The IRF expresses its disappointment regarding the recent vote by The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County (RCBC) to adopt a by-law that restricts the rabbinic authority of its individual members in regards to the realm of female spiritual leadership.

In light of the recent public discussion around legislative initiatives regarding the difficult and contentious issue of Abortion, the IRF, reaffirms the following basic values and perspectives:

The International Rabbinic Fellowship, together with the whole house of Israel and all decent people throughout our country and beyond, expresses our outrage, pain and grief at the murder of eleven of our brothers and sisters at the Tree of Life-Or Simcha synagogue in Pittsburgh as they stood before God in prayer on Shabbat and welcomed a new life into the Jewish community.

In the past few months, tens of thousands of residents near Israel's southern border with the Gaza strip have been subjected to ongoing terror and mayhem. Hundreds of kites and balloons weighted with incendiary devices and explosives have been sent over by Palestinian militants causing hundreds of thousands dollars in damage to fields and the environment.

The challenges posed by illegal immigration into the United States are complex and numerous. Considerations stemming from national security, the general rule of law, and the impact of the undocumented upon local economies, vie with the traditional American values of humanitarianism and compassion, and our proud national self-image of being a welcoming land of opportunity. Without doubt, the complexity and magnitude of the issue have contributed to the legislative gridlock on immigration that has characterized the past two decades.