Territories Department
Protective presence for Palestinian farmers, assistance with access to land, and documentation of human rights violations.
Social Justice Department
Promoting social and economic rights, combating poverty and discrimination, and advancing equal opportunities.
Education Department
Designing and delivering educational programs on human rights, religious pluralism, and tolerance.
Interfaith Department
Dialogue and interfaith cooperation, development of joint initiatives, and the promotion of mutual understanding.
About the Organization
Rabbis for Human Rights is the Jewish voice on human rights.
Founded in 1988, it brings together more than 170 members – ordained rabbis and rabbinical students from across the denominations.
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Weekly Torah Portion
Humanity First
Thoughts on Parashat Lech Lecha / Rabbi Eyal Yashfe
We might have expected Lech Lecha, the portion that opens the national story of the Jewish people, to be the first portion in the Torah. But that is not the case. The first eleven chapters of Genesis deal with all of humanity, and only in chapter 12 does Abram appear, beginning the story of the founding ancestors of the nation. The Torah’s decision to delay the story of Israel in favor of focusing first on the origins of humanity teaches that the people of Israel grew out of the human experience and remain an inseparable part of it.
Still Waters Run Deep
Thoughts on Parashat Noach / Rabbi Nathalie Lastreger
After two years of a strong sense of flood – perhaps we are beginning to see some ‘dry land.’
The return of the living hostages filled our hearts with gratitude, and we will continue to pray for the return of the remaining 13 killed captives; only then will we know rest regarding this deeply painful issue that has accompanied us since the disaster of October 2023.
The return of the living hostages filled our hearts with gratitude, and we will continue to pray for the return of the remaining 13 killed captives; only then will we know rest regarding this deeply painful issue that has accompanied us since the disaster of October 2023.
A Dispute that is for the Sake of Heaven
Thoughts for Parashat Bereshit / Rabbi Binyamin Minich, Chairperson of MARAM – The Council of Reform Rabbis in Israel
“And God created humankind in the divine image,
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female.” Genesis 1:27
creating it in the image of God—
creating them male and female.” Genesis 1:27
“Surely, if you do right,
There is uplift.
But if you do not do right
Sin couches at the door;
Its urge is toward you,
Yet you can be its master.” Genesis 4:7
One of the classic disputes for the sake of Heaven between conservatives and liberals centers on the question of human nature: Is a person good at their core, or is evil embedded deep within the human soul?