June 7, 2021
2nd Israel banner stolen from Har Shalom
Washington Jewish Week
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) offered to donate the cost of the third replacement banner.
“We stand with Har Shalom,” said executive director Ron Halber.
-
May 26, 2021
Principle and courage under fire
Washington Jewish Week
After careful consideration, JCRC decided to rescind its planned honor of Omeish. JCRC was clear and direct in its explanation, calling Omeish’s post “a one-sided, inaccurate, and hateful statement that smeared Israel, defamed Israelis, and disenfranchised the thousands of Jewish families in her district.
May 22, 2021
Tweet about Israel becomes focus at Fairfax Co. school board meeting
WTOP News
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington was set to honor Omeish this week for her work in making the “academic year calendar more equitable for people of faith minorities.”
May 21, 2021
Support After Tweet About Israel Grows For School Board Member
patch-media-vector-logo.png
In a statement Wednesday, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington characterized Omeish's tweet as a "one-sided, inaccurate, and hateful statement that smeared Israel, defamed Israelis, and disenfranchised the thousands of Jewish families in her district."
-
May 20, 2021
JCRC rescinds honor for Fairfax County school board member
Washington Jewish Week
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington yesterday canceled plans to honor Fairfax County School Board member Abrar Omeish, after she accused Israel of “desecrating the Holy Land” in social media posts.
May 20, 2021
Tweet by Fairfax Co. School Board Member Sparks Backlash, Support
NBC-Washington-logo.jpg
Omeish was set to be recognized Thursday by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington for championing faith, equity and unity in schools.
May 12, 2021
Fairfax County Community Presses New Police Chief and Chairman for Answers
The Connection Newspapers
Vicki Fishman is the Director of Government and Community Relations for Northern Virginia, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. It is the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community, representing over 100 synagogues, schools, and institutions throughout the region. "As a community, we expect those empowered to preserve and protect a just society for all its members to conduct themselves in keeping with the law they are charged to uphold, adhering to the highest standards of decency, accountability, and responsibility," Fishman said
April 27, 2021
Antisemitic incidents historically high in DMV despite slight national decline
WUSA9
"Antisemitism and hate is ongoing," Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington Executive Director Ron Halber told WUSA9.
With 300,000 Jews in the D.C. area -- the third-largest Jewish community in the country -- Halber said the makeup of the number of institutions can make the DMV an easy target.
April 21, 2021
Here's how Jewish organizations reacted to the Derek Chauvin verdict
The Jerusalem Post
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Washington (JCRC) released a statement saying it welcomes “this step towards justice and healing.”
“We express solidarity with the African-American community and reiterate our commitment to fighting the systemic racism that set the stage for Floyd’s brutal killing,” the statement reads.
“We all have a responsibility to do more than feel outrage that George Floyd was murdered,” Ronald Paul, president of JCRC, and Ron Halber, executive director of JCRC, said in the statement. “His slaying is one recent example of the toxic structural racism that has resulted in the murders of African-Americans throughout our nation’s history.
“Here in Greater Washington, we heed the call to achieve a society free of racism; a society where communities of color feel and know they will be protected, rather than abused, by the law and its officers,” they said.
“As we said when George Floyd was killed, the Jewish people will not be bystanders to injustice,” they added. “Our values commit us to introspection and action; to dismantling institutionalized racism in America; and to working with our African-American and intergroup partners to build a better and more just Washington region. That is why our JCRC prioritizes racial justice and police reform in our legislative agenda,” the statement reads.
-
April 21, 2021
Here's how Jewish organizations reacted to the Derek Chauvin verdict
The Jerusalem Post
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Washington (JCRC) released a statement saying it welcomes “this step towards justice and healing.” “We express solidarity with the African-American community and reiterate our commitment to fighting the systemic racism that set the stage for Floyd’s brutal killing,” the statement reads. “We all have a responsibility to do more than feel outrage that George Floyd was murdered,” Ronald Paul, president of JCRC, and Ron Halber, executive director of JCRC, said in the statement. “His slaying is one recent example of the toxic structural racism that has resulted in the murders of African-Americans throughout our nation’s history. “Here in Greater Washington, we heed the call to achieve a society free of racism; a society where communities of color feel and know they will be protected, rather than abused, by the law and its officers,” they said. “As we said when George Floyd was killed, the Jewish people will not be bystanders to injustice,” they added. “Our values commit us to introspection and action; to dismantling institutionalized racism in America; and to working with our African-American and intergroup partners to build a better and more just Washington region. That is why our JCRC prioritizes racial justice and police reform in our legislative agenda,” the statement reads.
April 19, 2021
DC area Sikh community remembers mass shooting murder victims
FOX 5 Washington DC
-
April 14, 2021
When a colleague compared a mental health bill to the Holocaust, Shane Pendergrass interrupted him
Washington Jewish Week
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in a statement called Cox’s comparison “unconscionable.”
-
April 12, 2021
Elie Wiesel’s voice, as spoken by his son
Washington Jewish Week
On Sunday, Wiesel spoke at the annual Yom HaShoah Commemoration, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. During the livestream event, Wiesel was joined by Holocaust survivors and their families, who lit candles and said prayers.
-
April 11, 2021
Holocaust Remembrance Day: Survivors' grandchildren hold virtual ceremony
The Jerusalem Post
3GDC – a Washington-based organization representing 3Gs, the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors – hosted a virtual event for Holocaust Remembrance Day in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC) and the organization Sixth & I.
April 8, 2021
GOP lawmaker marks Holocaust remembrance day by likening child mental health bill to Nazi laws
The Times of Israel
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in a statement called the comparison “unconscionable.” “Delegate Cox’s words are an insult to the thousands of mental health providers throughout the State of Maryland and are part of a disturbing pattern of public officials using Holocaust and Nazi analogies for political ends,” the statement said. “The JCRC calls on the Maryland House of Delegates to condemn this offensive comparison and to hold Delegate Cox responsible for his reprehensible remarks on this sacred day.”
April 8, 2021
Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the 6 million lives lost
WDVM
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington says Anti-semitism is on a rise and while the Jewish community consists of less than 2 percent of the American population, over 60 percent of religious hate crimes are directed towards them. The Jewish community says that as time goes on and survivors pass, it’s even more important to hold their memories and experiences sacred for generations to come. Ron J. Halber, Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington said, “For a lot of survivors their greatest fear is that people will forget what they went through and on that day of sacred memory we are reassuring them that we won’t forget. We will make sure that it is remembered forever.” To stand in solidarity with the community, this Sunday is the annual virtual community-wide commemoration. For more information visit JCRC’s website.
-
April 8, 2021
Delegate Cox faces criticism over Holocaust comparison during mental health bill discussion
WDVM
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington expressed their frustration with Cox saying he trivialized the Holocaust and showed his ignorance of history.
April 8, 2021
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Lawmaker’s Comments Draw Fire
Maryland Matters
Ronald Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, slammed the Republican lawmaker for his remarks. “To compare the experience of American children seeking mental health services to children who endured unspeakable suffering and torture in concentration camps and other hells created by the Nazi regime is unconscionable,” he said in a statement.
April 8, 2021
GOP lawmaker marks Holocaust remembrance day by likening child mental health bill to Nazi laws
JTA
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in a statement called the comparison “unconscionable.” “Delegate Cox’s words are an insult to the thousands of mental health providers throughout the State of Maryland and are part of a disturbing pattern of public officials using Holocaust and Nazi analogies for political ends,” the statement said. “The JCRC calls on the Maryland House of Delegates to condemn this offensive comparison and to hold Delegate Cox responsible for his reprehensible remarks on this sacred day.”
-
April 7, 2021
Reckoning at the German International School
Washington Jewish Week
When my rabbi nominated me to be part of a peer-education program that connects Jewish and non-Jewish students across Greater Washington, combats anti-Semitism and educates teens about Judaism, I jumped at the chance. I couldn’t wait to meet new people and dialogue with my peers about my Jewish life, so I applied to the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington’s Student to Student program.
-
March 31, 2021
Rosh Hashanah won’t be first school day in Montgomery County
Washington Jewish Week
“Attending the first day of school is important, especially for teachers and other staff in terms of meeting the children, meeting the parents and getting the lay of the land,” Siegel said. “And so [starting on the second day of Rosh Hashanah] would have really been a burden and a stress point for Jewish families and for Jewish staff.”
March 24, 2021
MCPS RECOMMENDS OUTDOOR GRADUATIONS AT HOME HIGH SCHOOL STADIUMS
mymcm
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, based in North Bethesda, thanked the school board for its vote.
March 22, 2021
FCPS to recognize religious holidays — without a day off
reston now
In a joint statement, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, Durga Temple of Virginia, Hindu American Foundation, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, McLean Islamic Center, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, and Temple Rodef Shalom wrote that the school board’s attempt to divide religious groups backfired.
March 20, 2021
Fairfax school calendar recognizes religious holidays, but kids won’t have off
InsideNoVA
“We are deeply disappointed,” said the group’s associate director Guila Franklin Siegel. “The stunning lack of cultural competency and the lack of empathy for the experience of minority faiths we have seen throughout this process make clear that a great deal of education remains necessary.”
-
March 19, 2021
Fairfax County schools to recognize additional religious days but won’t give students day off
FOX 5 Washington DC
Parents of students who are Hindu, Muslim and Jewish and leaders of several religious communities in Fairfax County argued for the School Board to give them the same privileges of closing their schools for observance of their holy days as they would for days like Christmas.
