Social Justice Initiatives

Social Justice Initiatives

The Reform Movement's Racial Justice Campaign
Join the Reform Movement on Wednesday, April 28 at 8:00 PM to learn about the Racial Justice Campaign and how you and your community can get involved in the campaign.

To learn more and to register for the campaign launch event, click here. 

RAC-NY's Campaign – Parole Reform
Reform Jews across New York State can act now for racial justice by making three phone calls to pass the Less is More Parole Reform bill during RAC-NY's Call-in Days, April 26–29. We invite you to join members of The Community Synagogue in making calls to our state legislators and to the Governor to pass the Less is More bill – preventing the imprisonment of thousands of people in NY State who have completed their prison sentence for minor technical parole violations. African Americans are imprisoned for technical parole violations at five times the rates of white people in New York.  
Learn More

What can you do?
Participate in RAC-NY's Call-in Days on April 26–29. For talking points and phone numbers for your State Senator, State Assembly member, and the Governor, click here. After making your three calls on your own phone, fill out the quick reporting form on the results of your calls.

Please contact Mara Silverstein (marasilverstein@gmail.com, 516-524-1033) if you are willing to make calls, so she can send you a reminder. If you would like a little more information to understand why we are supporting this, click here for a short video. Together we will move New York State toward racial justice. 

HIAS's Initiative – Immigration Reform
Thank you to those who have participated in our Welcome Letter to Congress. We are currently setting up lobbying calls with our state legislators to urge their support of The Grace Act which addresses immigration reform. Learn More

What can you do?
To participate in one of these calls, please email Mara Silverstein. 

RAC-NY (Religious Action Center-New York) is the statewide social justice effort of the Reform Movement representing 99 Reform Jewish congregations and 150,000 Reform Jews throughout New York State. RAC-NY is focused on increasing the Jewish values of wholeness, justice, and compassion in New York state policy. 

HIAS, founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881 to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, HIAS has touched the life of nearly every Jewish family in America and now welcomes all who have fled persecution. HIAS works around the world to protect refugees who have been forced to flee their homelands because of who they are, including ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. For more than 130 years, HIAS has been helping refugees rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.