On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas hosted its biennial Day at the State: Legislative Mission to Austin, which brings lay leaders and community members together to educate state legislators about the policy priorities that are important to the Texas Jewish community.

Nearly 40 lay leaders — including a UT Dallas student and high school students from Akiba Yavneh Academy — and staff from the Federation loaded a bus at 6 a.m. to travel to Austin, where they met 10 members from the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County as well as counterparts from the Jewish Federations of Austin; El Paso and Las Cruces; Houston; and San Antonio to advocate at the Texas capitol for Jewish communities throughout the Lone Star State.

This year, Jewish Texans gathered in Austin to raise awareness of antisemitism and advocate for increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps protect nonprofit institutions and houses of worship, providing funds for security items such as fences, secure doors, radios, cameras and more.

“The issue of safety continues to become increasingly ‘top of mind’ in the Jewish community, particularly after the attacks of Oct. 7 and the astronomical rise in antisemitism worldwide. Our goal is to educate, advocate and mobilize support for the Texas Jewish community both in Dallas and nationwide,” said Dot Haymann, chair of the board at the Federation.

Last session, the Texas Jewish Federations were successful in securing $2 million state dollars to fund more grants under the NSGP. However, the demand for grants well outpaces the current funds available. During the last two years the program had a $23 million difference between grants requested and funds available. Thus, Texas Federations are jointly seeking additional state funding to provide security grants to a range of nonprofits.

“In this time of rising antisemitism and hate, providing safety and security for faith-based and other nonprofit organizations is critical,” said Cyd Friedman, community relations chair at the Federation. “The increase in threats and incidents have directly affected the Dallas-area Jewish community and that is why we are here,” she reflected.

The day started with a program that included a presentation on the need for state funding for security grants and the advocacy strategy, an overview of the 89th Texas Legislature and a testimonial on the importance of security training and funding from Jeff Cohen, a survivor of the 2022 Colleyville, Texas, hostage crisis. Before lunch, the program also included a panel discussion on state legislation impacting the Jewish community including Representative Giovanni Capriglione (R-Keller) and Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin), moderated by Dallas’ Kenny Goldberg, chair of the Texas Holocaust, Genocide and Antisemitism Advisory Commission.

Following the morning program, community members participated in legislator meetings where they urged members of the Texas legislature to support the collective Federations’ request for additional funds to the state-funded NSGP.

The Federation’s interim CEO, Rabbi Mordechai Harris, looks forward to furthering relationships with state legislators. “It is important that we continue to build bridges with Texas leadership, gaining their support to help protect our institutions and our social service agency partners that help build strong and vibrant communities throughout Texas. Without these partnerships, much of our Jewish community’s needs would not be met,” said Harris.

Beyond advocacy, the Federation’s Community Relations Department works to educate the Greater Dallas area about the threats of antisemitism; build relationships and strengthen understanding between the diverse faith and ethnic communities; and promote the NSGP to other faith and minority communities in the greater Dallas area. Jewish Dallas looks forward to the continued collaboration between Texas Federations, working with state leadership in Austin to support a safe and thriving Texas and taking action to have Jewish Texans’ voices heard.

—Submitted by
Michelle Golan Friedman,
director of the Community Relations and Public Affairs Department of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas