May 6-9, Westin Perimeter Hotel, Atlanta, GA
The Rabbinical Assembly, the international body of 1,600 Conservative rabbis serving 1.5 million Jews worldwide, will hold its annual convention May 6-9 at the Westin Perimeter Hotel in Atlanta, home to the second fastest growing Jewish community in the United States.
The Convention will be honored with the presence of Vice President Joe Biden, a stalwart supporter of Israel since his days in the Senate. He will address the convention on Tuesday morning, May 8, at an event that will include leaders of the Atlanta Jewish community. Also attending will be prominent figures including Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta, a hero in the civil rights movement who was elected to Congress in 1986 with the strong support from the Atlanta Jewish community.
The convention will also welcome Yair Lapid, a prominent journalist and well-known figure in Israel who recently resigned from his career to run for the Knesset (Israeli parliament), and Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. It will be chaired by Rabbi Shalom Lewis, senior rabbi of Etz Chaim Congregation in Marietta, GA and Rabbi Josh Heller, senior rabbi of Congregation B’nai Torah in Atlanta.
Looking to bring these exciting speakers to rabbis around the world, the RA will have those unable to attend take part in several sessions via the web with live streaming. Rabbis not in attendance will also have the opportunity for online voting on public policy resolutions.
The convention will also mark the release of the Rabbinical Assembly’s landmark publication, The Observant Life: Conservative Jewish Wisdom for Contemporary Jews – a groundbreaking work that serves as a spiritual blueprint for the 21st century Conservative/Masorti movement. The Observant Life deals not only with prayer, holiday, ritual and life cycle events but with citizenship, slander, taxes, wills, the courts, the work place and so much more.
One of the many highlights of this year’s convention will be a riveting discussion open to the community on the Jewish ethical implications of medical decisions, featuring Dr. Paul Root Wolpe, director of the Center of Ethics at Emory University and Dr. Elliot Dorff, professor at The American Jewish University who also teaches medical and legal ethics at the UCLA medical and law schools.
“Conservative rabbis bring Jewish wisdom to life as they model for the community how Jewish practice and participation helps us to lead ethical lives and make meaningful choices,” said Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly who was recently named one of Newsweek’s top 50 rabbis.
For more information on the convention please visit: http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/news-events/convention
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About the Rabbinical Assembly:
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. Since its founding in 1901, the Assembly has been the creative force shaping the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement, and is committed to building and strengthening the totality of Jewish life. There are more than 1,250,000 members of the Conservative movement, consisting of 1600 rabbis and 850 congregations worldwide, most of which reside in the United States.
