2009 AnnuAl RepoRt - Jewish Community Relations Council ...

Letter from the President and
Executive Director
The Jewish community in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South
Dakota has a long and rich history that has seen good times and difficult
times. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the
Dakotas (JCRC) was founded in 1939 at a time when the region was known as
a hotbed of anti-Semitism (for more information about the history of the organization, please read “Our Story” on the inside-back cover). There is one critical
characteristic of the Jewish community that is as true now as it was in 1939; the Jewish community does not exist in isolation, rather it is part of a greater
community comprised of all religious and ethnic backgrounds. An essential characteristic of the JCRC is the service of organizing/building/nurturing our
Jewish community’s relationships with the much larger non-Jewish community in which we are all inextricably connected.
Steve Hunegs
Executive Director
Brian Kamin
President
Steve Hunegs
Executive Director
There is no other agency which has as its core mission the establishment and cultivation of relationships with the greater, non-Jewish community. The JCRC is the
only agency serving as the central public affairs voice of the Jewish community to elected officials, the media, government agencies and other religious and ethnic
groups. For example, in May of 2009 alone, the JCRC participated in a bill signing ceremony with Gov. Pawlenty for Iran divestment legislation; led our ongoing
community meeting with Rep. Keith Ellison regarding the United States-Israel relationship; worked to organize a trip to Israel with Rep. Erik Paulsen; and
organized and participated in a press conference with Senator Klobuchar at the Sabes JCC about the risk of breast cancer in women under forty (which Jewish
women of Ashkenazi descent are particularly vulnerable).
The JCRC continues to promote tolerance, respect and community service, all of which are central to the JCRC’s mission. The programs in this annual report
demonstrate our commitment and efforts to enrich and strengthen the Jewish community, whether by honoring victims of the Holocaust while educating a
younger generation; providing resources to local school districts for teaching racial tolerance and the Arab-Israeli conflict; or working across religious and ethnic
lines to combat past and ongoing genocide around the globe. The JCRC also has a unique role in community security. For example, we utilized our emergency
communication system in June of 2009 to notify the community about the shooting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
None of these programs would be possible without the efforts of our outstanding JCRC staff; our dedicated officers, executive committee and board of directors;
volunteers; interfaith friends from diverse communities; law enforcement and invaluable support from our Jewish communal organizations, foundations and
individual contributors. The JCRC thanks you deeply for your support.
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community in
Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Brian Kamin
President
Trade Mission to Israel
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, center, addressing
media before departing for his trade
mission to Israel facilitated by the JCRC,
the Consulate General of Israel to the
Midwest, and community member Andrew
Parker. Also pictured are Ed Dieter, deputy
director of the Minnesota Trade Office (left)
and Brian Kamin, president of the Jewish
Community Relations Council
of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
(MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)
JCRC Annual Report 2009 2