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News at HUC-JIR
  		• Rabbi David Ellenson on Conversion Complexity
    Rabbi Ellenson, President of HUC-JIR, responds to overly narrow readings of traditional Jewish legal sources on conversion in the Jewish Week.
  		• Rabbi David Ellenson Joins 300 University Presidents Protesting Academic Boycott of Israel
    Rabbi David Ellenson was among nearly 300 university presidents who signed on to a full-page advertisement in the New York Times protesting the academic boycott of Israel.
  		• Dr. Reuven Firestone Lectures at Ain Shams University in Cairo
    The Center for the Study of Contemporary Civilizations at Ain Shams University in Cairo invited Dr. Reuven Firestone, Professor of Medieval Studies at HUC-JIR/LA, to present a lecture on "Jewish as a Chosen People: The Idea of 'Election' or 'Choosiness' in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam" on July 4, 2007. The event, which was free and open to the public, elicited extensive press coverage.
  		• Twelve HUC-JIR Communal Service Students Honored; Rabbi Hayim Herring Addressed Graduates
    Twelve talented and enthusiastic new Jewish leaders earned their certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the School of Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Hayim Herring, Executive Director of STAR (Synagogue Transformation and Renewal), delivered the culmination keynote address, Chadesh Aleinu: Renewing Jewish Life in an Age of Extreme Choice.
  		• Communal Service Alum Edward Bruckner '98 on Engaging Next Generation of Jewish Leaders
    The Jewish community, through its creative engagement with the next generation, can indeed achieve more collaborative efforts in the community and can raise more money from the Jewish leaders of tomorrow, who are closer to us than one might think, says Bruckner.
    Spotlight on HUC-JIR's Programs and
    Research Resources
  		• The American Jewish Archives Receives Historic Collection Documenting Family's 100-Year Legacy in American Social Activism, Women's Rights and Social Reform
    Mr. Philip Angel, whose great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother were pioneers in 20th century social activism in America, has given his expansive compilation of letters, family documents, diaries, and other archival materials documenting the lives and work of his family to the American Jewish Archives at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati.
    HUC-JIR in the News
  		• HUC-JIR Students Explore Ethical Issues Emerging from Aging Jewish Population, from the Forward
    In a recent class on the impact of the longevity revolution on Jewish life, rabbinical students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion began to engage the conversation of developing a response to issues in light of current medical realities.
  		• My Favorite Biennial: Finding My True Path, from Reform Judaism Magazine
    Cookie Lea Olshein, a fifth-year Cookie Lea Olshein, a fifth-year HUC-JIR/LA student, writes about inspiration gained from Rabbi Norman Cohen's Torah study at the 2001 Biennial.
  		• Eclectic Group in Utah: Why Be Jewish? From JTA
    "Why Be Jewish?" was the mandate of the July 29-31 conference sponsored by the Samuel Bronfman Foundation that brought together an unusually mixed group, including Rabbi David Ellenson.
  		• Dr. Steven Cohen on Sunday School and Intermarriage, from the Jerusalem Post
    Research, conducted by Steven M. Cohen, research professor at HUC-JIR, finds that the likelihood of intermarriage increases by up to 9 percentage points among students who attend once-a-week programs in comparison to those who don't receive any Jewish schooling.
  		• Campus Life 010: The Confident Response to "Reform Bashing", from Reform Judaism
    You're a proud Reform Jew at your first multidenominational event on campus. You're talking to a more traditional Jew about your summer camp experience when suddenly she tells you, "Reform isn't Judaism!" How to deal with "Reform Bashing."
  		• My Favorite Biennial: Changing a Movement, from Reform Judaism
    Before the Union's 1985 Biennial in Los Angeles, it was a very different world for gay and lesbian Jews.
  		• HUC-JIR Alum Contributes GLBT Guide, from the UK's Guardian
    Two blessings were written by Rabbi Elliot Kukla, signaling there is a place in Jewish tradition for all the different parts of our lives, including moments that are profound and maybe surrounded by stigma.
  		• Reform Set to Introduce Prayer Book, from JTA Breaking News
    The Reform movement's rabbinic association is set to publish a new siddur, or prayer book.
    Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation's oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal service professionals and offers graduate and post-graduate degree programs for scholars of all faiths. With campuses in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York, and Jerusalem, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise renowned library, archive, and museum collections, the American Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology excavations, research centers and institutes, and academic publications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array of cultural and educational programs that illuminate Jewish history, culture, and contemporary creativity, and foster interfaith and multi-ethnic understanding. Visit us at www.huc.edu.
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