This is the Forward’s coverage of Reform Judaism, a major liberal Jewish denomination.
Reform Judaism
The Latest
-
Opinion Our Reform leaders sinned. Should we still sing songs they wrote?
Reform synagogues across the nation are struggling to make sense of the damning report released earlier this month showing nearly unfettered patterns of unwanted sexual contact between male faculty and female students at Hebrew Union College over five decades. Released on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the report, conducted by an independent law firm, showed that…
-
News Reform seminary investigation: ‘Good old boys’ culture has left scars
The Reform movement’s seminary system has been plagued by an “old boys’ club” mentality that allowed sexual harassment, racism and discrimination against LGBTQ students to fester for decades, according an investigation released Tuesday by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The two presidents who led the school from 1971 until 2000 were both implicated in…
-
News Too young to vote, these kids are helping get others to the polls in Georgia
Sarah Dowling and Justin Meszler may not be old enough to vote, but they’re making an impact in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoff election. “Everyone deserves to have their voice represented in government,” Dowling said. Dowling and Meszler, both 16, are youth volunteers and organizers for “Every Voice, Every Vote,” the Reform movement’s national, non-partisan…
-
News Pinched by the pandemic, congregants are cutting synagogues dues from their household budgets
Across denominations and across the United States, Jewish families under financial pressure from the coronavirus pandemic are deciding that synagogue dues are an expense they can cut. “More congregations are seeing declines in members than are seeing growth,” said Amy Asin, vice-president of Strengthening Congregations, the synagogue advising arm at the Union of Reform Judaism….
-
Fast Forward Union for Reform Judaism creates new role to focus on race and inclusion in synagogues
The Union for Reform Judaism has announced that Yolanda Savage-Narva will fill the newly created role of director for racial equity, diversity and inclusion. The announcement comes after a summer of protests over the police killings of people of color in the United States. The URJ made a statement supporting the protests and also advised…
-
Fast Forward Reform leaders warn Netanyahu over Orthodox takeover of Zionist institutions
Representatives of Reform Jewish communities across North America warned Thursday that the implementation of an agreement that would effectively strip the progressive Zionist movements and parties of influence in key institutions would have dire consequences for Israel’s relations with the Diaspora. Agreements on the divvying up of positions and departments in the Zionist institutions have…
-
Life Is the word ‘God’ the hurdle?
Still Small Voice is a collection of 18 interviews with clergy and scholars tackling 18 questions about God, published during the month of Elul, a time of Jewish reflection and accountability. Click here to read the introduction to the series. It feels like a radioactive proposition — that the word “God” might be the obstacle…
-
News A conversation with Rabbi Rick Jacobs about the future of the Reform movement
The umbrella organization that serves the 850 synagogues of the Reform movement, the nation’s largest Jewish denomination is laying off about 20% of its staff, in addition to furloughs. The Union for Reform Judaism made the announcement after it decided amid the coronavirus pandemic to close all of its summer camps, forfeiting its single largest…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Expelled Oberlin Chabad rabbi says he ‘made a mistake’ with explicit social media chats
- 2
Culture Louis Theroux’s Netflix documentary on the manosphere takes a detour into antisemitism
- 3
Fast Forward Illinois primary pits Jewish candidate with deep Israel ties against AIPAC spending
- 4
Opinion Trump has forced an impossible choice on American synagogues amid antisemitic attacks
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Through missile strikes and sleepless nights, the persistent hope of being an Iranian Jew in Israel
-
News Meet the TikToker trying to revive Judeo-Arabic, the nearly extinct language Jews once spoke across the Arab world
-
Fast Forward ‘Buffer zones’ come to California, as a lawmaker proposes limiting protests near houses of worship
-
Fast Forward The first and second Jewish mayors of Providence, Rhode Island, just had a shared bar mitzvah
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
