July 31, 2024
Attorney General announces appointments to Hate Crimes Commission
WUSA9
Adhering to changes from this year's legislative session, Attorney General Anthony Brown on Wednesday announced appointments to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention.
July 31, 2024
Mixed Reactions As Netanyahu Addresses Congress in D.C.
Washington Jewish Week
Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said many people are focusing on the fact that some representatives did not attend.
“I think those who purposely chose not to go because the prime minister was speaking made a mistake,” Halber said. “Overwhelmingly, [Netanyahu] was enthusiastically received — it doesn’t necessarily mean that they agree with all his policies — I think that when a foreign head of state comes to a joint session of Congress, it’s more about the symbolism than the individual.”
July 27, 2024
DC Council weighs ceasefire resolution
FOX 5 Washington DC
A recent report from the Washington City Paper details conversations within DC Council on whether to introduce a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel/Hamas War. Jim discusses that and more with Ron Halber of the Jewish Community Relations Council on "The Final 5."
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July 23, 2024
Authorities stepping up security with protests expected during Netanyahu's visit to DC
FOX 5 Washington DC
"I think there will also be some significant detractors, and I think they will range all the way from the lunatic left fringe that doesn't believe Israel has a right to exist to the more authentic and appropriate protestors -- for example, families representing the hostages."
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July 22, 2024
Netanyahu visit to DC sparks protest, questions over future of ceasefire
WUSA9
“I’d say to the prime minister to please keep Israel a bipartisan matter in the United States,” said Ron Halber of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. “In the last six months, I would expect an unhindered President Biden, who doesn't have to worry about re-election, flexing his muscles and priorities and I think the prime minister will come under pressure to come to a ceasefire agreement.”
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July 22, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in DC and protests increase
WUSA9
Ron Halber of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington says Netanyahu is reaching a point where he must make a decision on accepting a ceasefire or perhaps the collapse of his government as he plans to sit with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this week.
July 16, 2024
New abortion rights group that’s safe space for Jews draws antisemitic backlash
Jewish Insider
Allison Tombros Korman launched the Red Tent Fund as a reaction to anti-Israel hate prevalent among abortion activists
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June 26, 2024
Alsobrooks vs. Hogan: Where the Senate Candidates Stand on Israel and Antisemitism
Washington Jewish Week
“I believe that among Jews who are politically conservative and moderate and Orthodox, Israel will play an elevated role where it will be a more prioritized issue than it has ever been before,” said Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. “And I think it’s also fair to say that among a significant percentage of non-Orthodox, Democratic Jews, Israel will be high on their priority list as to how they vote … They want to see as close as possible an ideological heir of Sen. [Ben] Cardin, who is one of the strongest supporters of Israel in U.S. Senate history.”
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June 24, 2024
Jewish Federation funds efforts to address rising antisemitism in local schools and universities
FOX 5 Washington DC
The grants include $100,000 a year for three years to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington "as they continue to advocate for Israel, push for increased education on antisemitism in public schools across the DMV, and work to secure dollars in support of security for partner agencies, synagogues, and educational institutions."
June 22, 2024
In Maryland, Larry Hogan pursues Jewish voters as GOP senses opening
The Washington Post
“If you look back historically — 40, 50 years — if you took polls of Jews around the United States, what motivated them, up to now Israel and antisemitism would be of little concern,” said Ronald Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. “There was broad bipartisan support for Israel, and antisemitism was not viewed as a threat to their personal security. We’re living now in a new era.”
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June 12, 2024
Antisemitic Incident at Jackson-Reed High School’s International Cultural Night Part of Larger Issue
Washington Jewish Week
Tensions flared during an international culture night at Jackson-Reed High School in Washington, D.C., on May 29, with videos documenting protesters using a bullhorn to interrupt the event by chanting “Free Palestine.” And at least one protester approached Jewish and Israeli students, aggressively filmed them and called them “Nazis” and “baby-killers.”
June 10, 2024
2 Jewish Democrats are vying against each other in this Northern Virginia congressional primary
JTA logo.jpg
“Twenty years ago, when the JCRC would do its Advocacy Day, we would have like, four cars going up to Richmond,” recalled Ronald Halber, the longtime executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. “And today we have buses — buses! The growth in Northern Virginia has been exponential.”
May 20, 2024
Antisemitism, Israel-Hamas war expose fractures in proudly diverse school district
Chalkbeat
Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, a local advocacy organization that works with the school district, said the Jewish students her organization is in contact with feel ostracized, exhausted from trying to navigate the war with friends, and fearful for their futures. And she finds herself working with younger and younger students each year.
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May 13, 2024
Jewish Democrats concerned over Maryland’s Democratic party’s leftward tilt
Jewish Insider
Pro-Israel Democrats in Maryland are wondering how a state with one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country is represented by one of the Senate’s leading Israel critics — with some aspiring Democratic congressional candidates moving toward left-wing positions that until recently were rarely embraced in party circles.
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May 9, 2024
No, the answer to rising antisemitism in schools isn’t punishment
The Washington Post
And here’s what’s even more disturbing: While the roiling college campus protests are a complicated challenge to the blurry lines of free speech and hate speech, the added concern in Montgomery County is that antisemitism is appearing in ever-younger populations.
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May 8, 2024
WUSA9
“There absolutely has been a chilling effect among teachers and principals and other administrators who are afraid of engaging with these issues at all out of the fear of being perceived as quote 'taking sides,'” said Guila Franklin Siegel with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, who works closely with Montgomery County Public Schools and says teachers and administrators have a tough time dealing with incidents of antisemitism because it’s such a hot button issue.
May 8, 2024
BOE President Silvestre Testifies Before Congress About Antisemitism in School
mymcm
Jewish Community Relations Council Associate Director Guila Franklin Siegel praised Chanceller Banks for not shying away from speaking of Jews and antisemitism without constantly bringing up all other types of hate. “That is a contrast to what we see in Montgomery County.”
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May 8, 2024
D.C.’s largest high school to show alternate Palestinian film after suit
The Washington Post
Far from a win for the ACLU, the settlement upheld the school’s leadership and allowed students to show alternative movies they could have screened without the lawsuit. “We are glad that the Arab Student Union decided to not press to show a blatantly antisemitic movie at Jackson-Reed High School and cause further division, disruption, and polarization at the school,” said Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director at the Jewish Community Relations Council.
May 7, 2024
Op-Ed: Rooting antisemitism out of K-12 schools requires proven, bipartisan solutions
The Hill
A series of hearings held by the House Education and the Workforce Committee in recent months has appropriately shined a harsh spotlight on the sharp escalation of antisemitism in education settings across the country.
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May 1, 2024
Crackdowns and concessions: Student protests enter new phase
The Hill
“I think that any university that agreed to make any concessions on their university-wide policy to these protesters have demonstrated an ultimate failure of leadership,” said Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
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May 1, 2024
This Yom HaShoah, Descendants Are Sharing Survivors’ Stories
Washington Jewish Week
This year, on Yom HaShoah, the duty of remembrance is shifting to a younger generation as the numbers of survivors dwindles, as most are old and often in frail health.
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April 26, 2024
Angela Alsobrooks distances herself from Van Hollen on Israel policy
Jewish Insider
Speaking to members of the Washington, D.C.-area Jewish community last week, Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive running for a Senate seat in Maryland, sought to create some distance between herself and the state’s soon-to-be senior senator, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), on Israel policy.
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April 26, 2024
Washington Jewish Week
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks addressed members of the Jewish community at an event hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington at Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County in Bethesda on April 16, where she discussed her beliefs, character and ideals.
April 15, 2024
‘Get Your Phil’ with Ron Halber
eJewish Philanthropy
The additional staff member hired by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington for its education department was meant to free up the director for “higher level” initiatives. Instead, since Oct. 7, it’s been an all-hands-on-deck as the organization has scrambled to respond to over 100 antisemitic incidents in schools, the JCRC’s executive director, Ron Halber, told eJewishPhilanthropy Managing Editor Judah Ari Gross in the latest installment of “Get Your Phil.”
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April 15, 2024
Iran attack complicates Biden’s push to change the course of Gaza war
The Washington Post
“One of the advantages of Israel not attacking is they can create a diplomatic effort to isolate Iran and it reduces public pressure on them on Gaza,” said Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. “The Israelis know this. The fact that they are willing to strain relations with the Biden administration over counterattacking ... shows the psychological impact of October 7th on Israel’s psyche.”
