December 2014  
 
  
 
 
 
The JCRC serves as an umbrella organization for the Jewish organizations, agencies and religious institutions in and around Dallas.
 
As the public affairs division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, our mission includes community relations, legislative affairs and a variety of interfaith, social action and Israel initiatives.
  

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For ongoing updates on the JCRC and the issues we are working on, please visit the website or the JCRC Facebook page.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  

 We are pleased to share the latest update on the work of the Jewish Community Relations Council 

 of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.   We hope you will find the information to be insightful

 and informative.  If you have any comments about this issue, please email us. 

 

   Best wishes for a Happy Chanukkah and successful New Year,


A.J. Rosmarin

Chair, JCRC 

Anita Zusman Eddy

Executive Director, JCRC

JCRC AND THE ANTI-POVERTY COALITION PRESENT MAYORS TASK FORCE

On Thursday December 11, almost 200 civic, faith and community leaders gathered for the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas' Update and Forecast on the Mayor's Task Force on Poverty.

 

The JCRC took the organizational lead in execution of this event, which featured a panel discussion on the role and the future of the Mayor's Task Force in resolving poverty in the Greater Dallas area. The panel featured Task Force Chair Larry James, President and CEO of City Square, and Task Force Advisors Dr. Timothy Bray of the Institute for Urban Policy Research at UTD and Regina Nippert of the Budd Center at SMU, and was moderated by JCRC Executive Director Anita Zusman Eddy.

 

Attendees at the event included many high profile civic and faith leaders from across the Dallas area, including Dallas City Councilmember Jerry Allen, Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Michael McKee of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, and staff from elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels.

 

The Jewish community was also strongly represented at the event, with attendance from Vice-Chair of the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas Rabbi Stefan Weinberg of Congregation Anshai Torah, Rabbi Elana Zelony of Congregation Beth Torah, and Rabbi Adam Roffman of Congregation Shearith Israel. The Jewish community was further represented by leaders Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas Board Chair Cindy Sweet Moskowitz and Federation President & CEO Bradley Laye, who gave opening remarks at the event.

 

For more information about the Anti-Poverty Coalition, or the JCRC's ongoing work in the greater Dallas community, contact JCRC

JCRC BRINGS TWO DALLAS RABBIS TO MUSLIM COMMUNITY  

On Friday, November 21, the JCRC had the opportunity to bring Jewish clergy to attend the weekly Jum'ah, or Muslim prayer service, at the Islamic Association of DeSoto. This community of African-American Muslims has expressed particular interest in connecting with the Jewish Community, bringing a large number of participants to last year's Interfaith Freedom Seder.

 

The JCRC brought Rabbi Adam Roffman of Congregation Shearith Israel and Rabbi Michael Kushnick of Congregation Anshai Torah to give remarks in a display of friendship and solidarity between the two communities. Imam Yahya Abdullah, leader of the DeSoto Muslim Community, spoke of the striking similarities between the Muslim and Jewish communities, and how both groups can use their Abrahamic traditions to build meaningful relationships and transcend political strife.

 

Both the Rabbis and the Imam spoke of how this represents a continuation of the strong relationship between the Jewish community and the Islamic Association of Desoto. 

JCRC LEGISLATIVE MISSION TO AUSTIN

Join us for a Day at the State: JCRC Legislative Mission to Austin, planned for March 26, 2015. Confirmed partner organizations are the Dallas Region American Jewish Committee (AJC) as well as the Jewish Federations of Austin, Fort Worth/Tarrant County and El Pasothe Community Relations Council (CRC) of San Antonio and UT Austin's Hillel. AJC will be bringing along representatives from their Jewish-Latino Alliance (JLA) along with the Jewish delegation. JCRC will monitor forthcoming legislation over the next several months to identify key issues and priorities for the mission. For more information or to get involved, please contact JCRC.

 

In preparation for the Mission, JCRC will be hosting a Legislative Forecast Breakfast, featuring Texas State Representatives Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) and Craig Goldman (R- Fort Worth). The panel will feature the legislators giving an overview of what to expect from Austin during next year's legislative session. The event will be held at the office of Haynes and Boone, LLP at 2323 Victory Avenue on Friday, January 30 from 9-10 am, with an 8:30 registration. For more information, contact JCRC. 

JCRC-YAD COLLABORATION: DALLAS CITY COUNCIL 

JCRC is collaborating with the Young Adult Division (YAD) of the Jewish Federation on their Leadership, Education and Adult Development Series (LEADS) to bring three members of the Dallas City Council to share with the young Jewish professional community their own stories of how they became involved in local government and civic activity in Dallas.

 

Councilmembers Philip Kingston, Jennifer Staubach Gates and Lee Kleinman will serve on the panel, which will be followed by an opportunity for the attendees to interact with the councilmembers on an individual basis. The event will be held at the Lobby of Dallas City Hall on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 7 pm. If interested, please RSVP.

3RD ANNUAL INTERFAITH SEDER: CONFRONTING POVERTY

We are currently planning our 3rd Annual Interfaith Seder which will be hosted by Congregation Anshai Torah in Plano on March 23, 2015 at 6:30 pm and led by Rabbi Stefan Weinberg.  Based on the Jewish Passover Seder, this year's Seder will focus on Poverty in the Greater Dallas area, and will bring together our friends from all faith traditions. We expect a number of high profile speakers and clergy from all major faith communities across Dallas. For more information, please contact JCRC.

PUBLIC EDUCATION INITIATIVE: PEI NEWSLETTER

Check out the latest PEI Newsletter.  This edition provides insight into the laws behind the presence and visibility of holiday symbols in Texas public schools.  It also gives ideas and suggestions of ways parents can be involved in the schools during the winter holiday season.  In addition, the newsletter provides insights into PEI's involvement in the social studies textbook adoption.  For more information about PEI, please email Talia Kushnick or call 214-615-5233.

 

ALAN GROSS RELEASED FROM CUBA

We join our Dallas Jewish community, the national and international Jewish community, and others around the world in celebrating today's release of Alan Gross from Cuba, where he had been held in prison since 2009. Gross was arrested and sentenced by Cuba to a 15 year prison sentence while he was working for the U.S. Agency for International Development to deliver satellite phones and other communications equipment to Cuba's small Jewish population. 

 

Many in the Jewish community and the non-Jewish community, as well as the Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRC's) from around the country, led by the JCRC of Greater Washington, have been outspoken for our government to negotiate Alan's release. On the first day of Chanukah, a holiday that symbolizes triumph of freedom over oppression and of light over darkness, we commend all who helped secure the release of Alan Gross. 

 

We are particularly overjoyed for the Gross and Rubinstein families here in the Dallas area that have been advocating and praying for the release of Alan since his imprisonment.

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

How the media reports, and distorts, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

 

UPCOMING EVENTS
 

JCRC Speakers' Series Breakfast: "Challenges to Global Jewry and Israel" featuring Susan Heller Pinto, Director of Middle Eastern Affairs at the Anti-Defamation League

Thursday, February 12, 2015, 9 am at The Legacy Willow Bend, 6101 Ohio Drive, Plano, Texas 75024

 

JCRC Legislative Forecast featuring Representative Craig Goldman and Representative Rafael Anchia

Friday, January 30, 2015, Registration 8:30 am, Program 9 am

Location: Haynes and Boone, LLP 2323 Victory Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75219

 

JCRC 3rd Annual Interfaith Seder:  Confronting Poverty

Monday, March 23, 2015 at 6:30 pm at Congregation Anshai Torah, 5501 West Parker Road, Plano, Texas 75093

 

JCRC Legislative Mission to Austin

Thursday, March 26, 2015 

Comments about this issue: please email JCRC at jcrcdallas@jfgd.org.