5 ways our community fights antisemitism

By Aaron Gorodzinsky

With antisemitism on the rise, it is more important than ever to educate and advocate. The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Community Relations Council, made up of a cross-section of community members, is focused on fighting prejudice, whether right here at home or anywhere in the world. Here are five of the ways we do it: 1. We advocate for legislation Our Federation advocated for the passage of Act 70 in 2014, giving all the schools in the state of Pennsylvania the necessary tools, training and funding to teach about the Holocaust. By 2017, 90% of all school entities in the state reported that they were providing education on Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations within social studies and language arts courses. In 2016, our state became the 14th state to pass anti-BDS legislation, prohibiting the state from contracting with organizations and businesses that boycott the State of Israel or engage in boycotts against Israel while doing business with the state. Our Community Relations Council advocated for the passage of this legislation as well.

2. We help protect our Jewish institutions On Nov. 7, 2019, Act 83 was signed into law, establishing the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund Program and allowing us to apply for additional security funding to protect our institutions. This program has allowed our Jewish community to apply for hundreds of thousands of dollars in security funding to complement the Federal Nonprofit Security Grant. The security committee of our CRC is helping all local Jewish institutions apply for and obtain security grants.

3. We educate ourselves Our CRC frequently hosts programs to educate the community and make sure we have the necessary tools to fight against antisemitism in all of its forms. These programs range from combating antisemitism on social media and in online video gaming to preventing and combating antisemitism in our schools and universities. They are often geared toward high school and college students.

4. We engage with our elected officials We are a community that communicates often with our elected officials regardless of party affiliation. We meet with them often, and we work with their staff to ensure they are aware of the needs in our community.

5. We take our elected officials to Israel It is hard to explain the vital importance of the US-Israel relationship to our elected officials if they have never had the opportunity to tour Israel and experience the complexities of the country. We support missions to bring local elected officials to Israel and many have already made the trip.

To learn more about the work of our Community Relations Council or get involved, visit www. jewishlehighvalley.org/crc.