This week, in Israel, women were praying and those women were arrested. This is a tragedy that must not happen again! Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center and chairwoman of Women of the Wall, was arrested for praying at the Western Wall. Anat was part of a prayer service for Rosh Chodesh Chesvan that included Women of the Wall members and Hadassah convention delegates, who had convened in Jerusalem to mark the 100th birthday of the founding of Hadassah. This arrest is an outrage and an atrocity! Women play an incredibly valuable role in Jewish communal life, and WRJ helps women of the Reform Movement support and enrich local communities and the larger Jewish world. These women deserve the same rights and privileges as men when observing their faith. As such, we stand with our Israeli sisters, with Women of the Wall, with Hadassah, and with Jewish women around the world in solidarity during this tragedy. WRJ also advocates for a strong, democratic, and pluralistic Israel, an Israel where the Kotel, as well as bus lines, sidewalks, and medical clinics are open and accessible to all Jews, regardless of gender. As we look toward the next 100 years of WRJ, we look forward to embracing an Israel that is free, strong, and open for both men and women. We commit ourselves to one another and to that goal. As Hadassah celebrates its 100th birthday, WRJ is on the verge of our own Centennial Celebration in 2013, which will include a Centennial Trip to Israel and Berlin, where we will also join Women of the Wall to celebrate Rosh Chodesh at the Kotel. It is even more important now than ever that our members join us during this trip, to stand united for women’s right in Israel and around the world.
January 22, 2015
Today, we commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established the constitutionally protected right of a woman to decide whether or not to have an abortion. In an affront to the legacy of Roe v. Wade, the House of...
September 11, 2014
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:
September 2, 2014
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.