As Yom Kippur 5784 approaches, our commitment to making amends and pursuing restorative justice remains resolute. Even as the final shofar blast sounds at the end of Neilah, we will continue to hold ourselves accountable and atone for the harm suffered by victims and survivors. We will never shirk this challenging, morally demanding work.  

The URJ recognizes that transparency must include effective communication with victims/survivors and the greater community, and we want to share our progress as we continue to implement and uphold our commitment to ethics accountability. On the URJ Ethics

The URJ is committed to ensuring that our environments are safe, equitable, and inclusive. As part of our ongoing work to create a culture that prioritizes safety and accountability, we encourage every congregation to craft and adopt a congregational ethics code.

The URJ’s ethics accountability efforts over the past year have included a key commitment to accountability and restorative justice for all victims-survivors of abuse and misconduct in URJ spaces.

As part of the continuing effort by the URJ and our Movement partners to ensure safe, respectful, and equitable workplaces, the URJ is urging all congregations to adopt an ethics code that addresses the behavior of lay leaders, volunteers, congregants, and staff.

A message to anyone who has been subject to abuse or harm within the URJ - or by the URJ as a result - and to the wider URJ communities, from Dr. Guila Benchimol and Dr. Alissa Ackerman.

As part of the URJ’s ongoing ethics work, we are writing to let you know of new and expanded reporting channels and protocols, including the hiring of a new Ombuds.  These steps have been informed by our field experts and the courageous voices of victims and survivors who have publicly and privately shared their experiences and feedback.

We are sharing this update on our ethics accountability work as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, protection of every member of our community, and to the implementation of recommendations from the Debevoise & Plimpton investigation report. 

When the URJ released the Ethics Report following the independent investigation into sexual misconduct in URJ workplaces and programs in February, we committed to implementing the recommendations and keeping our community apprised of our progress. It is in that spirit that we share this update on the key milestones and outcomes we expect to achieve over the next several months.