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April 14, 2021

TOP OF THE AGENDA: JCPA2021 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Register Today for the JCPA2021 Virtual Conference! 

Since 1944, JCPA has been the organized Jewish community’s convener, intergroup connector and policy advocate. Join with lay and professional advocates and experts working to build a just and pluralistic America and combat hate at the JCPA2021 National Conference, April 25-26, 2021. Through powerful and interactive plenaries and breakouts, you will grapple with pressing issues, learn best practices, and hone effective advocacy strategies. 

We have assembled top-notch speakers, practitioners and advocates for our workshops, focused on thematic tracks: criminal justice reform, racial equity, Israel, antisemitism, domestic policy priorities, and more. 

VIEW THE SCHEDULE AND REGISTER TODAY BY CLICKING HERE.

JCPA to Present Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with the Albert Chernin Award

JCPA is proud to announce that Senate Majority Leader Charles “Chuck” Schumer of New York has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the JCPA Albert D. Chernin Award. The award will be presented at the JCPA2021 National Conference on April 26.

“Senator Schumer, Washington’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official ever, has proven time and time again to not only be a relentless advocate on behalf of the Jewish community but for all people,” said Michael Fromm, JCPA's Chair.

The Chernin Award, JCPA’s highest honor, is presented annually to an American Jew whose life work best exemplifies Judaism's social justice imperatives, Jewish history, and protection of the U.S. Bill of Rights. To learn more and register for the awards ceremony, click here.

Movie Screening and Talk-Back: Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
Sunday, April 25 | Screening at 7:00 PM ET, Panel at 8:30 PM ET

Hon. Andrew Young
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Sherry Frank
Founder of the Black Jewish Coalition of Atlanta

Shari Rogers
Director, Writer, Producer of Shared Legacies

Yolanda Savage-Narva
Director of Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion at Union for Reform Judaism

Join us to watch Shared Legacies: The African American-Jewish Civil Rights Alliance and hear from the high-level panelists who remind us of the power of the Black-Jewish alliance and how we can model this in approaching today’s racial justice issues. The crucial historical lessons of Black-Jewish cooperation are revisited and revived in this urgent call to action. With divisive seeds of hate taking root anew in the American landscape, this story of unity, empathy and partnership validates the ubiquity of the human experience, and how freedom and equality for all can be achieved only when people come together.

POLICY AND ADVOCACY

JCPA Facilitates Meeting with Civil Rights Division Nominee Kristen Clarke After Misleading Allegations of Antisemitism Surface Ahead of Confirmation Hearing 

On March 25, representatives of JCPA’s national-local network and Policy Advisory Committee met with President Biden’s nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Kristen Clarke, with whom JCPA has worked for many years. After the meeting, JCPA sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of the participants to repudiate the misleading allegations of antisemitism made against her. To read JCPA's letter, click here

JCPA's letter was cited by Chairman Durbin and submitted to the record during Wednesday's confirmation hearing, and covered by the New York Times and the Forward. 

JCPA, ADL and JFNA Hold Congressional Briefing — JCPA joined with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to organize a Congressional Briefing for Jewish Members of Congress to discuss our 100 Day Priorities  and to hear from them about their priority issues.  That program was attended by more than 20 Members of Congress and 300 Jewish leaders from around the country. JCPA was proud to receive recognition from Senator Schatz from Hawaii thanking us for our strong work opposing hate against Asian Americans.

JCPA Urges Support for Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act — JCPA has been a strong supporter of the Khalid Jabara and Heyer NO HATE Act, and we applaud Congress for reintroducing this critical bill, which would improve hate crime reporting, tracking, and response. This is a key step in fighting rising antisemitism and violence against Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), which JCPA has prioritized since discrimination spiked at the onset of the pandemic. Last year, JCPA led a community-wide solidarity letter signed by over 70 Jewish groups. We also urged the Administration to prioritize these issues in our recommendations for his first 100 days in office. 

April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month

JCPA has always prioritized combatting genocide, helping to spearhead the SAVE DARFUR movement and, more recently, with the Jewish Rohingya Justice Network. JCPA is expanding this work to include the genocide of the Uyghur, a Turkic ethnic minority residing in the Xinjiang Province of China. Since 2017, China has detained more than one million Uyghurs in internment camps. Uyghur people have been tortured, sterilized and murdered as part of an ongoing genocide. Click here to read a JTA article about JCPA and other advocates working to fight this genocide.

To raise global awareness, Jewish World Watch partnered with JCPA and other groups for a Uyghur Week of Action, including a Freedom Seder and a webinar on Combatting the Genocide of the Uyghur People, featuring a firsthand account from a Uyghur advocate and a survivor. This issue will also be covered at our JCPA2021 Conference. Click here for the schedule and registration.

JCPA Forms Lawyers' Cohort — JCPA is bringing together lawyers who are interested in working together to build a just and pluralistic America and address today’s pressing issues through a Jewish lens. If you are interested in participating or learning more, please email jcpainfo@thejcpa.org.

 

EDUCATIONAL WEBINARS

In Case You Missed It... Check out JCPA's latest educational programs. 

Israeli Election Series – To ensure the Jewish community was informed about the Israeli elections, JCPA sponsored a three-part Israeli Election series.

Israel and Climate Change: Successes and Challenges

Israel as a small hot dry country is directly exposed to the consequences of the climate crisis in the coming decades. Join experts as they share their unique perspectives on this critical issue. Cosponsored with the Consulate General of Israel New York. Click here to watch the recording.

 

To read past issues of JCPA's update, click here.

 

THE POWER OF THE NETWORK

Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), a network of 125 local Jewish community relations councils and 17 national Jewish agencies, advocates for a just and pluralistic America, Israel's quest for peace and security, and global human rights.

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