FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 4, 2019 Contact: Shira Burns (617) 457-8673 (BOSTON) – The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston continues its long history of conducting annual study tours of Israel with Massachusetts community leaders through this month’s study tour, which will provide Massachusetts legislators with an in-depth look into the economic, political, and security challenges and successes facing Israeli society. From … Continue reading JCRC to Lead MA Legislators on Study Tour of Israel
More than 150 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since Tuesday morning. For the first time since 2014, schools and workplaces from Southern Israel to Tel Aviv are shuttered and citizens have been instructed to stay indoors near bomb shelters. Rocket attacks have been ongoing since an Israeli military strike on a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Israel’s soldiers … Continue reading CJP, JCRC Stand with Israel Amid Rocket Attacks from Gaza
From JCRC Director of Israel Engagement, Eli Cohn-Postell: With local and national campaigns ramping up at home, one could be forgiven for losing sight of Israel’s second election in 2019. Next Tuesday, the 17th, millions of Israelis will cast their ballots and select a new parliament. You may recall that Israelis also went to the polls in April, and this second election is taking place … Continue reading An Insider’s Guide to Israel’s Second Round of Elections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2019 Contact: Shira Burns (617) 457-8673 (BOSTON) – Earlier today, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted its 2020 budget nearly three weeks into the fiscal year, fueling $5 million of new funds to support programs and priorities of the Jewish social service network, benefiting the entire Commonwealth. The conference committee led by Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and House … Continue reading Over $8 Million Appropriated from MA State Budget to Support Jewish Social Service Network; Awaits Final Approval from the Governor
JCRC Study Tour for Labor Leaders with Roots/Shorashim/Judur This week’s message is from Director of Israel Engagement Eli Cohn-Postell. Last Friday, I watched in admiration as Shaul Judelman and Noor Awad unwrapped a new sign as though it were a birthday present. The sign was for Roots/Shorashim/Judur, the grassroots group of Israelis and Palestinians living in the West Bank who come together to foster understanding, … Continue reading Israel in the Middle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 8, 2019 Contact: Shira Burns (617) 457-8673 (BOSTON) – The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston continues its long history of conducting annual study tours of Israel with Massachusetts community leaders through this month’s study tour, which will provide Massachusetts labor leaders with an in-depth look into the economic, political, and security challenges and successes facing Israeli society. … Continue reading JCRC Leads MA Labor Leaders on Study Tour of Israel
February 23, 2019 – The JCRC of Greater Boston is dismayed by reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu personally played a role in the electoral arrangement by which the Otzma Yehudit “Jewish Power” party is running on a joint list in the April Knesset elections. Otzma Yehudit was founded by close disciples of Meir Kahane and is the descendent of his Kach party, a designated terrorist … Continue reading JCRC dismayed by decision to empower Otzma Yehudit
Whereas, in 1944 the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) was formed as a coalition of organizations to act as an organized Jewish community of Boston, the express purpose of this coalition being to confront, in a unified manner, threats to the Jewish community including and specifically anti-Semitism; And, Whereas, JCRC’s mission includes being a “representative voice of the organized Jewish community. Rooted … Continue reading On January 17, 2019, at a meeting of the Council of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, the following resolution was adopted by a vote of 62-13 with 8 abstentions:
The impact of our Israel trips is not easily observed or measured. Sometimes trees fall in the woods, with no one around to hear them. If one of our study tour alumni tells a story to a congregant or a constituent about something they experienced in Israel, we may never hear about it. That is why we were so heartened to read the news out of Springfield earlier this … Continue reading Complexity and Connection
This week: a message from Director of Israel Engagement Eli Cohn-Postell Seemingly every #JCRCinIsrael Study Tour centers around one major news story. Last winter, we left for Israel just after President Trump announced that the US would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the Embassy there. Over the summer, we had many conversations about Israel’s nation-state law, which had recently passed in the Knesset. But this time, our group of 11 municipal … Continue reading Living in the Gray Area