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Defending Our Defenders
In the Bible, stories of wars are inextricably linked with religion. In addition to these battles merely being recorded in our sacred literature, the priests were actively involved with the war...
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Energy Bill Threatens Separation of Church and State
The Senate is currently considering the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act, which would allow the government to fund the retrofitting or “greening” of nonprofit buildings. Although we support the goal of...
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Goodbye from the LAs
Today the five Eisendrath Legislative Assistants say goodbye after an amazing year representing the Union for Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C. We have worked on nearly 70 different legislative...
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Supreme Court News: What to Expect this Term
Today is the first Monday in October, which means that the new Supreme Court term has officially opened. The nine Justices started hearing oral arguments this morning, and their decisions over the...
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Supreme Court Hears Legislative Prayer Case
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the first case in thirty years in which the Court will rule on legislative prayer. The central question in the...
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Commemorating Twenty Years of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
Missed the livestream? Watch the video! From its founding to present day, the United States has deeply valued religious liberty: the right of every individual to practice their religion as they...
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All I Want for the Holidays… is Pluralism!
When I was in second grade, a classmate’s mother handmade Christmas stockings for every student and hung them on shelves near our desks. There were two stockings too many to fit the shelf space, so...
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New Year Brings Expiration of Contraception Mandate Safe Harbor
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is probably best known for two things at this juncture: the website and the so-called “contraception cases.” In between the enrollment push and the Hobby...
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School Choice in the Spotlight
Nothing says the end of January like school choice, right? January 26th kicked off “National School Choice Week,” a week of advocacy focused on different types of educational opportunities for...
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The Problem with Vouchers
In the wake of School Choice Week, advocates took to their bully pulpits to rally support for state and federal school voucher programs. Supporters of vouchers in Congress have introduced new...
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The CSA Comes to Washington!
Welcome, CSA members! This weekend the Commission on Social Action, the social justice policy-making body of the Reform Jewish Movement, will join us from across North America in Washington, D.C. for...
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Eye on the States: Florida Amendment 8
Amendment 8, which will appear on the ballot in November, would eliminate the Florida Constitution’s No-Aid Provision (sometimes called the Blaine Amendment), which prevents public funds from being...
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“Values Voters” vs. Voting with Values
When we stepped into the election booths on Tuesday (or mailed in our ballots anti-climactically two weeks ago), we were finally alone—there was blissful silence from the seemingly never-ending...
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From Birth ‘til Work: Labor Rights
We read about labor in this week’s parsha in more than one way. In the short span of Vayetze, a total of twelve children come into the world. Not to mention the fourteen years of labor Jacob...
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Once More Unto the Breech…
Once more we wait with baited breath the decision of the courts on the fate of the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered an appellate court to hear a lawsuit brought by Liberty...
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Rabbi Saperstein Urges Congress Not to Balance the Budget on the Backs of the...
Rabbi David Saperstein spoke this morning alongside religious leaders from across the country urging Congress: “Don’t push the poor and most vulnerable off the ‘fiscal cliff.’” Joined by leaders of...
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Partnerships for the Common Good – Congregational Community Resources
The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Wait, what? What happened to separation of church and state? How can this office exist, if it is created by the government? What do...
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Canadian Court Rules on Niqab in Trials
They call them the “December dilemmas:” that time of year when religious expression appears most visually in the forefront, when kids ask difficult questions, when patience is tested by an ill-placed...
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HHS Releases Encouraging Compromise on Contraception Coverage
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services released an updated version of their regulations regarding contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This is an issue we’ve spoken...
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Pastor and Rabbi Agree: Melissa Rogers Is a Good Choice
This article was originally published on March 13 with Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed, as a column in The Washington Post’s On Faith feature, a forum for news and...
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Guess Who’s Back, Back Again
The fight to increase school voucher programs has recently resurfaced. We’ve seen more discussions in the last few weeks in courts, state legislatures and even Congress. Although there are setbacks,...
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Oppose Harmful Vouchers Legislation in Congress
During School Choice Week in January, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced two bills that would transform the public education system as we know it. By privatizing a...
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Counting Down to Hobby Lobby
In just under three weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Sebelius v. Hobby LobbyStores Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius. These two cases ask whether private...
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Religious Liberty and Reproductive Rights: Understanding the Issues in...
A version of this blog originally appeared at WRJblog on March 19, 2014. Check back here for more updates on Hobby Lobby after oral arguments this afternoon. For immediate updates, be sure to check...
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Reform Leaders Weigh in on Hobby Lobby, Conestoga Cases
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties, Corp. v. Sebelius. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform...
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From Oral Arguments Onwards: Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood
This blog post is adapted from an Advocacy Update sent by Women of Reform Judaism on March 27, 2014. For more information about the background of these cases, check out this blog post. Following oral...
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Freedom to Wander, Freedom to Believe: Religious Freedom on Passover
It is probably a safe assumption that Passover is most likely to be associated with freedom. As we move through the Seder, we reflect on our ancestors’ fight for freedom and those around the world...
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Pursuing Choice in the States: Can We Move from Defense to Offense?
Focusing, as we do, on federal policy, it is heartening that the major anti-choice legislation before Congress right now, The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, S.1670 (a 20-week ban) and The...
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Reform Movement Condemns Supreme Court Legislative Prayer Ruling
In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Town of Greece, New York v. Galloway, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: We...
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Understanding the Greece v. Galloway Decision
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled (5-4) in Town of Greece, NY v. Galloway that sectarian prayer before a legislative session does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Since...
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Updates: Since the Hobby Lobby Decision
A week ago today, the Supreme Court came down in what will be noted as one of the most important decisions in recent memory. In finding that closely-held corporations have the right to free exercise...
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Reform Jewish Leader Praises Administration’s Plan to Bar LGBT Discrimination...
In response to reports that the administration will ban discrimination by federal contractors against LGBT workers, Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center, issued the...
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Congregational Dos and Don’ts for This Election Season
As the full force of the 2014 election cycle begins, we are reminded of the importance of participating in our democracy and making our voices heard on the important policy issues of today. We know...
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Happy Constitution Day! Reflecting on our “First Freedoms”
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” These fifteen words shape our nation’s “First Freedoms,” enshrined in the Constitution’s...
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House Subcommittee Hearing on Religious Accommodations in the Military, Today!
At 2pm this afternoon, the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel is having a hearing on Religious Accommodations in the Armed Services. This promises to be a fascinating hearing with a number of...
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Two Birds with One Stone
In this age of intersecting social justice imperatives — when advocates are looking for important overlaps between traditionally defined policy areas — it’s important to remember one key issue that...
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Light a Candle for Understanding
This time of year, it’s hard not to be drawn into conversations about the place of religious expression in public life. Christmas decorations abound, and religious minorities play up the celebration...
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Let’s Keep the Flame of Religious Freedom Burning Bright
The holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabee resistance over the Syrians led by Antiochus Epiphanes. The Syrians had taken over Jerusalem, desecrated the holy Temple, abolished...
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2014 at the RAC: Our Year in Blogs
The (secular) New Year brings new opportunities and new challenges in the world of Jewish social justice. The 114th Congress will convene on January 3, 2015 at noon. As we look towards what 2015 will...
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In Mourning for France, Reminded of the Importance of Religious Freedom
On Tuesday night, many in the Washington, D.C. community — myself among them — gathered at Adas Israel Congregation for an event convened by AJC (and cosponsored by the Religious Action Center) in...
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Supreme Court Ruling Upholds Key Religious Freedom Protections
Earlier today, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in Holt v. Hobbs, holding that under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), prisoner Abdul Maalik Muhammed could grow a half-inch...
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The Harm that Vouchers Cause
This week is so-called School Choice Week (January 25-31), when pro-vouchers advocates try to take over the narrative and promote their views that the privatization of public funding into vouchers and...
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The Fight for Religious Freedom Continues On: Wise Words from the National...
Yesterday, President Obama spoke at the 63rd annual National Prayer Breakfast. The breakfast was attended by legislators, officials and clergy, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and our new...
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Protecting the Rights of Students with Disabilities in Schools
Throughout February, we are commemorating Jewish Disability Awareness Month, a unique opportunity to highlight the ways that we as a community can be more inclusive and supportive of people with...
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NYC Mayor Adds Muslim Holidays to School Closings
After much anticipation, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all public schools in the five boroughs will now be closed for two Muslim holidays: Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the...
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Indiana and Arkansas Highlight the Need for Federal Comprehensive LGBT...
Last week, Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) released a statement on the need for comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination protections. This statement came on the heels of the controversy related to...
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No Lost Irony
On Thursday morning, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a “field” hearing on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), or the D.C. school vouchers program at Archbishop...
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Sermons, Politics and the Constitution
On Wednesday, the Washington Post wrote about the topics most clergy members discuss from the pulpit as a way to illustrate that the issues most associated with communities of faith — reproductive...
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Supreme Court Affirms Religious Freedom Protections
On Monday, the first of the closely-watched June decision days, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch, Inc. This case asked...
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Magna Carta: A Great Legacy?
June 15, 1215 is one of the most well-known days in Western history. 800 years ago today, in Runnymede, England, King John signed Magna Carta (the Great Charter), a nascent constitution/bill of rights...
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