Leading Without Endorsing: Guidance for Jewish Clergy Amid Shifting IRS Enforcement

As Jewish clergy, we hold trusted, moral authority in our communities. That power is sacred — it comes from our ability to speak to the shared values of our communities, not their political identities and affiliations. Recent changes in IRS policy, however, have eroded longstanding barriers to congregational clergy endorsements of – and opposition to – political candidates in the context of their congregations. In light of these changes, rabbis and cantors may feel newly freed – or pressured – to bring partisanship to the pulpit.

In a show of unity, this resource was developed in partnership with leading Jewish organizations and rabbinical associations across Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox movements, including: Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), Shalom Hartman Institute, International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF), Rabbinical Assembly (RA), Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Torat Chayim, Uri L’Tzedek, Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ).