ACC Advocacy
You are here
Issues periodically present themselves in a critical manner. The leadership of the ACC may believe it necessary to issue immediate, carefully considered and deliberate statements on behalf of the Conference, in response to such issues.
Our quickly-shifting world often demands swift responses. In the absence of on-site meetings, conference calls and general plenary sessions, the membership of the ACC depends upon the officers and board to provide transparent and aligned guidance and vision, to speak on behalf of and to add ACC members’ voices to public conversation, and to give our members the tools to do the same. In this way, the ACC leadership strengthens the opportunities to support both our members and our organizational mission.
“We are compelled to express our deep concern about the coarseness of public discourse, led in too many ways by President Trump.”
September 3, 2019 –
As we begin the month of Elul, we enter a time of introspection and reflection culminating in the Jewish High Holidays. Individually and communally, we consider our actions READ MORE
Member of the United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
We, the undersigned national Jewish organizations and institutions, are united in our belief that government should work to expand, not limit, access to health care. We are deeply concerned that the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 will significantly READ MORE
(Schaumburg, IL) January 31, 2017—The American Conference of Cantors (ACC) issued a resolution today supporting equal pay for equal work for Reform cantors.
Despite President John F. Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act back in 1963, today women earn on average 80 cents for every dollar a man makes and for women of color that gap is even READ MORE
by Cantor Jason Kaufman
We can take enormous pride that the Jewish community, and in particular, the Reform Jewish Movement - through the Religious Action Center (RAC) - is a strong and steadfast voice in promoting a wide array of local and national social justice causes. The RAC is among the most READ MORE
by Cantor Faryn Rudnick
Tzedek, tzedek tirdof. Justice, justice, you shall pursue. This famous verse from Deuteronomy 16 is at the center of much of Jewish ideology. But how does one pursue justice? What does it take to pursue justice? And on what level can one individual pursue justice? More often than not, the answer is simply READ MORE
SCHAUMBURG, IL: The American Conference of Cantors (ACC), a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional growth and development of cantors in the Reform Movement, has installed an openly gay cantor as the next president of the Conference. Cantor Mark C. Goldman of Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation, Florida, has begun his term as READ MORE
The American Conference of Cantors is proud to be a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act,
now making its way through the US Congress, which seeks equality under immigration law for families
in the LGBT and HIV-positive community.
There are currently thousands of bi-national LGBT families in the US—many with children— READ MORE
The American Conference of Cantors commends the decision to strike down California’s ballot
proposition banning same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, as unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals. The ACC stands with the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and the Religious
Action Center (RAC) lauding this READ MORE
The American Conference of Cantors joins Rabbi Eric Yoffie, and the Union for Reform Judaism, in
condemning the anti-boycott legislation passed Tuesday by Israel’s Knesset. The new law permits legal
action against individuals or organizations determined to be instigators of anti-Israel boycotts. Susan
Caro, ACC President READ MORE
Boston, MA (June 29, 2011) The American Conference of Cantors (ACC), representing over 450
Reform Jewish Cantors, along with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), opposes the proposal
to ban the practice of male circumcision. This proposal is slated for the ballot in San Francisco
this fall and expected elsewhere. Circumcision of READ MORE
Chicago, IL—The American Conference of Cantors (ACC), representing over 450 Reform Jewish Cantors, wishes to express our extreme sadness and distress at the legislation being brought forward by MK David Rotem which seeks to redefine “who is a Jew” in Israel by moving authority over conversions from the State to the Orthodox Rabbinate.
At their recent Convention and Annual Meeting in Kerhonkson, NY, the ACC membership
overwhelmingly approved the adoption of the resolution in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender rights.
Given the continuing controversy surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil
rights in state and READ MORE