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What are JAC's Issues?
United States - Israel Relations As Jews and as Americans, we support the special relationship between the United States and Israel, a relationship built on shared values and mutual interests. Israel, the only reliable democracy in the Middle East, is America's staunch ally and partner in fighting terrorism.
We endorse US leadership in facilitating peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.
We recognize that Iran's nuclear ambitions pose an existential threat to Israel and a danger to the United States and the world. We support sanctions against Iran.
We support the foreign aid program that supplies much-needed security assistance to Israel each year to ensure that Israel remains capable of resisting increased threats.
We oppose arms sales to countries that would use those weapons against Israel
We are profoundly concerned about the worldwide campaign to delegitimize Israel. We reject the UN Human Rights Council's disproportionate censure of Israel; we reject the Goldstone report.
GoldstoneAnalysis
Prevent Passage of Conversion Bill in Knesset
Fact vs. Fiction: Debunking Internet Hoaxes and Urban Legends
Facts about the Flotilla
President Obama, The Middle East and Dr. George Tiller
ISRAELI POLITICAL PARTIES
The War in Gaza: JAC Statement and Background
Reproductive ChoiceJAC believes in full reproductive freedom for women and opposes legislation that limits a woman’s right to family planning or abortion.
Why should we be concerned about choice, when Israel is in turmoil and Americans and Jews are in peril around the world? It’s a question that is sometimes asked in these tumultuous times. The religious right is leading the opposition to abortion, family planning, sex education, cloning and stem cell research, and more — lumping these issues under their “pro-life” banner. Reproductive choice is more than the right to an abortion. It is about the freedom we enjoy as Jews because of the protections provided by the Constitutional wall that separates religion from state. The religious right has breached that wall by advocating legislation defined by a particular set of religious beliefs. Reproductive choice is also about the right to make personal decisions about our health and life without unwarranted government intrusion. That is why we at JAC take choice so seriously. Yes, it is about abortion. But it is about much more than that.
Health Care Reform: Stupak Amendment
Dr. George Tiller
CEDAW FACT SHEET
Support Ratification of CEDAW
Separation of Religion and StateJAC is committed to the viewpoint that religion-state separation strengthens religious freedom and has allowed expression of all beliefs to flourish.
Religion-State issues can be divided into two categories. The first is government funding of religion — which includes school vouchers and charitable choice. The second is government promotion of religion — which includes prayer in schools and other public venues and posting of the ten commandments and other sectarian symbols in public buildings.
JAC's view, like that of many Jewish organizations, is that school vouchers may threaten religious liberties. Since eighty-five percent of all private schools are religiously affiliated, and three out of five private school students attend Roman Catholic schools, vouchers would require all Americans to contribute to the religious operations that run private schools. These schools can also set their own criteria for who can attend, forcing taxpayers to pay for schools that might not accept their own children.
An area we watch carefully is provision of social services by faith-based organizations that receive US funds. While faith-based organizations such as Jewish Federation and Catholic charities have long provided social services with government assistance, the services themselves have been non-sectarian and provided, for the most part, in non-religious settings, without religious messages, without religious discrimination, and with other appropriate safeguards. All that began to change with the inclusion of "charitable choice" in the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. Under charitable choice, government aid could go to groups that consider proselytizing an important part of their mission and that retain the right to establish their own criteria in hiring and firing employees (i.e., discriminate on the basis of religion). The Obama Administration, through its Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, has reinstated rules against proselytizing and employment discrimination and has included secular organizations in its plans for delivery of services. As long as these safeguards are in place, JAC supports the Administration's approach to government aid to faith-based organizations.
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