Political Issues & Action
Israel
Supporting Israel has been the top priority of the Peninsula Region since the beginning of the crisis in 2000. JCRC, in cooperation with synagogues, Israel Action Committees, local Hillels, and other local Peninsula Jewish organizations facilitates a wide range of educational and advocacy-based activities in the community and on college campuses.
Eruv in Palo Alto
In 1998, the Palo Alto Orthodox Community began a process of seeking approval for creating an Eruv in Palo Alto.
An Eruv (literally, "mixture" in Hebrew) is a sequence of boundary indicators that in Jewish Law encompass a single domain. Within that domain, traditionally observant Jews may carry outside the home on the Sabbath, an activity otherwise prohibited.
The Eruv is a standard feature of Jewish communities throughout the world, both in small towns and in large urban centers. In 1990, President Bush praised the work of the District of Columbia Eruv Committee for creating a inconspicuous Eruv that includes Capital Hill and the White House, thereby permitting Orthodox Jews, including several Members of Congress, to attend meetings on the Sabbath. Over 100 cities and municipalities in the US and Canada have an Eruv today.
The JCRC, with the consensus of the organized Jewish Community, endorsed and actively advocated for the creation of an Eruv in Palo Alto. After a long period of consideration and community debate, which included a very vocal minority opinion against the creation of an Eruv, a decision in favor of the Eruv was passed by the City Council. This decision, however, contained a technical caveat that was incompatible with Jewish Law, rendering the construction of an Eruv unfeasible.
JCC Land Use
For 18 years, the Albert J. Schultz Jewish Community Center was located in the former Terman elementary school. Due to burgeoning growth of the children in the Palo Alto Unified School District, the City decided that it needed the Terman site for a third Junior High School, and announced plans to evict the JCC from the site. JCRC worked extensively with the City of Palo Alto and other Jewish organizations and interested parties to find a solution that would meet both the needs of the school children in Palo Alto as well those of Jewish and other community residents who came to rely on the JCC for its many important functions. After tremendous effort and in cooperation with the City, a new site was located on the grounds of the old Sun Microsystems campus (off San Antonio Road in Palo Alto) for a JCC campus that will eventually be home to the JCRC and many other Jewish organizations.
Voter Guides
As a public service, the Peninsula Region of the Jewish Community Relations Council surveyed candidates running in the November 2000 election. This nonpartisan voter guide was designed to help educate citizens of northern Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties to be more informed voters.
Questionnaires were sent to candidates for public office running for California State Senate and Assembly, school boards and city councils in San Mateo and northern Santa Clara Counties. These areas represent the regions covered by JCRC on the Peninsula. The questionnaires were sent to every candidate in these categories whose names appeared on the all or some of the following: Secretary of State's 2000 California General Election Certified List of Candidates; Roster of Candidates, Registrar of Voters, County of San Mateo; Candidate Nomination Report, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
Caucuses with State Legislators
The JCRC Peninsula Region, in cooperation with JCRC Metro, facilitates caucuses with State Legislators to educate them on the complexities inherent to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and to stress the importance of a strong U.S.–Israel and California–Israel relationship. The caucuses are also a time to discuss other key areas of interest to the Peninsula, such as funding for senior services, citizenship-assistance programs, affordable housing, and education issues.