RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER

The 'Religious Action Center (RAC)' is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The RAC 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.
Consistent with the political and social concerns of Reform Judaism, the RAC played a key role in important political events of the 1960s 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 officers.
Aside from its community organizing and direct advocacy work, the RAC 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 opporunity to visit Washington, DC and learn about public policy and Jewish values. The RAC also hosted a Passover seder for the Dalai Lama in the late-1990s.
Its long serving director is Rabbi David Saperstein.
The current Legislative Assistants at the RAC include:
Debra Eichenbaum: Church/State Issues, International Religious Freedom, Education, Native American Rights
Miriam Fink: Bioethics, Global Justice, World Jewry, Anti-Semitism
Cara Fisher: Immigration, Civil Liberties, Campaign Finance Reform, Election Reform, Voter Registration
Elissa Froman: Reproductive Rights, Women's Issues, Disability Rights, Israel
Allison Grossman: Foreign Policy, International Human Rights, Darfur, Global HIV/AIDS, International Debt Relief, Children's Issues
Marc Katz: Environmental Portfolio, Mental Health, Healthcare
Gwendolyn Litvak: Economic Justice, Housing/Homelessness, Minimum/Living Wage, Labor, Hunger
Matthew Adam Weinberg: Civil Rights, Gun Control, Death Penalty, Affirmative Action, Tobacco, Arms Control

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★ Religious Action Center