Support Israel in Jefferson City

Dear Elyse,

On Tuesday, February 6 at 10:00 a.m., Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the Consul General of Israel for Missouri, will be giving a speech to a Joint Session of the Missouri General Assembly. The speech is open to the public, with seating available in the visitor galleries. The speech will be live streamed on the Missouri House website (Select Chamber).

At 2:00 p.m. on February 6, the Missouri House Special Committee on Public Policy will hear testimony regarding House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 30, a resolution which affirms Israel’s right to exist. JCRC and many representatives of the St. Louis Jewish Community will be at the hearing to support this resolution. If you cannot attend in person, the hearing, which will be held in the Joint Committee Hearing Room, will be streamed. Testimony in support of the resolution can also be submitted online.

JCRC will arrange carpools for people interested in attending the speech and the hearing. If you would like to go to Jefferson City on Tuesday, please contact Rabbi Scott Shafrin, and please indicate if you are willing to drive. It’s about a two hour drive from the St. Louis area. If you want to attend both events, departure will be at 7:30 a.m., returning around 5:00 p.m.

Many thanks,

Rabbi Scott Shafrin,

Deputy Director and Lee & Milford Bohm Director of Social Justice

Meetings with the St. Louis County Council

Over the past several weeks, JCRC has continued building and leveraging our relationships with members of the St. Louis County Council to ensure that a ceasefire resolution stays off their agenda, especially in light of the harm such resolutions have caused, most recently at the city council in Chicago. Along with groups of rabbis, Jewish professionals, and laypeople, we have met with representatives from six of the seven districts, all of whom reaffirmed their support of the Jewish community, and that they have no interest in resolutions that divide the community and distract from the critically important work in which our local government engages.

We were heartened by their consensus that measures calling for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza are neither the purview of the County Council, nor are they helpful in addressing the harms and trauma our community is experiencing. JCRC will continue to press elected leaders to support our community, to engage thoughtfully with the complicated realities in Israel today, and to advocate for policies and initiatives that can bring people together safely.

Special thanks to our wonderful Jewish community leaders who gave their time to solidify these relationships and impress on our elected officials the needs of their Jewish constituents:

Rabbi Susan Talve

Howard Oppenheimer

Ruth Schachter-Cohen

Chris Hexter

Bob Newmark

Lynssie Balk Kanter

Karen Aroesty

Neil Jaffe

Galit Lev-Harir

Stan Shanker

Joel Shanker

Doug Freeman