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Ironically, I never worried that being female would keep me from being a rabbi. But being gay? That was another story. I worried. A lot. I confided in my friends. I wrote a letter (remember those?) to my high school confidante when we were each at our respective summer camps. I shared my anxiety. Her response—and this is a direct quote because I saved the letter: “What good does it do the Jewish faith for sincerely dedicated and concerned people like yourself to be alienated because of a Neanderthal attitude towards Lesbianism?” ...

I had a blessed four-year tenure at Mt. Zion Temple. I loved the temple and the people who comprised it. We flourished together. Though it was not yet an official federal policy, I think we lived happily together under the rubric of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  Falling in love with Nancy Abramson changed all that. While Nancy and I still jointly adhered to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy, our decision to live together pushed Mt. Zion members over the brink. Rumors started to fly and complaints started to be registered with the senior rabbi at the time. He and I had such a good relationship that I had shared my sexual orientation with him back in my first year, and he was okay with that, as long as it remained a secret. It wasn’t a secret anymore and there were an awful lot of complaints, he told me, and so, he told me, I would have to go. ... Our family’s world was imploding and exploding around us. But I truly felt the fierce power of the biblical words: those who sow in tears will reap in joy (Psalm 126:5). And at the end of the day, that is exactly what happened: those congregants at Mt. Zion Temple who felt they’d lost their spiritual home created a new one. They called it Shir Tikvah, Song of Hope. In June of 1988, Shir Tikvah became the first mainstream congregation to hire an openly gay rabbi. Together, over twenty years, we grew the congregation from 40 households to 400 households. 

I met Rabbi Offner several times when I was a teen and she was at Mt. Zion.

Rabbi Milder was absolutely correct. In over 50 countries around the world, there are people, like you, who strive to create warm, welcoming, egalitarian, pluralistic Jewish communities. In North America we call ourselves Reform, but in other parts of the world, we are known as Progressive or Liberal. (If one were to ask for a Reform congregation is most of Europe, directions would be given to a local Protestant church.)

This moment requires a strong moral voice.

The Union for Reform Judaism and Central Conference of American Rabbis have undergone a process with our respective leadership, listened to experts, worked closely with our beloved Israeli Movement, our partners at the Israel Movement for Reform & Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) and the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), and consulted with leaders across North America.

As a Movement that puts Ahavat Yisrael as one of its highest values and with our deep commitment to Israel as both a Jewish and democratic state, we must strongly oppose the potential annexation after July 1st. We must do so out of a concern for Israel’s safety and security, for the preservation of Israel’s democratic character, and for the place of Israel among the nations of the world.

Write to Congress. Use our easy action alert tool to urge your elected officials to oppose annexation of West Bank territory.

Read and share our policy resolution. In June 2020, the URJ and CCAR adopted this "Resolution Urging the Israeli Government Not to Carry Out Unilateral West Bank Annexation."

Learn more. See the following resources for background purposes that can be helpful in understanding the complexity of the annexation issue.

URJ/Israel Policy Forum (IPF) Webinar on Annexation: Watch a recording of this webinar with Dr. Shira Efron, Dr. Michael Koplow, and Rabbi Josh Weinberg:

"Annexation of the West Bank: Where Does it Lead? | Insights from a conference held at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)": The INSS is one of the most respected institutions for a wide spectrum of scholars. In this analysis, they make the arguments both for and against annexation.

Fact Sheet on West Bank Annexation: This fact sheet comes from the Israel Policy Forum as part of their more in depth analysis of annexation. Also see their April 2020 Unilaterial Annexation document.

"A plea to Gantz, Ashkenazi: Israel and its friends need you to block annexation": This op-ed was written by Yossi Klein Halevi for The Times of Israel.

May 22, 2020; New York, NY – Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: