the Kotel set aside for gender-segregated Orthodox worship.

Today’s decision calls into question whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a man of his word. The Prime Minister, whose name is on the January, 2016 agreement on behalf of his government, has apparently caved in to the extremist views of his ultra-Orthodox (Hareidi) coalition partners. Moreover, this decision further strains the relationship between Diaspora Jews and Israel, and makes it increasingly difficult for our rabbis to make the case of support for Israel.

The prophet Isaiah, preaching of a messianic future about the Temple itself, prophesied, “Let my House be a House of prayer for all people.” Our pre-messianic goal is more modest, that the Kotel could be a place of prayer for all Jews. The Kotel is a powerful symbol but unfortunately one that exemplifies the inequalities and indignities to which Reform, Conservative and other non-Orthodox Jews are subjected in the Jewish State every day.

Reform Rabbis join our Reform and Conservative Movement partners — and our Orthodox partners, too, along with Jewish communities worldwide — who will continue to struggle on behalf of Jewish religious equality at the Kotel and throughout Israel.

Central Conference of American Rabbis

CCAR Statement

on the 50^th Anniversary of the Six-Day War

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis marks the 50^th Anniversary of Israel’s Six-Day War with both joy and sober reflection.

We rejoice that the Israel Defense Forces heroically prevailed over an enemy that was poised to destroy the Jewish State. We celebrate the men and women of the IDF who planned and executed a brilliant, successful, and tragically necessary preemptive war. We remain ever-grateful that Israeli victory enabled the restoration of millennia-old Jewish holy sites under the Israeli flag, after they had been desecrated and off-limits to Jewish worshipers since 1949. We note the positive impact of Israel’s improbable triumph on world Jewry, which proclaimed with one voice, Am Yisrael Chai! “The people of Israel lives!”

We acknowledge that Israel had no alternative but to conquer territory taken in the 1967 War in order to protect the Jewish State’s security. We note that Israel has preserved the holy places of other religions in Jerusalem and throughout all of Israel’s sovereign and occupied territory throughout the history of the State, each preserved under its own religious authority for those who hold it sacred.

At the same time, we lament the lives, the human dignity, and the holiness lost in fifty years of occupying land captured in the Six-Day War. We grieve for opportunities lost and bypassed – by Israel, by its Arab neighbors, by the Palestinian people and its leadership, and by the family of nations – to establish peace through the implementation of two states for two peoples.

We pray that the Camp David Accords, which returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in return for peace, might be seen as a model for peacemaking. We renew our call for the end to Israeli settlement activity on occupied territory outside of Jerusalem or settlement blocs that are widely recognized as part of Israel under any future peace agreement. We adjure Israel’s government and military to ease the blows of occupation, however necessarily balanced they must be with Israel’s own security. We proudly proclaim that Israel was established on the basis of Zionist acceptance of a two-state solution in 1947. We plead for the renewal of the promise of the Oslo Accords, which envisioned a Jewish State of Israel and a Palestinian State, side by side, at peace. We call upon Israel and the Palestinian Authority to return to peace negotiations without preconditions.

We pray that, fifty years from now, we may celebrate the centennial of the Six Day War with unalloyed joy:

Let the Jewish State of Israel flourish in peace and security.

Let the Palestinian people realize their legitimate national aspirations, alongside Israel at peace.

Let Jerusalem be a beacon of peace and harmony to all the world.

Rabbi David E. Stern           Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                            Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Deplores U.S. Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

Friday, June 02, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is dismayed by the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Our nation’s abdication of its share of the global human responsibility to reduce climate change and establish climate justice violates our cherished Jewish values:

Bal Tashchit – We are forbidden to destroy God’s creation. The rise in temperatures worldwide, resulting from unmitigated consumption of fossil fuels, threatens coastal communities around the globe, promises to drive animal species to extinction, and radically enhances the strength and frequency of devastating storms.

Al Tifros min haTzibbur – We are commanded not to separate ourselves from the community. Until the U.S. withdrawal, the Paris Climate Agreement included every nation on Earth other than Syria and Nicaragua. The United States has now separated itself from the family of nations pledged to seek climate justice together.

Tzedek, tzedek tirdof – We are enjoined to go to the greatest lengths in the pursuit of justice. The United States, the wealthiest nation on Earth, emits more greenhouse gases per capital annually than any other nation. Meanwhile, the impact of global climate change falls disproportionately upon the world’s poorest citizens, who are most likely to live in coastal and low-lying regions and least prepared to withstand destructive storms. Unlike the United States, the global family’s poorest nations consume relatively little fossil fuel and are ill equipped to protect their citizens from these devastating effects of climate change.

We urge the President to reconsider his disastrous decision, and we call on him to recommit the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement and the reduction of U.S. greenhouse gas emission.

Rabbi David E. Stern Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Opposes White House Budget Proposal

Thursday, May 25, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis strenuously objects to the White House’s proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget unveiled this week. Every budget is a statement of values. The President’s budget recommendation neglects the foundational values that we hold dear as Reform rabbis and as Americans.

The proposed budget neglects the value of rofeh cholim, healing the sick. Some of the proposal’s deepest cuts are to Medicaid, the United States’ health care safety net for the most financially vulnerable among us. The Administration would slash spending on health science at the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other institutions vital to a healthy nation now and into the future. Further, women’s health would particularly be at risk, with beneficiaries of government-funded health care forbidden from using federal dollars at Planned Parenthood, the nation’s most trusted provider of sexual and reproductive health care. In addition, the draconian cuts proposed for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration threaten the well-being of millions, at a time when preventable death resulting from mental illness, including substance abuse, is an American scourge of epidemic proportions.

The proposed budget disregards the value of hazan et hakol, feeding all. Drastic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps — and to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — could leave millions of Americans hungry and malnourished.

Lilmod ul’lamed, the value of learning and teaching is also neglected. Education cuts range from public elementary schools to higher education, reducing support for educational innovation, for programs that particularly benefit low income schools, for vocational training, and for college student loans.

The proposed budget is negligent in regard to the value of lo titein michshol, not placing stumbling blocks. The proposed cuts to food and drug inspection and occupational safety enforcement would present an intolerable risk to unsuspecting consumers and workers.

The proposed budget is in conflict with the value of havaat shalom bein adam l’chaveiro, making peace between people. This budget proposal enhances defense spending while slashing funds for diplomacy. Since the days of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, American diplomats have served our nation by enhancing peace worldwide, reducing the need for defense spending.

Tzedek, tzedek tirdof, is the value of pursuing justice. By nearly eliminating support for representation of indigents in civil cases, as proposed in this budget, the Administration would place a price tag on access to American justice.

The value of al tifros min hatzibur, not separating from the community, is treated with great carelessness in this proposed budget. With less than one percent of its federal budget, the United States builds tremendous good will and shares our values with the poorest citizens of planet Earth. Cuts to global health, refugee programs, and international disaster assistance are just a few examples of the proposed diminution of the United States’ role where it is most needed internationally. Moreover, we oppose any and all funding for the proposed southern border wall, which would not address the United States’ crying need for comprehensive immigration reform, but would be a lamentable symbol of our nation’s chosen isolation.

Bal tashchit is the value of not destroying the Earth. We take exception to proposals that would slash conservation programs, watershed protection, flood prevention, and a host of other vitally needed environmental programs at a time when the frequency and severity of devastating storms are increasing.

Despite all of our misgivings about the Administration’s budget proposal, only some of which are listed here, we commend President Trump for proposing a pilot program to support paid parental leave. Among its many benefits, this program would work to address women’s equality in the workplace.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis calls upon Congress to reject the White House budget proposal and to adopt instead a budget that reflects cherished American values.

Rabbi David E. Stern Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement on the American Health Care Act

May 4, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis opposes the American Health Care Act as adopted by the United States House of Representatives today and urges the United States Senate to reject or substantially alter it.

Since Moses (Numbers 12:13), rabbis have prayed for healing. Jewish leaders since the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5) have called upon people of all faiths to seek the finest health care available. Sages since the Middle Ages (Yoreh De’ah 249:16) have called upon communities to assure health care for the neediest among us. Reform Judaism, from its earliest days, has called for women’s rights and equality.

The bill approved today would deprive Americans of access to quality care and access to care. It would particularly harm Americans with preexisting conditions, who could be forced to choose between bankruptcy and imperiling their health. Reform rabbis are particularly taken aback that the legislation adopted today would give states the option of seeking waivers to exclude maternity coverage or prenatal care from mandatory services. The AHCA would also disproportionately harm low-income Americans and people with disabilities through an 880 billion dollar cut to Medicaid that will leave millions uninsured.

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

1. Assurance that no American can be denied coverage nor charged extra for coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions;
2. Requirement that all health insurance programs cover preventative services at no cost to the individual;
3. Parity for women’s health care services, including contraceptive coverage;
4. Maintenance of all qualified providers, including Planned Parenthood, as authorized providers under Medicare and Medicaid; and
5. Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or marital status.

Today’s legislation violates all of these principles. Reform rabbis denounce today’s congressional vote, and we vow to work with the U.S. Senate to adopt much better legislation.

Rabbi David E. Stern           Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                            Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Deplores New Law Targeting Planned Parenthood

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis strongly condemns legislation, signed into law by President Trump last week, enabling states to deny needy women the right to receive vital family planning and preventative healthcare services through Planned Parenthood and other health care providers that also offer abortion care.

We oppose this new law on the basis of our Jewish principles:

Pikuach Nefesh (Saving a Life) – In countless communities, Planned Parenthood is the trusted health care provider most accessible to poor women. Newly-permitted state restrictions will deny these women lifesaving care, including cervical and breast cancer screening.

Emet (Truth) – Planned Parenthood opponents have proclaimed that this law enables states not to fund abortions. That is false. The Hyde Amendment, which we oppose, has long prohibited federal funding of abortions, in all but the rarest of instances, none of which is impacted by this new law. States have always been free to withhold funding for abortion services. This new law negatively impacts funding for poor women’s contraception and preventative health care only.

B’tzelem Elohim (All human beings are created equally, in God’s image) – This new federal law, and the state actions it enables, impacts particularly on poor women. These women — no less than men, no less than women of means — should be fully empowered to select their preferred provider of contraception and life-saving preventative health care.

Reform rabbis stand with the women who need the contraceptive and lifesaving services of Planned Parenthood.

Rabbi David E. Stern           Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                            Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

CCAR Condemns Rising Antisemitism, Reaffirms Commitment to Pursuit of Justice in Turbulent Times

Sunday, March 19, 2017

As the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the rabbinic leadership organization of Reform Judaism in North America and worldwide, gathers for its Annual Convention, it reaffirms its historic commitment to the pursuit of justice for all Americans, including those populations who have been—both historically and recently— marginalized and attacked.

While gathered together in Atlanta, GA, for the annual CCAR Convention, more than 500 reform rabbis will join together to celebrate the opportunity to teach and learn from each other how to be effective faith leaders in turbulent times. Our Convention is a time for our members to study crucial topics such as racial justice, the global refugee and immigration crisis, reproductive rights, hate crimes, and voter suppression, and discuss how to create and sustain change at local, state and national levels.

In a turbulent political climate, as anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes have swelled in number, and as we install new CCAR leadership, this moment represents an opportunity to assess the role rabbis can play in the pursuit of tikkun olam, to building a better world. Our brothers and sisters—of all faiths, of all races—face unprecedented challenges. Even though the Reform Movement has long been a leader on racial, gender, and economic justice, on civil and human rights, on confronting bigotry, the work is not finished. Now, more than ever, we must come together to support each other and our congregations and communities.

That includes supporting Israel. CCAR has a well-established track record of supporting a democratic Jewish state with full civil rights for all its citizens, and favors a two-state solution with a secure Israel alongside a Palestinian state. Our Convention features sessions on strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, engaging with teens on Israel, and Israeli-Palestinian mutual understanding and respect.

CCAR is proud of Reform rabbis across the country for their efforts to create a positive, lasting impact from the ground up, and calls on its members to continue that work as we move forward into the future.

Rabbi Denise L. Eger             Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                            Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Deplores Repeated Bomb Threats at Jewish Community Centers

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is dismayed by bomb threats called into scores of Jewish Community Centers across the country in four sprees over the last several weeks. We are grateful that none of these threats have been backed up by violence. We give thanks that no lives have been lost and no injuries sustained.

Reform rabbis commend our cherished colleagues in leadership of Jewish Community Centers, some of them Reform rabbis and members of the CCAR, who have continued their critical programs and services undeterred. We also applaud the efforts of law enforcement to enhance security around Jewish Community Centers and of various community and Jewish organizations that have provided support to JCC’s at this hour of crisis.

We are deeply aggrieved that Jewish Community Centers and other Jewish organizations must expend additional valuable funds on security, diverting resources that could otherwise be devoted to enhancing Jewish life.

These bomb threats are only a subset of an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States in recent months. Just Monday, dozens of headstones were desecrated at a Saint Louis Jewish cemetery. Not long ago, a swastika defaced our own seminary, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Many believe that anti-Semitic acts are encouraged by a Presidential election that included hateful white nationalist rhetoric and the election of a President openly supported by anti-Semites. We lament President Trump’s failure to forcefully address anti-Semitism when given the opportunity to do so twice during press conferences last week. We know that anti-Semitism is as potent on the extreme left as it is on the far right. We call upon the President and leaders of both parties to speak up forcefully against anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred based on religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, among others.

Rabbi Denise L. Eger                         Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Central Conference of American Rabbis Concerned by New Deportation Strategy

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is deeply concerned by “guidance documents” released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), paving the way for dramatically increased and expedited deportation of immigrants in the United States.

Reform rabbis have long advocated for comprehensive immigration reform. Ours is a nation of laws — all of which, including immigration laws, must be taken seriously. Border security and immigration enforcement must go hand-in-hand with a compassionate and rational approach to the millions of men, women, and children living in this country, some of them for many years or even decades, without proper documentation.

These new regulations are likely to spread panic in the immigrant community, break up families, and discourage undocumented immigrants from complying with pre-existing legal procedures such as keeping court dates and appointments with immigration officials. We are concerned about due process under the law as deportations are expedited. Reports of immigration officials focusing on “target-rich environments,” which is to say places frequented by immigrants, are likely to increase.

Further, the DHS must take active steps to prohibit enforcement agents from discriminating on the basis of ethnicity. Tens of millions of American citizens and legal residents, particularly Latinos, may be vulnerable. We remain concerned that Hispanic Americans, Muslim Americans, or others will be compelled to carry proof of their citizenship or legal immigration status with them at all times, in order to escape wrongful detention.

Since DHS’s new guidance threatens the families of DACA participants, known as “Dreamers,” we call upon the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security to take steps to state clearly that the Trump Administration supports DACA, and to propose legislation that would provide Dreamers a streamlined path to citizenship. We further call upon the Administration not to break up Dreamers’ families by deporting Dreamers’ parents or siblings, unless they are hardened criminals who would have been subject to deportation before today’s guidance.

Rabbi Denise L. Eger                         Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President                                          Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis

Reform Jewish Movement Opposes David Friedman’s Nomination for U.S. Ambassador to Israel

Friday, February 17, 2017

There can be no doubt that David Friedman loves Israel or that he has an extraordinarily close relationship with President Trump, but those are not the essential qualifications of a U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

This week, we watched as President Trump presided over a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and made statements that are contrary to the vision of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee considered the nomination of a potential U.S. Ambassador to Israel whose rhetoric could similarly endanger the future of Israel.

After extensive consideration of his lengthy public record on issues related to Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as hearing from Mr. Friedman during his confirmation hearing and a one-on-one private meeting between Mr. Friedman and URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, we oppose the nomination of David Friedman as Ambassador to Israel. We urge all Senators to join us and vote against Mr. Friedman’s nomination.

We have never before opposed the nomination of a U.S. Ambassador. We do so now because of our firm belief that Mr. Friedman is the wrong person for this essential job at this critical time:

• Mr. Friedman lacks the basic qualifications for the position. Unlike every other past holder of this important position, Mr. Friedman has no professional foreign policy experience. He has never been involved in these issues other than as a zealous partisan and financial supporter of settlement activity.

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• Mr. Friedman’s views on key issues suggest he will not be able to play a constructive role. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel has the important responsibility of advising, shaping, and helping implement the President’s foreign policy goals. Indeed, it appears that Mr. Friedman’s extreme views on key issues related to the two-state solution, Israel’s borders, settlements, and the location of the U.S. Embassy are already reflected in the White House. Such positions are detrimental to peace and a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.

We simply can’t accept that Mr. Friedman’s moderated position as expressed in his confirmation hearing replaces a long and detailed history that he has on Israel, both in his stated comments and his philanthropy. He has invested significant dollars in support of the settlements and a vision of Israel that we believe endangers both American and Israeli security and other interests in the region.

• Mr. Friedman lacks the necessary temperament for such a sensitive position. Mr. Friedman has publicly disparaged organizations representing large constituencies of American Jews, calling fellow Jews “kapos” and “morons.” While we appreciate that during his hearing Mr. Friedman recognized the problematic nature of these remarks, we note that he has had an opportunity to apologize for those deeply offensive remarks every day since he made them months ago. Any American ambassador, let alone one in such a sensitive post, must possess a personality that instinctively seeks to bridge divides, rather than inflame divisions.

Just as we are critical of Mr. Friedman’s lack of diplomatic temperament, we wish to distance ourselves from the protesters who repeatedly interrupted his hearing. Mr. Friedman deserves a hearing, and Senators deserve a chance to ask him the important questions they have about his fitness for this office.

A robust, bipartisan U.S.-Israel relationship serves the interests and reflects the values of both nations. Israel has no more longstanding friend and the U.S. has no stronger ally in the region. We will continue to work to ensure Israel’s security and well-being as well as the achievement of a two-state solution with a Jewish state in Israel and an Arab state in Palestine, living peacefully side by side.

Association of Reform Zionists of America
Rabbi Josh Weinberg, President

Association of Reform Zionists of America
Rabbi John Rosove, Chair

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Steve Fox, Chief Executive

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Denise Eger, President

Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Isabel P. Dunst, Chair

Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism
Jennie Rubin, President

Men of Reform Judaism
Steven Portnoy, President

National Association for Temple Administration
Abigail Goldberg Spiegel, President

North American Federation of Temple Youth
Kathryn Fleisher, President

Program and Engagement Professionals of Reform Judaism
Shelly Lenkin Gordon, President

Reform Pension Board
G. Leonard Teitelbaum, Chair

Reform Pension Board
Michael Kimmel, Executive Director

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director

Union for Reform Judaism
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President

Union for Reform Judaism
Daryl Messinger, Chair

Women’s Rabbinic Network
Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, Co-President

Women’s Rabbinic Network
Rabbi Mary L. Zamore, Executive Director

Women’s Rabbinic Network
Rabbi Elizabeth Zeller, Co-President