Who We Are

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is the public affairs arm of Cincinnati’s organized Jewish community.  We are a non-profit organization funded by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. The mission of the JCRC is to protect Jewish security,  recognizing that Jewish security depends on a just society for all.

To achieve its mission, the JCRC works on a broad range of local, national, and international issues, concentrating its efforts in the areas of Israel, the Middle East, and anti-Semitism.  The JCRC serves as:

• Media Resource on Cincinnati’s Jewish community.
  
  
• Think-Tank of Jewish communal leadership who assess current situations and develop strategies for the resolution of challenges that  threaten Jewish security.
  
  
• Bridge-Builder with other religious and secular groups sharing a mission to promote tolerance and understanding.
  
  
• Governmental Affairs Agency representing the interests of the local Jewish community.
  
  
• Problem Solvers and Crisis Managers.
  
  
• Community Educational Resource that provides consultation, information, and speakers to area organizations and creates awareness of a wide range of issues through programs and events.
  

The JCRC is one of 120 Jewish Community Relations Councils in the country which in turn are part of a national umbrella organization, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

Our History: Over 75 Years of Service

In the mid 1930’s, in response to antisemitic activities in Cincinnati and the expansion of Nazism and Fascism in Europe, a small group of Cincinnati Jewish leaders began to meet informally to devise methods of combating these threats to the Jewish community and American democracy.  Throughout the 1930’s, these men, working without a formal organization or name, worked to keep informed on the growth of antisemitism and to monitor Nazi activities in Cincinnati.  These individuals realized their mission could not be accomplished by volunteers alone and, in 1939, formed the Public Relations Committee (now today’s JCRC).

Since its inception, the JCRC has long carried on its mission - concerned for the security and fate of the Jewish people in Cincinnati, in Israel, and around the world.  Israel, antisemitism, threats to overseas Jewish communities, terrorism, separation of church and state, civil liberties, and civil rights are among the issues that the JCRC addresses today.