Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)

Amir Yarchi, former Cincinnati Israel emissary, presents his work leading the effort to support an Israeli hospital that is delivering life-saving care to people injured in the Syrian conflict.

Dear Friends,

Amidst the current environment of political divisiveness, increase in hate crimes and a feeling of uncertainty and change, the JCRC will adapt to new realities and will be a part of shaping the future.  As Jews, we care deeply about the future of our people, of our brothers and sisters of other faiths, Israel, and America itself.  Our role may sometimes be out in front or our work may take place behind the scenes in various ways, but our mission remains unchanged.  We are here to ensure the safety and security of our community and those around us, recognizing that Jewish security relies on a just society for all.

While what the future holds may be uncertain, the JCRC remains committed to:

1. Engaging our diverse board members and community members in civil dialogue to understand various perspectives on complex issues facing our community, country, and world.
2. Ensuring the safety of our Jewish community.
3. Building relationships with other faith and ethnic groups.
4. Challenging antisemitism.
5. Responding to issues on behalf of the Jewish community focusing on thorough in depth analysis of the issues by our board members and taking the time to measure the impact on our Jewish community’s values, strategy and goals
6. Maintaining positive relationships with all elected officials and many other community leaders in order to best advocate for our community.
7. Advocating for Israel’s right to exist.
8. Seeking opportunities for consensus building.

As stakeholders, we want you to know our door is open and we want to engage with you.  Your feedback is more important than ever.  If you have a questions about what we’re doing or if you think there is an issue we should be addressing, please do not hesitate to be in touch with us. We are excited to launch a Facebook presence that that will allow for more education, dialogue, and transparency, and we invite you to be a part of that by “liking” our new Facebook page.  Here’s more about what we’ve been up to over the last few months:

• Sadly, the past month included several antisemitic incidents including the swastika spray painted on the sign of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a phoned in bomb threat to the JCC, and hateful graffiti at Withrow High School that included antisemitic, racist, and homophobic slurs. In partnership with SAFE Cincinnati, the JCRC has worked with our community partners in responding to these incidents, and ensuring close coordination with law enforcement agencies. While we are in constant communication with local and national law enforcement agencies and partners, we do remind community members to remain vigilant and to always call local law enforcement if they see something suspicious, and to use the suspicious activity reporting tool at safecincinnati.com.

• The JCRC and Israel Center hosted Amir Yarchi, former Cincinnati shaliach and current CEO of the Friends of Galilee Medical Center, for an open discussion about the new Middle East, Ethics and Medicine. He spoke about the diversity of the hospital staff and patients as well as his personal experiences working with those who treat Syrian refugees in Israel. The discussion explored how critically injured Syrians make their way to the Galilee Medical Center, what happens when they realize that their lives were saved by Israelis, and who plans to pay the bills. Amir’s visit was covered by several media outlets. See an example of the coverage here.

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  In January, we welcomed American Jewish thought leaders Jonathan Tobin and J.J. Goldberg for a debate on issues and critical suppositions regarding the State of Israel. J.J. Goldberg, editor-at-large of The Forward and former U.S. bureau chief of the Israeli news-magazine, The Jerusalem Report, presented the liberal viewpoint on Israel, and Jonathan Tobin, senior online editor and chief political blogger of Commentary Magazine, shared the conservative perspective. The event welcomed 150 community members who were entertained with a lively, yet respectful and insightful debate. The speakers’ depth of knowledge and statements to be courageous for Israel on both sides were encouraging for the community. You can view the conversation by watching the video. Click here to see it.

• We were pleased to endorse Cincinnati’s Issue 44 (Preschool Promise). Our board member Greg Landsman shared recently that a key factor in the election success of the Preschool Promise was our Jewish community’s wall-to-wall support for the initiative, including our Jewish Community Relation Council’s endorsement and the endorsements of many congregations and Jewish agencies. Take a minute to read about how our community lit the way to providing early childhood education for those who need it most.

• At the end of November, Senator Cecil Thomas participated in an Ohio Senate mission to Israel focused on cybersecurity and mental health. Click here to hear about his trip on a WVXU segment about U.S./Israel relations.

• As election season reached its peak these past couple of months, the JCRC and the

  

  AJC of Cincinnati put on pre- and post-election events, offering the community opportunities to learn about and engage with candidates and public officials in our region, hear from Presidential surrogates, and breakdown the election results with academic, media, and Jewish experts. Our surrogates included Laura Rosenberger, Hillary for America’s Foreign Policy Advisor, and David Peyman, the senior advisor and national director for Jewish Affairs and Outreach for the Trump-Pence Campaign. Our Post-Election Forum

  

  panelists: Belle Yoeli, Senior Associate of Political Outreach at AJC; UC Policy Institute’s Eric Rademacher, Cincinnati Enquirer Reporter Jeremy Fugleberg and provided audience members with context outlining the Jewish vote, scholarly voting trend research and journalistic narratives about social media bubbles and voter consistency.

• The JCRC hosted Professor Eytan

  

  Gilboa of the Israel Public Diplomacy Forum to present on the future of US-Israel relations. Professor Gilboa is a world renowned expert on international communications, public diplomacy, and US policy in the Middle East, and the IPDF is a non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization established to advance international understanding of Israel and the Middle East. His presentation focused on various on-going issues occurring in the Middle East, where he juxtaposed Obama’s and Trump’s foreign policy agendas in relation to Israel and the greater Middle East region. He spoke from an academic standpoint, welcoming the audience’s questions and responding with knowledge gained from his vast experiences in consulting, teaching as well as international research and policy think tanks.

• Following the successful event last year drawing 300 women of different faiths who came together to discuss faith and feminism, the JCRC co-sponsored and attended an event on Religion in Education and in the Workplace featuring Deborah Levine at Xavier University. Deborah spoke on religious diversity in the workplace, highlighting points such as religion is both personal and public in today’s global society, Americans are becoming less religious, and spiritualism is a way to engage unaffiliated youth. Being authentic, realizing that there is no privacy with technology nowadays, and staying aware of office politics is key in sustaining an inclusive office environment.

• The Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC) held its Fall Planning Conference, setting the tone for MARCC’s 2017 priorities. After judicatory delegates debate on the various key concerns, two are selected as focus areas. This year, police-community relations and interfaith dialogue on human rights were derived from this democratic process.