On Sunday, February 1, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) celebrated its 50th anniversary at its annual Congressional Breakfast. A week later, on February 8, the Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC) held its annual Legislative Breakfast. These events gave elected officials and Jewish community organizers the chance to reaffirm their support for Jewish issues in government and denounce hatred against Jews. But hardly a mention was heard about support for Israel.
“As we begin this 50th anniversary year, we do so with pride in the generations who built this institution, gratitude for the partners who stand with us today, and confidence in the leaders who will carry this work forward,” said JCRC president David Moore. “We’re fortunate that JCRC has such a strong and integral relationship with UJA Federation of New York, as well as a talented and experienced staff to help tackle the challenges we face and seize the opportunities we know are in front of us…”
The JCRC event was held at the Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street in Manhattan, which was vandalized in November – a point not lost on the longtime spiritual leader of the congregation who is advocating for a buffer zone around houses of worship.
“What we are saying today is Am Yisrael Chai. Even though we had that horrible experience in November, an ugly antisemitic attack in front of a synagogue, which brought back the nightmare of my seeing Kristallnacht, my synagogue burned as firemen and policemen stood by rejoicing. That was the beginning. It was demonization first,” said Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor. “I’m counting on every city and state official to establish the rule, not abolishing freedom of speech but protection of every house of worship. Every house of worship, be it a synagogue, be it a church, be it a mosque, whatever.”
Also in attendance were several members of Congress, including Adriano Espaillat, Laura Gillen, Dan Goldman, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, George Latimer, Michael Lawler, Jerry Nadler (who is retiring), and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
Schumer boasted about legislation he hopes to get passed this year and reasserted his support for Israel. “I’m a sponsor of the Pray Safe Act. That would create a federal database and clearinghouse for the best security practices because a lot of our smaller houses of worship are not aware of these grants and how to deal with them,” he said. “To my friends in the Jewish community, we will persist and persist and persist to fight for Israel, to fight against antisemitism, and we will not rest till we succeed.”
When elected officials could not attend one or both of the events, such as junior U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, they taped brief video remarks.
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Another significant Jewish event was the Queens Jewish Community Council’s Annual Legislative Breakfast on February 8. The QJCC serves the most diverse county in New York City, with 180 languages spoken and a large Jewish population across all denominations.
Congressman Tom Suozzi (D – Glen Cove, Nassau County) gave the most stirring and dramatic remarks of the morning. He identified some of the causes of the hate in America today: “Pandering to the base – where a general election is decided by a primary in most congressional districts across the country where the extremists vote in low-turnout elections; social media – which rewards extremism and this country is being invaded through social media; cable news – which attempts to drive the social and political agenda so they can sell advertising, mostly prescription drugs… We are being invaded through our social media by money interests from our foreign adversaries who are trying to get us to hate each other and take us down. We cannot fall for it. We have to stand up to it. We have to recognize it is happening. We have to continue to promote this idea that we have to love each other. We share so much more in common than what divides us.”
The president of the QJCC began what should have been a festive occasion with a somber note. “We are not living in normal times. The Jewish community is in a place in the city that those of us in this room have never known,” Barry Grodenchik said. “We need armed guards in our synagogues and our schools; regrettably it is necessary to have police patrols as well. [Incidents] of antisemitism have soared in our borough and our city.” He noted that antisemitic hate crimes in January 2026 were nearly triple what they were in January of 2025. “We are not going to accept this as the status quo. We will not yield one inch to hate, and we are certainly not going to abandon communities that we have all worked to build up, in some cases for decades. Silence is never the answer,” he stated.
The banquet room at the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates was filled with elected officials too numerous to mention, on the federal, state, and local levels, as well as many social service organizations – all in support of the mission the QJCC is carrying out.