Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the CEO of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization representing over 2,300 rabbis and cantors and their communities in North America.
Jill Jacobs
By Jill Jacobs
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Opinion How did Israeli democracy come under threat? Follow the money
American Jewish donors have helped to subsidize Israel's drift into illiberalism
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Opinion You don’t have to choose between loving Israel and opposing the occupation
I recently joined a rally to protest the horrific conditions at Rikers’ Island, where 14 people, all awaiting trial, have died in the past year. I walked away in tears at the pain of these families and individuals, and angered yet again by the racist structures that put a disproportionate number of people of color…
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Opinion Why does the Democratic Party – like American Jewish institutions – refuse to condemn the occupation?
This week, the Democratic party rejected adding the word “occupation” to its official party platform on Israel. Many seemed to consider this term a political statement, rather than what it is — a neutral description of a category in international law, which defines occupied territory as that “placed under the authority of the hostile army.”…
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Opinion Netanyahu And Trump Are Xenophobic Tyrants. We Must Resist Them – Together.
For American Jews, the recent resurgence of American nativism recalls the worst moments of the last century. American nativism brought us the Immigration Act of 1924, a racist law that closed America’s borders to Jews and other “undesirables,” and that ultimately barred our forebears from escaping the Nazis and finding refuge in America. Jews then…
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Opinion Stop Looking For The Next Heschel. They Are All Around You.
In this week’s Forward, Editor-in-Chief Jane Eisner looks for “a prophet who will speak out as a Jew.” She looks first for an elected official who will bring moral leadership to Washington, and then reminisces about prominent Jewish leaders from outside of the halls of Congress. “Where is our Abraham Joshua Heschel today?” she asks….
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Opinion Jews Should Be Horrified That Trump Is Revoking Latino Citizenship
In 1919, the United States deported Emma Goldman, along with nearly 250 other foreign-born radicals. This move became possible with the passage of the 1918 Immigration Act, which permitted the deportation of “aliens” who expressed support for anarchism. Goldman, however, claimed U.S. citizenship, acquired through her brief marriage to Jacob Kershner. The government’s response? To…
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Opinion 70 Years Represents A Lifetime
This piece is one of a series of pieces commissioned from leaders to speak to their feelings about Israel at 70. You will find the others here. Seventy years, in Jewish tradition, represents a lifetime. As the psalmist wrote, “The span of our life is 70 years.” At 70, one reaches seivah, meaning old age,…
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Opinion Why Are Orthodox Organizations Embracing Christian Values?
There is a talmudic story in Tractate Avodah Zarah in which the Roman authorities arrest Rabbi Eliezer on suspicion of heresy. He is acquitted through a lucky misunderstanding: when the rabbi declares his trust in the “Judge” — meaning God — the judge understands this as a vote of confidence in his own authority. Nevertheless,…
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