Reform rabbi to address Liberty University

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, will deliver a speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University on Wednesday to some 9,000 students. Yoffie's office said the invitation came as a "surprise" considering the Reform movement's differences with the religious right on issues such as abortion and gay rights. Nonetheless, the statement noted, the sides have common ground on some issues, such as combating negative cultural influences and battling religious persecution and sex trafficking abroad.