JCRC reminds our Montgomery County community:
Municipal Elections are taking place
Tuesday, November 6 (7am-8pm)
in Gaithersburg, Rockville and Takoma Park
following are voter guide links for each region:
GAITHERSBURG
ROCKVILLE
TAKOMA PARK
The JCRC will join the Maryland Jewish Alliance to advocate in Annapolis on February 11th. Parlor meetings discussing our key issues with elected officials will be held throughout November and December.
Please check our full events listing for details.
Attached below are our Maryland Jewish Alliance 2007 Legislative Priorities.
2007 Legislative Priorities
Jewish Community Issues
Ø We support capital funding to construct a new, three-story Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. building to house several agencies and programs that provide crucial services to the greater Baltimore community.
Ø The State’s partnership with the Maryland-Israel Development Center has produced hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in investments in Maryland and should be sustained.
Ø We support continuation of refugee resettlement support for Jewish agencies in Baltimore and Rockville that has helped thousands of new arrivals find jobs and avoid welfare.
Ø We support the “Get Bill,” officially called “Divorce - Removal of Barriers to Remarriage,” which would provide relief to observant Jewish women whose husbands petition for a civil divorce but seek to deny their spouse the full benefits of that divorce, namely the ability to remarry.
Support for Seniors
Ø Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) are innovative models of long-term care that allow older Marylanders to remain living independently longer. With the help of a state grant, we can continue to sustain the Maryland Jewish communities’ NORCs in Montgomery County and Baltimore City and County.
Ø We are working closely with the AARP to introduce first-in-the-nation legislation that combines their Livable Communities concept with our NORC program to create “Empowerment Zones for Seniors.” These Empowerment Zones will leverage public and private resources in order to make communities and their services more accessible for seniors.
Healthcare
Ø We remain committed to efforts that will increase access to affordable healthcare for the 800,000 uninsured and underinsured women, men and children in Maryland.
Ø We support initiatives that make prescription drugs more affordable for low and moderate-income families, including legislation that will fill the gap in the federal Medicare Prescription Drug Program.
Ø We support an increase in dollars allocated to the Maryland State Family Planning Program as an effective way to decrease unintended pregnancy rates and the need for abortion.
Ø Last year, the legislature passed and the Governor signed legislation that allocates state funds to embryonic stem cell research. We support continued funding of this vital research.
Housing and Energy
Ø Rising housing and energy costs are threatening more and more Maryland families with eviction. We support the recommendations of the Governor’s Interagency Task Force on Homelessness, and call for implementation of the first steps of its plan to end chronic homelessness.
Ø We support initiatives, like the Maryland Affordable Housing Investment Fund, that help community organizations provide affordable housing for low to moderate-income families in Maryland.
Ø We call for efforts to ease the financial burden of skyrocketing energy costs on low-income Marylanders.
Fact Sheet
The Maryland Jewish Alliance is the legislative coalition of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, the Baltimore Jewish Council, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRCGW). The federations are the central coordinating and fundraising bodies for their respective communities and financially support a network of agencies, which provide a wide array of services. The Baltimore Jewish Council and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington are the government and community relations arms of the federations. The Maryland Jewish Alliance represents the federations, their agencies and Jewish organizations throughout the state.
Additional Issues: The following items are additional issues for which the MJA will advocate during the 2007 legislative session:
Ø Support for public education and adult literacy
Ø Additional addiction treatment funds
Ø Support for immigrants and refugees
Ø Stricter gun control laws, including a ban on semi-automatic weapons
Ø Support for tougher laws against domestic violence, child abuse and child sexual predators
Ø Sufficient funding for Medicaid, including the CHIP program and health care for legal immigrants
We’re in Annapolis: We maintain a full-time presence in Annapolis during the legislative session and work closely with the legislature and our coalition partners on a variety of social, cultural, religious, and economic issues, many of which concern the welfare of all Marylanders.
Whom we serve: In addition to serving the approximately 211,000 Jewish residents of Maryland through services such as counseling to children, families, and individuals, assisted living facilities, housing assistance, and vocational services for New Americans, just to name a few, many of our services are also utilized by the community at large.
Community involvement: Volunteerism is a deeply rooted value in Jewish life. Consistent with this tradition, the agencies administer a significant volunteer service corps, which allows us to provide services to greater numbers of people. Maryland’s Jewish community also raises significant private donations, with a portion of these funds directed to humanitarian efforts overseas. These contributions are paired with foundation grants, federal and state dollars, United Way funds, endowment and investment incomes.
For more information about the Maryland Jewish Alliance, contact:
Ashlie Bagwell, Director, abagwell@baltjc.org
David Conn, Deputy Director, Baltimore Jewish Council, dconn@baltjc.org
Michelle Bernstein, Government and Community Relations Associate, mbernstein@baltjc.org
Rabbi Sarah Meytin, Deputy Director, JCRCGW, smeytin@jcouncil.org
5750 Park Heights Ave., Ste 329
Baltimore MD 21215
Phone: (410) 542-4850
Fax: (410) 542-4834 |
191 Main St
Annapolis MD 21401
Phone: (410) 269-1672
Fax: (410) 269-1675 |
6101 Montrose Rd., Ste. 205
Rockville MD 20852
Phone: (301) 770-0881
Fax: (301) 770-7553 |
Baltimore Jewish Council: www.baltjc.org Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington: www.jcouncil.org
