BY GARY JONES

UJF JEWISH COMMUNITY 

RELATIONS COUNCIL DIRECTOR

 

As regular readers of this column will remember, one of the principal goals of the restructured Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is to enable United Jewish Federation and the Jewish community to proactively establish mutually beneficial relationships with elected officials, interfaith and intergroup leaders and communities. With the alarming rise of antisemitism, we will need allies who understand our concerns and help us address them. 

 

Of course, relationships need to work for both parties. While the Jewish community already does a lot to support the needy and to promote social justice for all, the more we understand the needs of our friends and neighbors, the easier it is for us to provide the support in the best manner possible, and to ask for it in return.

 

To build these relationships, the JCRC has formed two subcommittees.. The purpose of the Political Advocacy Subcommittee is to develop and steward relationships with local State legislators and local elected officials. The purpose of the Interfaith/Intergroup Outreach Subcommittee is to develop relationships with faith leaders and leaders of the various racial and ethnic communities in our Federation area.

 

During the first week of May, both subcommittees held their initial meetings. Under the leadership of Connie Freeman, each Interfaith/Intergroup Outreach Subcommittee member will be assigned the task of enhancing our relationship with leaders of a particular religious, racial or ethnic community. Under the leadership of Margie Abrams, Political Advocacy Subcommittee members will be assigned the task of enhancing our relationship with elected state legislators and/or city and town officials.

 

Subcommittee members will identify people they know and where they have connections to build on relationships they already have. The next steps will be to prepare a document outlining all of the connections. This will allow us to  quickly and efficiently reach out to our friends and allies to show our support for them, and when necessary. to ask for their support. This effort will reach beyond the subcommittee. UJF Board members and other Jewish leaders and community members at large are invited to share their contacts in order to help us build this relationship document. 

 

Finally, our JCRC will prepare a one-page information sheet describing what UJF does and the impact that the Jewish community has in addressing the needs of the entire community. The sheet will also include bullet points designed to help make sure that our subcommittee members convey a consistent message in their relationship-building efforts.

 

How can you help? Please consider joining one of our subcommittees. Relationship building requires commitment, time and consistency. Especially in the context of the Outreach Subcommittee, in which the potential for relationship building is virtually limitless, we need more volunteers. The more connected we are, the more impactful we can be in building the relationships that our community needs.

 

Feel free to contact me about joining one of our subcommittees or anything else relating to the JCRC at gary@ujf.org.