FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2018
Reform Jewish Movement Decries House Passage of ADA Education and Reform Act
WASHINGTON – In response to the House of Representative’s passage of the ADA Education and Reform Act (H.R. 620), Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, released the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the wider Reform Movement. During February, the North American Jewish community participates in Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month.
"We decry the House passage of the ADA Education and Reform Act - destructive legislation that creates new, discriminatory barriers for people with disabilities and tears at the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill’s creation of waiting periods for people with disabilities before they can exert their rights is unacceptable.
“If, as our tradition teaches, every person is created in the image of God, every person is of infinite worth and value. Denying people with disabilities their civil rights sends the clear message that they are not equally valued. We call upon the Senate to reject this harmful legislation and protect the civil rights of people with disabilities.”
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The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. Visit www.rac.org for more.
