February 23, 2021
Group pushes for recognition of minority religions in Fairfax County school calendar
ABC7 WJLA
Last year, the school board created a task force to find options for a new calendar that would reflect the growing religious diversity in Northern Virginia. The task force proposed two options, which would have closed school on days coinciding with four Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh observances.
February 12, 2021
Interfaith community pushes Fairfax County Schools to include religious holidays in their calendar
WDVM
“Both of the drafts included closures on the days that coincide with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Eid, and Diwali, and without any notice, the board included a third option that does not include those days off,” said Franklin-Siegel.
February 11, 2021
The Washington Post
“Since I joined JCRC four years ago, I have set my sights on working on this issue in Fairfax,” Siegel said. “It would be a game-changer for a huge segment of the Northern Virginia Jewish community.” -- Fairfax spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said the school board is scheduled again to vote on the calendar at a March 18 meeting. Ahead of that, Siegel said the JCRC and other religious groups are joining forces to launch an “education and advocacy campaign” in Fairfax County. They hope to change board members’ minds.
February 11, 2021
Fairfax Co. school board considers new calendar to address learning loss from pandemic
WTOP News
Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said her organization and others represented on the task force were not notified that a third option had been proposed. “We were very, very shocked and disappointed,” she said. “We don’t feel that removing closures on four days in an entire school year is going to meaningfully address that issue (of learning loss).”
February 10, 2021
Jewish group assists food insecure neighbors at Holy Cross Hospital
Washington Jewish Week
Last fall, Kemp Mill Synagogue received a call from Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring asking for their help. Holy Cross Hospital had identified nearly 100 employees who were food insecure due to pandemic-related issues.
February 3, 2021
Repairing the world from the Virginia statehouse
Jewish Insider
Eileen Filler-Corn, the fast-rising speaker of the House, maintains strong ties to the Jewish community in a state that has turned solidly blue
January 25, 2021
‘I don’t recognize our country’: Jewish lawmakers under siege respond
The Jerusalem Post
The new Congress has at least 33 Jewish members, in the House and Senate, among those who would have been present today.
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January 25, 2021
Barbara Leaf could play a key role in Biden’s Middle East policy
Jewish Insider
In the October JCRC talk, Leaf encouraged the next administration to take its time in addressing rapprochement with Iran.
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January 25, 2021
JCRC looks to make up for COVID losses in state budgets
Washington Jewish Week
As General Assemblies meet in Richmond and Annapolis, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is aiming to replace funds that were redirected last year for pandemic relief.
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October 29, 2020
Rabin’s legacy was complex and nuanced
Washington Jewish Week
“This week, Jewish communities around the world will light candles, lay flowers and hold ceremonies in Rabin’s memory. But there is more we can and must do to preserve the legacy of this great Zionist leader. We can teach our young people to live up to the complex and nuanced values and ideals that he held. By embracing Israel education and engagement with authenticity and nuance, we have the opportunity to inspire future generations to follow in Rabin’s footsteps...”
By Alexis Schwartz, Director of the Israel Action Center at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
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June 15, 2020
Police brutality and racism are problems. Where should our energies go to address them?
Washington Jewish Week
From organizational leaders to private individuals, members of the Washington-area Jewish community are condemning the death of George Floyd and police brutality against people of color.
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June 10, 2020
Don't Protest: Engage and listen to black people
Washington Jewish Week
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June 8, 2020
Covid-19 impacts shine a spotlight on inequity in the classroom
WDVM
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (WDVM) — With the COVID-19 pandemic came professional, personal and financial costs for adults across the region, and for many of our children, it has come with a huge academic cost.
May 27, 2020
U.S. Synagogues Unimpressed by Trump's Pressure to Reopen
Haaretz
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump used Memorial Day weekend to attack state governors who have taken measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, by proclaiming that he was ordering them to allow churches and synagogues to reopen and resume normal activities.
March 10, 2020
'Getting students to talk to students'
The Guam Daily Post
Everything was in place: the silver kiddush cup beside the rolled-up Torah. The ceremonial candle, brushing braided challah. Twin boxes of Streit’s matzot, unopened. But this wasn’t a hushed synagogue readying for the holidays. It was a Northern Virginia high school — loud, growing louder as class let out one Tuesday last month.
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March 8, 2020
‘Like Judaism 101’: To fight anti-Semitism, program sends Jewish teens into classrooms
The Washington Post
Everything was in place: the silver kiddush cup beside the rolled-up Torah. The ceremonial candle, brushing braided challah. Twin boxes of Streit’s matzot, unopened. But this wasn’t a hushed synagogue readying for the holidays. It was a Northern Virginia high school — loud, growing louder as class let out one Tuesday last month.
March 2, 2020
MCPS implements new initiatives to fight hate
The Richard Montgomery High School Tide
According to WTOP, local hate and bias incidents have increased in the last few years, especially since this fall. A lot of these incidents have occurred in heavily populated schools such as Walt Whitman High School and Churchill High School. Superintendent Jack Smith recently held a meeting that mainly focused on hate and bias in schools
March 1, 2020
Jewish Groups Show solidarity with Chinese Americans Amid Coronavirus Scare
Jewish Press
More than 75 Jewish organizations across the United States signed an open letter showing solidarity with the American Chinese and Chinese communities in response to xenophobia over the spread of coronavirus.
February 28, 2020
Jewish groups show solidarity with Chinese Americans amid coronavirus scare
Jewish News Syndicate
(February 28, 2020 / JNS) More than 75 Jewish organizations across the United States signed an open letter showing solidarity with the American Chinese and Chinese communities in response to xenophobia over the spread of coronavirus.
February 28, 2020
Jewish groups show solidarity with Chinese Americans amid coronavirus scare
Cleveland Jewish News
More than 75 Jewish organizations across the United States signed an open letter showing solidarity with the American Chinese and Chinese communities in response to xenophobia over the spread of coronavirus.
February 27, 2020
Jewish groups show solidarity to China envoy after coronavirus xenophobia
The Jerusalem Post
Media reports indicated numerous racist incidents directed at Asian Americans since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
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February 11, 2020
On the side of caution with Robert Graves
Washington Jewish Week
With a spike in anti-Semitic attacks here and around the country, the state of security in Jewish Washington is — what?
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February 11, 2020
Nazi flag displayed in high school window prompts anger — and an investigation
The Washington Post
A Maryland school district is trying to ease tensions and has promised an investigation days after a Nazi flag was seen prominently displayed in a classroom window at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, Md.
February 7, 2020
New Strategies To Combat Hate And Bias Unveiled In MCPS
Rockville Patch
ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County Public Schools leaders laid out new protocols Thursday on how to better address hate and bias incidents in the classroom.
February 7, 2020
MCPS unveils new plan to combat hate, bias in schools
Bethesda Magazine
Montgomery County Public Schools officials on Thursday unveiled what they called a “comprehensive plan” to curb hate and bias in the district’s 208 schools.
