On Wednesday, the Senate voted to proceed on the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 2199). The Paycheck Fairness Act is an important step towards closing the staggering persistent pay gap between male and female workers, and thus is of major significance to Women of Reform Judaism and the Reform Jewish community at large. Accordingly, WRJ Executive Director Marla Feldman and Religious Action Center Deputy Director Rachel Laser have jointly released the following press release:

by Bonnie Golden This article originally appeared at the Arizona Jewish Post. It highlights the experience of one woman with the WRJ-Israel Twinning Program.  Jews of a certain age might share similar early impressions of Israel. In Chicago, where I grew up, the young congregants at Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation were inculcated with a firm commitment to the Jewish state. We saved our dime tokens to plant our trees, circle-danced Israeli-style, and practiced rudimentary Hebrew conversation. During and after the 1967 war, the Chicago area Jewish community held multiple events to raise money for Israel. All were urged to support the young state by holding Israel Bond drives. What follows are only a few of the new “Israel bonds” formed on Temple Emanu-El of Tucson, AZ's pilgrimage to Israel this past June.

This piece originally appeared at RACblog. In their 5-4 ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court found that closely-held corporations – like Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties – may seek an exemption under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. Although Justice Samuel Alito attempted to curtail the decision to apply only for exemptions to the contraception mandate, this ruling could be construed down the line to allow other closely-held corporations to seek other exemptions under RFRA from further health insurance requirements and civil rights laws. In response to the ruling, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Steve Fox, CEO of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Executive Director of Women of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Council of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism jointly issued a statement:

“We bemoan the Supreme Court’s decision today, which, in ascribing the same religious free exercise rights to closely-held for-profit corporations that are essential to individuals and religious associations, allows countless numbers of corporations to limit women’s access to reproductive healthcare that those women seek. We also acknowledge the Court making clear that this ruling applies only to the contraception mandate and does not provide for exemptions for coverage of other health care needs or from statutes barring illegal discrimination.”

You can read the statement in its entirety here.

Last month, WRJ Executive Director Rabbi Marla J. Feldman and RAC Deputy Director Rachel Laser signed onto a letter urging President Obama to reinterpret the Helms Amendment, which bans American foreign aid for abortion services in all circumstances. Alongside a number of other faith leaders, these Reform Movement leaders called on President Obama to instruct the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to interpret the Helms Amendment to allow American foreign aid to be used for abortion services in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment of the mother. The letter reads, in part: “When a pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or when a pregnancy is a threat to the life of a woman, safe abortion can and should be made available and accessible, and U.S. foreign assistance should support such access. Unfortunately, the Helms amendment does just the opposite: it denies millions of women and girls access to safe abortion services. While ultimately we seek elimination of this law, at a minimum the executive branch of the U.S. government should clarify existing law so that in the cases of rape, incest and life endangerment, U.S. foreign assistance is allowed to support abortion access.”

Read the full letter here.

 

At the recent WRJ Board Meeting in Oconomowoc, WI (May 16-19, 2014), the Board of Directors of Women of Reform Judaism issued this statement on the horrifying kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria by militant group Boko Haram. WRJ has long been an advocate for rights and equality for women and girls at home and around the world. This act sheds new light on the way groups like Boko Haram (whose name translates roughly to "Western Education is a Sin) view the education of girls as a threat. WRJ decries this act, and calls on all its affiliates to action to assist the Nigerian government in rescuing the schoolgirls, and other important pathways to advocate for equality and justice for women and girls.

At the recent WRJ Board Meeting in Oconomowoc, WI (May 16-19, 2014), the Board of Directors of Women of Reform Judaism issued this statement in response to the current debate about religious freedom, individual rights, and the myriad of other topics raised by the Supreme Court cases Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp v. Sebelius. WRJ, alongside the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, joined an amicus brief in these cases, arguing that the Affordable Care Act's rule on contraceptive coverage carefully balances religious liberty concerns with the importance of ensuring that women have access to the health care they need and deserve. The release of this statement is timely: we await a ruling from the nine justices in June, and it is possible that this decision could have an effect not only on the rights afforded corporations (more below), but on the laws and protections relating to religious liberty and religious exemptions, and could seriously impact health care--that women's access to critical coverage also hangs in the balance is also of major concern.

WRJ President Blair C. Marks and WRJ Executive Director Marla J. Feldman issued this statement, "You may have seen recent news articles about the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and its exclusion of J Street from membership. Women of Reform Judaism, like the Union for Reform Judaism and other arms of the Reform movement, supported J Street's inclusion. The Conference of Presidents was established to provide a forum for American Jewish organizations to identify consensus positions as regards Israel, and to share those positions with government officials and others. Regardless of what one thinks about J Street, it is a significant voice in our community, and a coalition that claims to represent the breadth of views within American Jewry is deficient without that voice at the table. This vote calls into question the continuing relevance of the Conference of Presidents. Although WRJ is a long-standing member, we will, as a result of this vote, and in consultation with our Movement partners, consider whether to maintain our participation." Here is the statement released on Thursday, May 1, 2014 by the URJ on behalf of the Reform Movement, including WRJ:

On the occasion of today's 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 Judaism, Rabbi Steve Fox, CEO of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Executive Director of Women of Reform Judaism and Rabbi David Saperstein, Director and Counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism jointly released the following statement:

As rabbis deeply committed to religious liberty as well as to reproductive rights, we are proud that our organizations have joined an amicus brief in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties, Corp. v. Sebelius, defending both the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate and the right of all people to live according to the teachings of their faith. Alongside over 25 of our faith partners, we argued in that brief for a vigorous interpretation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) - a law we played a key role in crafting the 1990s - that protects individuals' right to religious freedom. The United States has long modeled religious freedom, and maintaining the current framework of religious free exercise protections ensures a standard of liberty unparalleled in the world. It is due to this understanding of the separation of church and state and religious freedom that Jews and other members of religious minorities have been able to thrive in this country.