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Making A Difference In Our Community - Maryland Advocacy In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (JFGW), the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) monitors and advocates for legislation on issues of concern to the Jewish community in suburban Maryland. The Maryland JCRC Commission's legislative responsibilities encompass state, local county and municipal governments.  JCRC-MD works on issues and projects with its member agencies and other Jewish organizations to support and empower the Maryland Jewish Community. Our Mission is to promote the welfare of the diverse Jewish community. The JCRC Maryland Commission works with and seeks to strengthen local social programs and, thereby, strengthen the whole Jewish community.  Through engaging local and state governments, as well as other faith groups and community organization, the JCRC works to develop broad coalitions in support of policies that can build goodwill and mutual prosperity for all Maryland residents.  Among the various goals of the JCRC-MD are primarily to (1) Help establish programs to regenerate Jewish life; (2) Encourage Jewish residents to take active roles in the community; (3) Protect recent emigrents, seniors and other vulnerable Jews in our community.   As a part of our ongoing efforts to advocate for policies that benefit the Jewish community, the JCRC has developed a strong relationship with elected officials and government institutions in Montgomery County and throughout Maryland.  We strive to maintain a constant line of communication with community leaders and Maryland residents in order to make sure that issues are addressed and placed on the legislative agenda. The JCRC strongly encourages citizens to get directly involved in advocating for public policy.  Each calendar year, we sponsor a wide array of events that aim to educate the community on the issues we face, while providing exclusive opportunities to directly engage with public officials and influence policy. JCRC 2013 Legislative Agenda After accomplishing many of our 2012 policy goals, the JCRC  is proud to announce the release of our 2013 Legislative Agenda.  We invite you to view the Maryland Jewish Communities most pressing concerns via the link below: 2012-13 JCRC Maryland Legislative Agenda & Budget Requests   The success of the JCRC and the policies we promote hinge on the support we recieve from Jewish community.  Only through the combined efforts of individuals and organizations thoughout Maryland can we hope to make a positive difference.  We encourage all Maryland residents to participate in our advocacy events throughout the calendar year, and to join in our efforts to make a better Maryland for all.   Upcoming Events Bond Bills Hearing The Maryland House of Delegates will hold a hearing on March 11, providing the JCRC with an opportunity to proclaim the merits of our funding requests for 2013.  This year the Jewish Community has requested significant funding for renovations to the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes (JFGH), as well as the Charles E. Smith Hebrew Home of Greater Washington.  If successful, the funding for these projects will greatly benefit the Jewish Community.  We encourage you to view our 2012-2013 Legislative Agenda, which can be found HERE. Montgomery County Advocacy Day Date TBD --  More information to follow in the coming weeks!   Recent Events Rally To Prevent Gun Violence On March 1 the JCRC joined with concerned Maryland citizens in an Annapolis rally promoting solutions to the issue of gun violence in our state and across the country.  Please join us in our ongoing support for Governor O'Malley's balanced approach to reducing gun violence.  To learn more about the Governor's proposals, CLICK HERE.      A big thank you to everyone who participated in our annual JCRC Maryland Advocacy Day on February 12 in Annapolis.  With over 140 engaged Maryland residents and 30 legislators in attendance, we can say without hesitation that this was our largest and most successful Advocacy Day yet!  As is past years, participants had the opportunity to join other residents in their district in small, intimate advocacy meetings with legislators from across the state.  These meetings provided a great opportunity for the JCRC and our supporters to educate legislators on our 2013 Legislative Agenda (see link under the 'Government Relations' Heading in the section above), which focuses on issues of vital importance to the Jewish community such as gun violence prevention and promoting sanctions on the government of Iran. We look forward to continuing our advocacy efforts throughout the year, and encourage all Maryland citizens to remain active and engaged in the issues of our community!    Districts 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, & 39 Hosted Parlor Meetings in 2012 CLICK HERE to find your District In the closing months of 2012, the JCRC successfully held five legislative parlor meetings across Montgomery County, where Maryland constituents had the exclusive opportunity to meet with their district legislators to engage on issues of vital importance to the Jewish Community as well as those that impact the wider Maryland Community.  Each Parlor Meeting provided a great opportunity for the JCRC to present our 2013 Legislative Agenda, and created an informal forum for legislators and their constituents to have their voices heard.  We would like to once again thank our wonderful hosts who opened their homes to the community, holding these parlor meetings would not have been possible without their assistance and welcoming atmosphere in each home. We are confident that 2013 will be our most productive year yet, and we look forward to continuing our close relationship with Maryland elected officials and the communities they serve.  Here are some great pictures that capture the action from our 2012 Parlor Meetings: We encourage you to view our 2012-2013 Legislative Agenda, which can be found HERE. Post-Election Conference Call Briefing With Noam Neusner About the Speaker: Noam Neusner is an experienced communications strategist, speechwriter, journalist, and author.  He is most well known for being the primary speechwriter for President George W. Bush’s Administration on domestic policy matters, including tax relief, Medicare reform, energy, and the environment. Noam is the founding principal of 30 Point Strategies, a leading communications firm. Click on the following link for an Audio Recording of the call, which focused on Jewish voting trends in the 2012 Presidential Election: Listen Now Maryland District 6 Congressional Debate: Incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett & Challenger John Delaney We thank Congressman Bartlett and Mr. Delaney for participating in our debate, held at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville.  The JCRC would also like to thank the nearly 300 Maryland residents who came out for this interesting and informational debate between the two candidates for Maryland's 6th Congressional District. In addition, we would like to congratulate Congressman-Elect John Delaney on his election victory.  We look forward to working with Mr. Delaney on confronting the issues facing the Jewish Community and all Maryland residents.