The 2011 National Jewish Book Awards have been awarded to Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Professor of Bible at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles, for her new book, The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth (left), published by the Jewish Publication Society; and to Dr. Jonathan Krasner, Associate Professor of the American Jewish Experience at HUC-JIR/New York, for his new book, The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education (right), published by Brandeis University Press.

Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa by Rabbi David Ellenson and Rabbi Daniel Gordis, has just been published by Stanford University Press. This pioneering publication explores the unprecedented challenges to the continuity and borders of the Jewish people that have been presented by the modern world.  This book examines a wide array of legal opinions written by nineteenth- and twentieth-century orthodox rabbis in Europe, the United States, and Israel. It argues that these rabbis' divergent positions—based on the same legal precedents—demonstrate that they were doing more than delivering legal opinions. Instead, they were crafting public policy for Jewish society in response to Jews' social and political interactions as equals with the non-Jewish persons in whose midst they dwelled.

Dr. Gary P. Zola, Executive Director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at HUC-JIR, was awarded the 2012 King Legacy Award on Monday, January 16, 2012. The award — presented annually by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition and the Freedom Center — is given to persons whose lives reflect the characteristics and attributes of Martin Luther King Jr. and to those who have made significant and tangible contributions in the areas of race relations, justice, and human rights.

The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, presented the Keynote Address at the Union for Reform Judaism Plenary on Friday, December 16, 2011. He addressed over 5,000 Reform Jews who had gathered at the Biennial in Washington, D.C. Prior to his address, Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Irwin Engelman, Chairman, Board of Governors, spoke about HUC-JIR. Click here to listen to President Obama, Rabbi Dr. Marmur, and Irwin Engelman.

We invite you to join us to celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Debbie Friedman's music, tefillah, and torah on February 4th at 7:00 pm at our Murstein Synagogue in Jerusalem.