Traditional Jewish Areas of Interest and Concern

• Combatting antisemitism
• Advocating for a safe, strong Jewish democratic state of Israel
• Advocate to protect our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion
• Supporting and advocating on behalf of refugees and immigrants
• Healthcare and Human Services and the advancement of access, innovations, and inclusion to care and services that honor the dignity and needs of all people. Each according to their own needs and beliefs
• Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access – confronting racism and discrimination, including those harming LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities
• Advocating to maintain a democratic and pluralistic society through unfettered access to civic engagement

Work Focus

• Advocating for the Jewish people, Israel, and marginalized communities
• Responding to incidents of hate and antisemitism across our community
• Providing outreach, allyship, anti-bias curriculum, and training and resources to the Jewish community and community at large
• Building relationships and coalitions with civil rights, ethnic, and service organizations, as well as marginalized communities, to work together to achieve similar goals
• Working with elected officials and community partners on issues that impact the Jewish community and marginalized communities
• Providing opportunities to increase engagement  across the synagogues and Jewish  organizations in our community

When is a Policy Issue a Jewish Issue?

• Does it affect the safety and security of Jews in our community, in America, in Israel, or elsewhere?
• Does it impact the state of democratic pluralism in the United States?
• Does it affect the internal quality of Jewish life, and does it help support Jewish institutions?
• Does it involve a Jewish religious imperative?
• Does it relate to the historical experience of the Jews?
• Does the Jewish community have both the resources and the expertise to deal with it?
• Is it a matter of concern for our coalition partners?
• Can the Jewish community make a difference on this issue?

The Omaha Jewish Community Relations Council’s public policy positions advance the ability of our organization to support our local, regional, and global Jewish community, with a special focus on upholding a healthy, safe, and caring community that is just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive; building bridges with other civic groups; and connecting with Israel and world Jewry. JCRC Omaha’s positions are derived from and aligned with the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations.

JCRC’s Public Policy and Civil Rights Committee advances public policy priority areas based on both the challenges that Jewish communal life faces and opportunities to further strengthen it. In supporting specific legislative and policy vehicles within each area below and in adding compelling legislative priorities, we prioritize issues with a nexus to the JCRC and community we represent, and we strive to be balanced and non-partisan. (These positions were approved by the JFO Board in August 2023)

Jewish Communal Security and Support for Israel

Since 1856, Jews have lived, worked, and thrived in the State of Nebraska. However, our enduring presence does not guarantee our safety and security. We must be ever vigilant about the rise of antisemitism both in Nebraska and across the globe.

1. Safety and Security: Protecting and expanding the Nonprofit Security Grant Program; promoting and accessing other security enhancements that safeguard high-risk nonprofits and communities; and advancing community safety, with reasonable gun safety measures.

2. Combatting Antisemitism: Combatting antisemitism, including through coordinated governmental and civic approaches; we refer to and apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, originally adopted by the Department of State in 2012, and expanding Holocaust and genocide education.

3. Support for Israel: In partnership with JFNA’s Israel Office, and all major Jewish organizations in the U.S. supporting Israel’s security and addressing delegitimization of Israel, including by combatting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement; advancing policies that help normalize relations between Israel and other countries; and supporting a two-state solution where Israel lives in peace with a demilitarized Palestinian state. We also encourage further investment, partnerships, and collaboration to continue Israeli technology innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in Nebraska.

Jewish perspective:

Safety and Security: Jewish tradition teaches about the importance of protecting and cherishing every single life, for all life is holy. From the Mishnah we learn that “One who takes a life, it is as though they have destroyed the entire world. And one who saves a life, it is as if they have saved the entire world.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). Each life is an entire world; we must work to safeguard every life using all tools at our disposal including accessing security enhancements for our communities and proactively engaging with our legislature to enact reasonable communal safety legislation.

Combating Anti-Semitism: Avot D’Rabbi Natan teaches: “Who is the strongest of all? One who overcomes his [her/their] inclinations…And some say one who can turn an enemy into a friend.” To combat antisemitism in all of its forms, we must work to build authentic relationships, taking these words to heart and finding common ground.

Support for Israel: The words of renowned poet Yehudah HaLevi remind us “My heart is in the East, and I am in the uttermost West.” Though we live here in Nebraska, for many, a piece of our heart resides in Israel. We look to the words of Israel’s national anthem, to guide us in HaTikvah, the hope, that we will find the ways to create a peaceful world where generations of Jews who come after us will call home. We may all answer the questions of whether Israel is a Jewish State or a State for Jewish People or a state that lives by Jewish values differently, and yet, we all sing the words of HaTikvah and pray for peaceful coexistence with our neighbors:

HaTikvah, by Naphtali Herz Imber: As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart, With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion, Then our hope – the two-thousand-year-old hope – will not be lost: To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Communal Infrastructure

One of the greatest strengths of the Jewish community in Nebraska is its commitment to philanthropic giving to both Jewish and non-Jewish entities. We must continue to ensure that we serve as good stewards to our community and that we advocate to those in positions of power to ensure that public education, health care, and support for those in need are not diminished especially in times of such inequity.

1. Charitable Protections: Encourage the efficient and responsible administration of national tax policy to support and encourage philanthropic activity.
2. Stability of Communal Institutions: Maintaining or expanding nonprofit infrastructure and relief funding; responding to natural disasters; and ensuring access to resources for Jewish institutions including community centers, childcare providers, and schools to serve the community while supporting public education.

Jewish perspective

Tikkun Olam, which translates to “repairing the world,” is a cornerstone of Jewish ethics and social responsibility.  Tikkun Olam compels members of the community to actively participate in bettering the world and elevating the lives of others.  And to repair the world, it is best to begin at our own doorstep–within our local community. Maintaining and improving the communal institutions that people rely upon are vital for the holistic betterment of society and thereby embodies the principles of Tikkun Olam.

Health and Human Services

Omaha is a vibrant, prosperous community but we know that not all residents have equal access to needed services to lead a thriving, healthy life.

1. Health Care, Services for Vulnerable or Disadvantaged Populations, Including Older Adults and People with Disabilities: Safeguarding long-term care and safety net support programs is a priority, including but not limited to protecting Medicaid and Medicare; advancing programs and services to enable people with disabilities to achieve maximum independence, community, and inclusion; strengthening access to mental health and health care, including by supporting innovations that increase accessibility and fiscal responsibility; supporting reproductive health rights and the ability to follow personal religious beliefs; and supporting programs for older adults.
2. Holocaust Survivors: Ensuring that Holocaust survivors receive support to live with dignity and an enhanced quality of life by promoting person-centered, trauma-informed care.
3. Economic Security: Supporting programs that alleviate poverty and promote economic mobility for low-income Jews and other communities, such as expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit; and addressing food insecurity, including through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
4. Affordable Housing – As a community we must support and advocate for affordable housing options that ensure a safe, accessible home for all, but especially low-income populations. We support policies and educate the community about affordable housing assistance.

Jewish perspective:

The notion that we all have a responsibility to care for the vulnerable among us (represented in our texts as “the poor, the orphan, the stranger, and the widow”) is a common thread woven throughout our sacred texts. Isaiah exhorts us: “Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17).

Reproductive Rights: Jewish law and thought do not hold a binary, black-and-white view of abortion. While our tradition affirms that a fetus must be respected and cared for as potential life, Jewish law also states that, because a fetus does not become a full “person” until birth, abortion is not only legitimate but required in instances where a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother (Mishnah Ohalot 7:6).

Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI), and Human and Civil Rights:

We must work to ensure that Omaha is a welcoming place for all. One way to ensure that is to make sure that we welcome the stranger with open arms. Another way is to always be thinking about our own biases and what we can do to mitigate them. Our community should be a place of inclusivity for all people.

1. Aligning and implementing best practices relating to JFNA’s JEDI strategic objectives and integrating a focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout all public policy priorities.
2. Combatting all forms of hate, extremism, antisemitism, racism, and discrimination, including those harming LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities, by supporting legislation and developing resources to address hate crimes and combat abuse and harassment, and advancing policies that ensure justice, equity, and communal belonging.
3. Refugees and Immigration: Supporting Jews and other marginalized populations fleeing Persecution.
4. Supporting civic engagement to foster a stable democratic environment in which our communities can flourish. Also to engage in meaningful dialogue to better understand the African American experience in this country and what is misperceived in our community to be anger as opposed to generational rage over past wrongs.  

Jewish perspective:

Genesis 1:27 teaches that God creates human beings b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image, thereby imbuing each person with a touch of the Divine. Every person should be treated with the dignity and respect accorded to God’s creations. We have an obligation to create radically inclusive communities that create space for each person to be their authentic selves. As we advocate for inclusion and equity in our spaces, we remember that we are responsible for one another and that we are commanded to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev.19:18). As Rabbi Hillel taught in Pirkei Avot, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, then who am I? And if not now, when?” (Pirkei Avot 1:4).

LB 887 (Brewer): Creates the Nebraska Nonprofit Security Grant Program. This is JCRC’s priority bill this year. JCRC is working with Senator Brewer on an amendment and hopes to advance the bill to General File.

LB 1042 (Fredrickson): Allows automatic voter registration when Nebraskans receive or renew their driver’s licenses. The current set-up requires Nebraskans opt-in to voter registration. This bill removes that burden. JCRC provided a letter of support.

LB 1339 (Brewer): Eliminate a conflict in Nebraska statutes relating to the possession of firearms by off-duty and qualified retired law enforcement officers to legally possess and carry firearms on school grounds and at school-sponsored events; authorizes the local governing bodies of schools to adopt a written policy to utilize armed staff, faculty, or contractors for school security, and address personal qualifications, training, appropriate firearms and ammunition, and appropriate use of force; makes grants available from the School Safety and Security Fund for the creation of school facilities maps for use by first responders, and provides parameters for such maps to ensure interoperability with coordinating agencies. Provided testimony at the Dec. 2023 interim hearing on the impact on Friedel and ELC.

LB 1178 (Wishart): Creates the Intergenerational Care Facility Incentive Grant program for start-up costs for nursing homes or assisted living facilities in the development of intergenerational care facilities in which nursing home services and child care are provided. JCRC provided a letter of support.

LB 918 (Wayne): Allows DREAMERS, those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, to serve as law enforcement officials in Nebraska. JCRC provided a letter of support, aligned with our Jewish values of welcoming the stranger.

LB 952 (Day): Requires DHHS to opt into the summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program to ensure children have access to food during the summer months. Letter of support.

Oppose:

LB 1065 (Lippincott): Allows school districts to hire a chaplain to act or perform the duties typically required of a school counselor. These chaplains shall not be required to hold a certificate to teach, administer, or perform special duties in this state. Planned opposition testimony due to concerns that chaplains are not trained as counselors and the impact the counseling of these untrained chaplains may have on students who belong to minority religious communities, like the Jewish community.

LB 1357 (McDonnell): Creates a new criminal penalty punishable by jail time and fees for camping on property of a political subdivision such as a city or county. Camping is temporarily lodging outside with a sleeping bag, tent, or other type of shelter. LB 1357 criminalizes unhoused people who are residing on city or county property. Letter of opposition as the bill runs counter to Jewish values of tzedakah, charity, and social justice. Nor does it address any of the root causes of homlessness.

LB 1211 (Hansen): Shortens the timeframe for early voting, either in person or vote by mail, from the current 35 days to 21 days. Letter of opposition as this further restricts voting rights. Voting rights are an important pillar of the work of the Jewish Community Relations Council. This bill was also opposed by all of the election commisssioners in the state. 

Monitor:

LB 1066 (Lippincott): Allows a school board to adopt a policy that authorizes students in K-12 grades to participate in an elective course in religious instruction conducted off school property by a sponsoring entity if the parent or guardian has given written permission.

LB 1034 (Lippincott): Prohibits school districts from punishing or prohibiting an employee from engaging in private religious expression otherwise protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution absent a showing that the employee has engaged in actual coercion. While a school district employee is on duty, the employee may engage in religious expression, discussion, and share religious materials with other employees at the same time and in the same manner that employees are permitted to engage in nonreligious expression and discussion; wear religious clothing, symbols or jewelry as long as items otherwise comply with the dress code; decorate the employee’s desk and other personal space with personal items that reflect such employee’s religious beliefs to the same extent as other employees.

LB 1399 (Murman): Among the bill’s primary revisions, requires each school district to publish a list of library books offered for checkout. Requires school districts to provide an opportunity for parents or guardians to opt-in to receive emails when students check out resources from the school library, including book title, author, and due date. Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, a school district shall allow any parent or guardian with a student attending such school district to request a five-minute portion from any book in the school district’s library be read aloud at school board meetings.

LB 1330 (Murman): Prohibits the University of Nebraska, state colleges and community colleges from requiring DEI programming for employees; spending public money on DEI programs; establish, support, or employ an office or individual whose duties include creating, developing, or promoting DEI programs; promote or adopt any theory of unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, anti-racism, social justice (the list continues) or any related theory as the official position of the public institution.

View the most recent survey results of our Jewish communal priorities here.