URJ’s New Leader Should Focus on Judaism, Not Politics
Rabbi Richard Jacobs, who has been tapped to be the next leader of the Union for Reform Judaism, is calling for a “new path” for the movement (“Once a Critic, New Leader of Reform Judaism Promises Change,” April 1).
One change that would be particularly welcome would be to eliminate the URJ’s funding of the movement’s most pernicious component: the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington. The URJ has used our synagogue dues for many years to fund the RAC, which has a specific political (ultra-liberal) bias; it is absolutely wrong to use mandated contributions to our religious organization to promote specific political viewpoints largely without our knowledge or our agreement.
The RAC will exist without the support of URJ; the new and improved URJ must focus on Jewish, not political, concerns and issues.
JOHN FEIBEL
Cincinnati, Ohio
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
