The liberal Jewish community has been part of the so-called Trump resistance for two years now, especially on the immigration issue. Delegations of like-minded rabbis have traveled to the southern border to protest the administration’s policy of separating families and connect with activists there.
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We can predict that President Trump’s State of the Union address will be rife with hyperbolic references to walls and refugees. But what about America’s obligation to uphold basic human rights around the world? To challenge strongmen, help democracies and uphold the human rights of every person on this planet?
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The treatment of children on our southern border has many Americans asking why so many are being separated from their families, kept in detention and how 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo and 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, both from Guatemala, died in our custody on our watch.
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When you want to help the victims of injustice, it is not enough to hear about their suffering secondhand and then decide what they need, Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster of Teaneck said. Instead, it’s more effective to speak directly with people who already are addressing these problems on the ground, and to find out what they are …
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There’s a Jewish proverb that says “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when? Temple Beth-El Rabbi Michael Knopf takes the adage to heart and recently returned from an international trip that examined and embraced this concept of …
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B’reishit bara Elohim, in the beginning, God didn’t create the Land of Israel or the Jewish people. No, God created a wondrous universe, teeming with beauty, complexity, and possibility. Within this incomplete world, God created human beings to partner with God in shaping a world of justice and compassion. The sphere of divine concern includes …
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The Rohingya are facing a “lost generation” as children both in Myanmar and in the refugee camps of Bangladesh struggle to get an education, a new report has warned.The Rohingya youth who remain in Myanmar’s Rakhine State have faced serious restrictions on access to schooling since the outbreak of violence there in 2012, with children often kept in separate facilities and …
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Robert Bank discusses his work in promoting Jewish values around the world in an attempt to positively influence public policy, thoughts, and the way the American Jewish community interacts with the world around us.
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Some of the first Central American migrants to make it to the U.S. border were a breakaway group of about 80 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Many are fleeing violence and discrimination in their home countries because of their sexuality. Erick Duran of Honduras and Pedro Pastor of Guatemala made a public display of their love …
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“Diversity” might not be the first word that comes to mind when we think about living a Jewish life—but it should be. Our heritage’s creation story—human beings created in the image of the Divine—makes an unequivocal statement that all people, whatever our race, ethnicity, class, culture, language, ability or identity, are infinitely valuable and equal. Our history of oppression …
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