On Monday night and Tuesday, members of the Jewish Federation board and professional staff were among the more than 3,000 people nationwide who participated in a virtual mission to Washington, D.C., organized by the Jewish Federations of North America.
On the agenda was meeting new members of Congress, hearing what to expect in the new administration’s first 100 days, talk about protecting the Jewish community against anti-Semitism and violent extremism, and discussion of how to care for vulnerable populations — including Holocaust survivors —and those with the greatest health needs, and support the organizations that serve them.
Other topics included American Jews & civic engagement, and U.S.- led efforts to ensure Israel’s security.
“I thought it very interesting,” said board member Sandi Fried. “I liked the introduction of the new freshman elected officials.” Fried was pleased that the representative group shared more than “standard pat answers.”
“Very impressive new Congresspeople—many are united in knowing they represent very diverse constituents,” added board chair Amanda Morgan.
Throughout Tuesday, multiple elected and appointed officials spoke to growing anti-Semitism, including Cedric Richmond, senior advisor to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. He said, “The growing anti-Semitism, white nationalism—we have to tackle that. We need to make sure we are providing nonprofits, and especially faith-based organizations, the ability to protect themselves.”
This was echoed by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), who said, “This is a hard time for our Jewish communities with antisemitism on the rise. Jewish Federation nationally has been instrumental in addressing this issue.”
Both officials noted the recent success in doubling the amount of funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program — from $90 million in 2020 to $180 million in 2021 — which has provided thousands of nonprofits with grants for security enhancements, as well as integrating preparedness activities of nonprofits with broader state and local preparedness efforts. “It will be money well spent,” said Portman, who also highlighted a change in the program allowing “permission to use the funding for personnel, including armed security guards where necessary.”
In terms of other efforts against anti-Semitism and extremism, Richmond noted efforts to ensure “our DOJ leadership will support the prosecution of hate crimes.” He went on to say the administration would pursue legislation that increases the sentence for certain hate crimes, “especially that occur at houses of worship,” and that “we are going to press for legislation to authorize a new law enforcement program in DOJ dedicated to preventing attacks against faith-based organizations.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, talked about the importance of more funding for Holocaust education, and his support for the Never Again Education Act, which became law last year. The law expands the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s education programming to provide teachers across the country with the accurate and relevant resources to teach children the lessons of the Holocaust and the consequences of bigotry and hate.
Funding also may be used to support professional development programs, including teacher trainings with Holocaust education agencies, like the local Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. The Jewish Federations of North America’s Washington Office worked to ensure that this bill passed, including working closely with Kansas City’s Federation to ensure local advocacy and local elected representative co-sponsorship.
Federation board member Stewart Koesten noted that he didn’t know about this Never Again Education Act prior to his participation in the virtual mission.
As for what local members of the Jewish community can do to ensure continued funding and support for these kinds of initiatives, particularly the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, Portman said, “When you come up to the Hill or have your meetings virtually [to lobby], say it helped, it worked, and here’s our results.”
In Kansas City, those results include Federation’s director of community security, Chuck Green, helping local Jewish organizations receive some $500,000 in security grants in 2020.
Additionally, on Tuesday afternoon, the Jewish Federations of North America urged participants to “take action now,” emailing participants links to contact representatives and share with friends and family about how they can further support funding for things like Holocaust survivor assistance and protecting nonprofit and faith-based institutions from attack.
