National JCPA resolutions impact Rhode Island

Each year the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) hosts a national conference called a plenum to discuss issues important to local communities. This year the “Town Hall” plenum, held in Washington, D.C., mirrored  the important issues of the day: anti-Semitism, the refugee problem in the Middle East and Europe, income inequality, race relations and all things related to Israel.

It was no accident these issues were front and center of the program.  Besides being timely, most  were brought up as resolutions for the JCPA to consider. If passed, resolutions become a policy position and focus for the JCPA and its partners, including more than 125 Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRC/CRC) as well as over a dozen national organizations including the National Council of Women, ADL, Reform Action Center, Orthodox Union and Hadassah. 

The resolution with the most impact on the Rhode Island community was one calling for the United States to officially recognize as genocide the atrocities that took place in Armenia over a hundred years ago. It was overwhelmingly passed. Written and sponsored by the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, the resolution asks for member organizations of the JCPA to call on their congressional delegations to support a resolution to finally recognize the Armenian Genocide with the president’s signature. The resolution was co-sponsored by the Boston and Palm Beach JCRCs as well as the Jewish Labor Committee and the Reform Action Committee.

With a significant Armenian population in Rhode Island, it was important the CRC take the initiative by creating a strong resolution on this issue.  Currently the CRC, with the Holocaust Education and Resource Center and members of the Armenian, Cambodian, African American and Christian communities are working on state legislation calling for mandatory Holocaust-Genocide education in the our middle and high schools. When passed, Rhode Island will most likely be the sixth state to have this education required in the schools. An official recognition of the genocide that took place in Armenia by the U.S. will certainly bring this to the attention of all states to teach this in their schools.

In all, five resolutions, including the Armenian Genocide resolution, were scheduled for discussion and a vote. An emergency resolution on the Syrian refugee crisis was added. All six were adopted with minor changes. The resolutions included one that confronts criminal justice reform by urging a shift from punitive prohibitionist polices to sensible policies that advance public safety and health. Also passed was a resolution on paid sick leave and early childhood education.

A resolution on anti-Semitism passed after much discussion: “Anti-Semitism is a continuing problem in communities all over the world, and as Jews, we must oppose it wherever and whenever it occurs. To truly understand anti-Semitism and to fight it effectively, we must recognize that criticism of Israel can be anti-Semitic in certain circumstances. At the same time, we must recognize that not all criticism of Israel or its government’s policies constitutes anti-Semitism.”

Over the next year the JCPA will convene a committee to develop or identify a shared definition of anti-Semitism for the community relations field. The resolution calls for CRCs to provide a vehicle for Jewish and other organizations to work with campus groups for the development of coordinated strategies for protecting Jewish students from what can be hostile environments. It further calls for support initiatives that promote Israel and the well-being of students, faculty and staff while fostering Jewish life on campus that is inclusive and diverse in opinions and activities related to the Jewish community. The resolution urges an international call on governments to reassess their legislation, law enforcement and education approaches to denounce and reduce anti-Semitic acts.

MARTY COOPER is Community Relations director of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.