About Us | What We Do
COUNCIL ACTIVITIES
As the public affairs voice of the Detroit Jewish community, the Jewish Community Relations Council uses a consensus-building process to identify issues, articulate positions, and develop strategies, programs and approaches to advance the Jewish community’s collective goals. Council’s programs and activities include:
• Supporting the U.S.- Israel relationship and the Middle East peace process • Promoting Jewish values and participation in the public arena, including advocacy on domestic issues of social justice • Advocating for religious liberties and church/state separation • Strengthening inter-cultural, religious, ethnic and race relations
• Facilitating positive city-suburban relations
• Advocating on behalf of poor, elderly and disabled, and legal immigrants.
ISRAEL ADVOCACY
Council promotes support for
Israel including:  • Educating both the Jewish and
non-Jewish communities about
Israel – its quest for peace
and security, its role in the
Middle East and importance to
the world
• Advocating for a strong U.S.-
Israel relationship.
• Supporting the growing
alliances between Israel and
the Detroit community at
large, including the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
 | | Yossi Olmert, Middle East expert and brother-in-law of the prime minister of Israel, at a Council-organized news conference. | | |
MEDIA RELATIONS
Council serves as the news media’s key link to the Detroit Jewish community. Council serves as a resource regarding a Jewish perspective on issues and events of concern in the Middle East and in our own community. The foundation of Council’s effectiveness has been earned from decades of relationship-building with reporters and editors at local news outlets.
 | | Council president Wendy Wagenheim, executive director Robert Cohen, and representatives of ADL and American Jewish Committee meet with U.S. Representative John Dingell to discuss Israel's security situation. | | |
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Council maintains an on-going connection to public officials at the federal, state and local level, As the public affairs voice for the Jewish community. Council advocates on issues of concern to the Jewish community, including Israel, social justice, and the separation of church and state. Council is respected as a gateway to a Jewish perspective and as a valuable resource.
 | | Pastor Glenn Plummer, founder of Fellowship of Israel and Black America (FIBA), at Israel support rally. | | |
COMMUNITY ACTION
For over half a century, Council has played an important role by bringing public issues to our community’s attention and by taking action on a consensus-based policy agenda. As metro Detroit’s designated Jewish community relations agency, Council reaches to mobilize Jews and non-Jews to action. Through the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jews stand together with non-Jewish allies on significant public issues, often through Council's efforts to build or join broad-based coalitions.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Council advocates for socially just and compassionate public policies consistent with traditional Jewish values and ethics. Council pursues social justice by raising awareness and understanding, building coalitions, developing leaders, and promoting volunteer service to effect change in the broader community.
STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY
Detroit’s Jewish community is marked by a diversity of opinion, interests, ethnicity and levels of religious observance. Council is committed to bridging those differences and marshalling the combined strength of the breadth of the community on matters of shared concern.  | Council organized Detroit2Darfur participation at
the Save Darfur rally in Washington, DC. | | |
Recent examples of that commitment include the rally to release Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, and convening the Detroit2Darfur Coalition (now the Michigan Darfur Coalition).
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