Israeli Reform women rabbis respond to letter by wives of rabbis calling to keep Jewish women away from Arab men. The Israeli Reform women rabbis say that they are against intermarriage, but this is to be accomplished by education strengthening Jewish identity, not through incitement. Furthermore, they argue that interaction between various groups within Israeli society, through both social and professional relations, is essential for a strong and healthy democracy. Click here to read the response letter by the Israeli Reform women rabbis (in Hebrew). Click here to read an op-ed on the topic by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx, Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR/Jerusalem (in Hebrew).

An evening in honor of the re-issue of Professor Yehoyada Amir's (HUC-JIR/Jerusalem) Rabbi Nachman Krochmal's Today's Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim Hazman) (Carmel Publication) took place on January 5, 2011. During the program, with Chairman Professor Ron Margolin, Professor Eli Yasif presented "The Concept of Legend in Krochmal's 'Moreh Nevuchim Hazman.'" Dr. Michael Mach presented "Renewed Interest in the Hellenistic Judaism in the 19th-Century." Professor Yishai Rosen Zvi presented, "The Sources of Oral Torah according to Krochmal." Professor Yehoyada Amir responded to the presentations.

Check out the Women of Reform Judaism's new website at www.wrj.org.

Steven Windmueller, Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Chair in Jewish Communal Service at HUC-JIR, says the numbers in the Forward Jewish executive salaries survey - going through 2009 - reflect the vestiges of a decade of sustained growth in the nonprofit world before the recession hit in 2008. "In those sort of times in which campaigns and contributions were in a growth mode, these kinds of salaries were in vogue in terms of Jewish institutions and in terms of many higher education, charitable and philanthropic causes nationally," Windmueller said. "But I think it is very striking that in a time in which there is a great deal of downsizing and reconsideration of priorities by donors and charities, these numbers seem almost out of kilter with these new realities." Windmueller says he would be shocked if the 2010 numbers don't show some readjustment.

The head of Israel's Reform Judaism movement on Tuesday harshly criticized a letter by 30 rabbis' wives calling on Jewish girls not to date Arabs, work with them or perform national service in the same places where they work. "Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism and xenophobia," said Rabbi Gilad Kariv (HUC-JIR/Jerusalem '03), who two weeks ago also vocally condemned a move by a number of leading rabbis who signed on a ruling to forbid the rental of homes to Arabs. The rabbis' wives' statement was made in a letter organized by Lehava, an organization aimed at what it calls "saving the daughters of Israel" from assimilation. The group runs a shelter for Jewish women who have left their Arab partners and is calling for a boycott of a supermarket in Gush Etzion that employs Arab men and Jewish women.

The Jewish Welfare Board's Jewish Chaplains Council advised the Pentagon earlier this year that the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" would have no impact on Jewish chaplains in either their ministry or their counseling duties. The JWB Jewish Chaplains Council serves as the endorsing body for Jewish military chaplains who serve in the armed forces and Veterans' Affairs chaplaincy services. The organization is comprised of rabbis from the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative), the Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox), and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform), plus four active duty Jewish chaplains representing the Chaplains Advisory Group. Even though the rabbis from each denomination have differing views of homosexuality, they were able to agree that the repeal of the law would not affect their abilities to serve as military chaplains, said Rabbi Harold Robinson (HUC-JIR/Cincinnati '74), a Navy rear admiral and director of the Jewish Chaplains Council. "At our meeting a year ago, we came up with a formal position for the Pentagon," said Robinson. "Each [branch of Judaism] sees the matter of homosexuality differently. But the role of our chaplains is pretty much unaffected by that. On a daily basis, we deal with people who do all sorts of things we might be uncomfortable with, whether it's not keeping kosher, or not keeping Shabbat or infidelity. We're especially used to dealing with people who aren't Jewish, and follow their own moral law. We meet everyone in terms of their own personal needs."

In New York Magazine's recent "Reasons to Love New York 2010", the Number 1 reason stated, "Because Pluralism Is Our Fundamentalism."

The Anti-Defamation League called the plan to build a Muslim community and prayer center two blocks from ground zero "counterproductive to the healing process." While some in the religious world equivocated, the leaders pictured (from left, Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein, Central Synagogue; Rabbi Eric Yoffie, Union for Reform Judaism; Pastor Amandus J. Derr, St. Peter's Lutheran Church; Father Mark Arey, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese; Bishop Mark S. Sisk, the Episcopal Diocese of New York; Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, the Jewish Theological Seminary) unambiguously defended the project. Some supported the mayor at his August 3 press conference denouncing opposition to the mosque. Others joined in an interfaith statement made in Washington, D.C., in September. They all spoke from their pulpits. "All of a sudden it was respectable for people to be attacking Muslims as a part of the political debate leading up to an election," says Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. "To me, that was an extraordinary change."

For centuries the fabrication of textiles, with the exception of Renaissance tapestries, was considered a domestic craft-"women's work" lacking in the stature of the fine arts. This perception has shifted dramatically, thanks in large part to Judy Chicago and other female artists. A Stitch in Jewish Time: Provocative Textiles, on view until June 30, 2011 at the HUC-JIR Museum in Manhattan, explores how artists have used their skill and creativity to expand the scope of contemporary textiles. The pieces in the show are both compelling and poignant, from The Birth Project, Chicago's epic depiction of the act of birth and human creation, to Leslie Golumb and Louise Silk's series of text-laden quilts that suggest parallels between slavery in America and the plight of the Jews fleeing Egypt, to Andi Aronovitz's restrictive garment created from hundreds of sewn together fragments of ketubot (marriage contracts) to call attention to the plight of agunot.

Twenty-four cantors and soloists will perform a diverse concert of Jewish song in the Third Annual South Florida Cantorial Concert, to be held on Saturday, January 15, 2011, at 8:00 pm. The concert will be held in the Bertha Abess Sanctuary at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, located in Miami's Performing Arts district. Click here for further information.

HUC-JIR/Cincinnati will inaugurate "Classical Concerts on Clifton" with the Constella Trio on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 4:30 pm at the Schueur Chapel. The Constella Trio, with Tatiana Berman, Ilya Finkelshteyn, and Yael Senamaud, will begin with a celebration of the life and work of Bonia Shur, followed by a presentation of Bonia Shur's Kol Nidre; Ludwig von Beethoven's String Trio in D Major, Opus 9, No. 2; Franz Schubert's Unfinished Trio in B Flat Major, D.471; Gideon Klein's Trio (Terezin 1944); and Erno Dohnanyi's Serenade Opus 10. A reception will follow in the Teller Lounge. Free and open to the public.