Jewish Federation of Cleveland Community Relations Committee

The Community Relations Committee (CRC) is the relationship building arm of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. CRC positions the Jewish community as an active and constructive participant in the civic life of Greater Cleveland. By developing collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships with other ethnic, racial, civic and religious groups, and by proactively combatting antisemitism, the CRC helps safeguard the rights and security of Jews in Greater Cleveland and around the world. The CRC mobilizes Jewish community members based upon the Jewish values of tzedakah (social justice), tikkun olam (repairing the world), and chesed (acts of kindness).

Daniel Pearlman, Managing Director, Community Relations and External Affairs

CRC works with people of all faiths and ethnicities to build a more just and civil society through advocacy and community relationship building initiatives.

Goals and Structure:

  • Interfaith Subcommittee: Develops and deepens strategic partnerships and relationships outside the Jewish community, specifically with our region’s diverse faith groups.
  • Intergroup Subcommittee: Develops and deepens strategic partnerships and relationships outside the Jewish community, specifically with our region’s diverse cultural, ethnic, and minority groups.
  • Internal Relations Subcommittee: Builds bridges between diverse segments of our Cleveland Jewish community, promoting civil discourse to help us better understand and respect multiple points of view.

CRC:

  • Cultivates working relationships with non-Jewish, civic, and cross-sectional groups to strengthen community bonds and shared goals.
  • Combats antisemitism and hate by working with partners throughout Greater Cleveland to ensure that discrimination has no place in the community.
  • Organizes special events such as the CRC Annual Meeting and Sidney Z. Vincent Memorial Lecture, highlighting issues of broad public interest such as education equity, women in STEM, shared society efforts in Israel, and the fight against antisemitism.