The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is the vehicle through which the Jewish community is represented in the greater Louisville community in discussions, activities, programs and coalitions with others that help improve inter-group relationships and protect human rights. The JCRC provides a forum for discussion and coordinated action on public policy issues of concern to the Louisville Je
wish community and conducts educational, legislative and media efforts on issues including Israel, religious freedom, pluralism, separation of religion and state, and equality of opportunity for all. Among the many activities JCRC subcommittees organize or participate in are: the Interfaith Seders program, which brings model Passover Seders to a number of area churches; an interfaith Chanukah party; the Merry Mitzvah Community Service Project, which provides volunteers for a number of local social service agencies during the Christmas holidays; Holocaust education programs; as well as Israeli education and advocacy programs. JCRC is the means through which the Jewish community carries out the mitzvah of tikkun olam – the repair of the world. In times of community need, JCRC is on the scene to provide assistance. The JCRC also works to promote positive cooperation among Louisville’s many religious, ethnic and racial groups through coalition efforts with Interfaith Paths to Peace and similar organizations in the general community. Through sponsorships of the Community Hunger Walk in September and the annual Yom HaShoah commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust held in the spring, JCRC strives to provide a broader understanding of the Jewish practice of tikkum olam. The JCRC Speaker’s Bureau provides speakers for churches, synagogues, Jewish organizations, chavurot and civic groups and for audiences ranging from young children in area schools to senior citizens. In addition, the JCRC takes area teachers on a biennial trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and undertakes a number of community service projects, including a Purim appeal to help a local social service agency or respond to a natural disaster and facilitates participation in Habitat for Humanity.
