Reconstructing Judaism

Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack against the State of Israel, Reconstructing Judaism released a statement on its website condemning the attacks, holding “the leaders of Hamas and other militant groups responsible for this senseless loss of life, and we demand international accountability for these outrageous war crimes” while supporting “Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks.” ⁵ However, the organization has been criticized for opposing the expansion of Israeli settlement into the West Bank as well as promoting anti-Zionism within the movement. In September 2025, Kehillat Israel, the largest reconstructionist synagogue in the world, cut ties with the organization as a result.  ^{5  6  7  8}

Background

Reconstructing Judaism runs several faith-based initiatives both independently and with outside partners. It also operates Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the only reconstructionist Jewish seminary in the world. In 2024, it supported 59 Jewish seminary students and supported their placement as congregational rabbis, hospital and college chaplains, and religious teachers. ^{9  10}

The Thriving Communities initiative sees a team of congregational leaders provide support for Reconstructing Judaism’s various educational outreach projects to members. The Thriving Communities team serves 95 synagogues and 15,500 households through educational webinars and in-person seminar series. ¹⁰

Activism

Abortion

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which also overturned Roe v. Wade, Reconstructing Judaism released a statement criticizing the ruling as an attack on “bodily autonomy and religious freedom.” ^{11  12}

Race and Antisemitism

Reconstructing Judaism previously expressed support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and supports providing reparations to African Americans. ¹¹

In January 2023, Reconstructing Judaism sent a letter to Elon Musk, owner X (previously Twitter) and a senior executive at Tesla, asking that X create protections for users on the platform from increased antisemitic content. As of September 2025, the group has also spoken against a rise in antisemitic incidents within the United States following Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.  ¹¹

LGBT Issues

Reconstructing Judaism maintains an initiative called Repairing the World, which advocates for increasing LGBT representation in the Reconstructionist Jewish faith through signed amicus briefs and open letters. ^{13  14  15 16}

The State of Israel

Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attack against the State of Israel, Reconstructing Judaism released a statement on its website condemning the attacks, holding “ the leaders of Hamas and other militant groups responsible for this senseless loss of life, and we demand international accountability for these outrageous war crimes” while supporting “Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law in the face of such violent and indiscriminate attacks.”  ⁵

In March 2024, Reconstructing Judaism signed an open letter to then-President Joe Biden advocating support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. ¹⁷  In April 2024, the organization released a statement condemning Iran’s military strikes against the state of Israel while advocating for increased diplomatic engagement and defensive support from the United States to Israel as a means of protection from future attacks. ¹⁸

Controversy

In May 2024, two students from Reconstructing Judaism’s Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania withdrew from the school after alleging an increase in anti-Israel and anti-Zionist activity on campus. In addition, they noted an increase in students graduating to become rabbis who had engaged in similar protests while staff had not addressed such incidents.  ¹⁹

In response, Shoshana Hantman, a prominent Reconstructionist Rabbi, left the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association while starting another offshoot of the faith called Beit Kaplan. ⁷ At the same time, Kehillat Israel, the largest synagogue in the Reconstructionist movement in the world, announced it would disaffiliate from Reconstructing Judaism. ⁸

By July 2024, Reconstructing Judaism released a statement reacting to the controversy declaring that “Israel has a right to exist and is a vital center for Jewish life and the Jewish people” while also supporting an end to “Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza,” a halt to Israeli settlement expansion, and support for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Palestinian statehood.”  ²⁰

Leadership

Reconstructing Judaism does not publish its leadership on its website. ²¹ In 2021, Reconstructing Judaism announced Sandra Lawson as its first Director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. ²² Lawson is a Jewish rabbi who previously served in the United States Army as a military police officer. Following her military service, she started a personal training business and later worked as an adjunct instructor of sociology at local community colleges. She has also worked as the investigative researcher for the Anti Defamation League’s (ADL) Southeast Region. Lawson previously served as the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life and the Senior Jewish Educator at Hillel at Elon University in North Carolina. She is also the founder of the Kol Hapanim (All Faces) Jewish community organization. ²³

Finances

According to its 2024 Fiscal Report found on the group website, Reconstructing Judaism reported $4,744,337 in total revenue, $5,111,599 in total expenses, and $28,337,288 in total assets. ¹⁰