Related Blog Posts on Ethics Accountability and Rabbi Rick Jacobs

URJ Ethics Accountability: Sharing Our Progress - March 2024

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman
The URJ is deeply committed to living our values – values that were renewed and affirmed in 2022 as part of our strategic direction work. These values guide us as we seek to create a world in which Judaism enables all people to experience peace and wholeness (shalom), justice and equity (tzedek), and belonging and joy (shayachut and simcha).

5784 Hanukkah Message from Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
A central theme of Hanukkah is Jewish sovereignty. To commemorate our independence and express our Jewish pride, we light our hanukkiyot publicly after sundown each night – outside in public spaces, or in a window or doorway at home. Doing so allows others to see the candles shining in the darkness, symbolizing the open expression of our Jewish identity.

Making Amends: A Message for Yom Kippur 5784

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman
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.  

URJ Ethics Accountability: Sharing Our Progress - August 2023

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman

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

Join the URJ Congregational Ethics Code Campaign

Amy Asin
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.

A Roadmap Forward: Striving for Accountability and Repair

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman
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.

URJ: 150 Years of Leadership and Light

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
Twenty-eight congregational leaders met in Cincinnati in the summer of 1873 to establish the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), which we now call the Union for Reform Judaism. And so, 150 years ago, the Reform Movement in North America was born.

Join the Campaign to Adopt an Ethics Code for your Congregation

Dr. Steve Weitz
Amy Asin
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.