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Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

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Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
Headquarters2027 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20036, U.S.
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner[1]
Websitewww.rac.org

The Religious Action Center (RAC) is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The Religious Action Center is operated under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, a joint instrumentality of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Union for Reform Judaism. It was founded in 1961.

History

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Consistent with the political and social concerns of Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center played a key role in important political events of the American civil rights movement, the struggles of Soviet Jewry, as well as the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur. It hosted several meetings at which the groundwork for the various pieces of legislation, including the Civil Rights Acts and Voting Rights Acts, were laid. It also shielded civil rights marchers who were attacked by District of Columbia police.

Aside from its community organizing and direct advocacy work, the Religious Action Center has also been a hub of social justice programming for the Reform Jewish community. The L'Taken seminar series has given thousands of young Jews the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C., and learn about public policy and Jewish values. The Religious Action Center also hosted a Passover seder for the Dalai Lama in the late 1990s. As part of the weekend, students celebrate Havdalah at the Jefferson Memorial.

Rabbi David Saperstein served at Religious Action Center from 1974 to 2015, as director and chief legal counsel. In that role he was recognized by Newsweek in 2009 as "the most influential rabbi in the country".[2] On July 28, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Saperstein to be the first non-Christian to hold the post of United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.[3] In December 2014, Saperstein's appointment to the post won U.S. Senate confirmation.[4][5]

In January 2015, Saperstein was succeeded at Religious Action Center by Rabbi Jonah Pesner.[6] Pesner grew up in New York, and served as a congregational rabbi in Boston. He created "Just Congregations" in 2006, a program that teaches congregations to join in interfaith advocacy for social justice issues. Pesner will continue to serve as Senior Vice President of the Union for Reform Judaism,[7] a post he has held since 2011.[8] The Washington Post described the director position at Religious Action Center as being "the closest thing to being American Jews' lobbyist on mostly non-Israel issues." Those issues have included health care, prison reform, marriage equality and reproductive freedom, while Pesner expects to increase the organization's focus on racial and economic disparities.[6]

Because Religious Action Center's priorities most closely approximate those of the Democratic Party, Religious Action Center has, at times, struggled in an increasingly polarized Congress. Saperstein's close alignment with the Democratic Party at times earned him suspicion of the Republican Party,[9] while Pesner will represent a Jewish community at a time when Gallup polls show Jewish loyalty to the Democratic Party has dropped from 71% in 2008 to 61% in 2014.[10]

In 2021, the DC chapter of the Sunrise Movement called for the removal of the RAC, the National Council of Jewish Women, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs from a voting rights coalition due to their Israeli ties and support for Zionism. Sunrise DC apologized after Jewish organizations condemned the chapter for antisemitism.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Leadership and Staff". Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  2. ^ Will Rabbi David Saperstein’s Departure Mean Watershed Change at the RAC? The Jewish Daily Forward, 1 Aug 2014
  3. ^ "Obama Names Rabbi David Saperstein As U.S. Ambassador For Religious Freedom, The Huffington Post, Lauren Markoe & Brian Pellot, 7/28/14
  4. ^ US Senate approves rabbi as freedom of faith envoy, Times of Israel, 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2014
  5. ^ Rabbi David Saperstein confirmed as U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom, AL.com, 17 December 2014, Retrieved 19 December 2014
  6. ^ a b Boorstein, Michelle. "New Religious Action Center leader aims to sharpen Reform Judaism’s stamp on policy." The Washington Post, 7 January 2015.
  7. ^ Rabbi Jonah Pesner to direct Religious Action Center San Diego Jewish World, 7 Jan 2015
  8. ^ Reform Action Center's Jonah Pesner Faces Tough Task in Polarized Capital The Jewish Daily Forward, 8 Jan 2015
  9. ^ Can Reform center’s new director maneuver in polarized D.C.? JTA 7 Jan 2015
  10. ^ About Three in 10 American Jews Identify as Republicans Gallup, 6 Jan 2015
  11. ^ "Sunrise movement: DC chapter's singling out of Jewish groups is 'antisemitic and unacceptable'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
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