The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston is a coalition organization, composed of 39 member organizations located in the Boston area. The JCRC of Greater Boston functions as a hub and coordinating body for the Zionist propaganda and lobbying efforts of these different area organizations.
The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston places "Israel advocacy" at the center of its organizational mission. The JCRC of Greater Boston's "Israel advocacy" includes coordinating and funding "study tours" (propaganda junkets) to Israel for "strategically selected influential leaders," including state representatives, city officials, faith leaders, labor leaders, and other Boston area community members. While paying for elected officials to attend propaganda junkets to Israel, the JCRC simultaneously lobbies the political bodies on which these officials serve to pass legislation favorable to Israel and to reject legislation which attempts to hold Israel to account for its ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland and theft of Palestinian resources.
As one example, the JCRC of Greater Boston has made repeated (and thus far unsuccessful) attempts over the past decade to pass anti-BDS legislation in the Massachusetts State legislature, legislation which had it passed would have imposed civil penalties upon Massachusetts residents and businesses who respect the Palestinian call for Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel. While lobbying the Massachusetts state government to pass these anti-BDS bills, the JCRC of Greater Boston was simultaneously paying for numerous members of the MA state legislature to attend the JCRC's all-expenses paid "study tours" (propaganda junkets) to Israel.
On the municipal level, the JCRC of Greater Boston has played a central role in lobbying city officials to oppose local efforts to pass BDS measures, while coordinating opposition to these measures amongst its member organizations. Most recently, the JCRC of Greater Boston played a central role in coordinating opposition to attempts to pass BDS policy orders in the Cambridge City Council, in 2018 and 2021. Meanwhile, the JCRC of Greater Boston has brought numerous members of the Boston City Council (current and former) on its all-expenses-paid "study tours" (propaganda junkets) to Israel. These include: Edward Flynn, Mark Ciommo, Kim Janey, Matt O'Malley, Tito Jackson, Josh Zakim, Timothy McCarthy, and Andrea Campbell (joined on the trip by her Chief of Staff Elizabeth Pimentel). These study tours for Boston officials paid dividends for the JCRC of Greater Boston when in the lead-up to a February 2019 Boston City Council hearing on a measure calling for the disclosure, socially responsible investment, and reinvestment of the City of Boston's pension fund holdings, then city councilor Mark Ciommo privately told leadership of organizations backing effort that they should not talk about Israel and Palestine if they wished for their effort to have a chance to succeed.
Along with the political junkets to Israel they fund and coordinate, the JCRC of Greater Boston propagandizes for Israel through a people-to-people normalization initiative called "Boston Partners for Peace." Through Boston Partners for Peace, the JCRC of Greater Boston pushes the narrative that "friendship," "cooperation," and "tolerance" can bring an end to (what they falsely label to be) the "conflict" between Palestinians and the Israeli settlers ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their land and stealing Palestinian resources. By pushing this false and offensive narrative, the JCRC's Boston Partners for Peace program attempts to relegate Palestinians to the position of a minority group who can at best aspire toward increased integration into Israel's colonial political framework (a framework premised on their removal and subjugation), rather than an indigenous group who should (and do) aspire toward reclaiming the land and resources that the Zionist state has stolen from them.
The JCRC of Greater Boston uses Boston Partners for Peace to propagandize this false and harmful narrative to the Boston Area community leaders who attend the JCRC's aforementioned all-expenses-paid "study tours" (propaganda junkets) to Israel, during their respective trips. In 2019, for example, the JCRC of Greater Boston and the New England Jewish Labor Committee partnered to coordinate a "Study Tour" to Israel specifically targeting Boston area labor leadership. Accordingly to the JCRC of Greater Boston, participants in this 2019 trip "returned inspired and eager to share their new perspectives with their communities and to support Boston Partners for Peace." Boston Partners for Peace is indeed endorsed by the multiple Boston-area labor organizations, including New England Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU 1199, and IUPAT dc 35.
The JCRC of Greater Boston has gone so far in their "Israel Advocacy" as to insist not only that their member organizations must themselves support the Zionist project but that these organizations must refuse to in any way collaborate with organizations which oppose Zionism around shared causes (eg anti-racism, anti-Islamophobia work, justice for migrants). The JCRC of Greater Boston's insistence that its affiliates avoid even second degree connections with opponents of the Zionist project is of course highly and increasingly at odds with the substantial and growing support for BDS and growing opposition to Zionism within the American Jewish community itself: A 2021 Pew Research Poll found that "One-in-ten U.S. Jews support the BDS movement, while 43% oppose it, and 43% haven’t heard much about it." (This in stark contrast to polling of Palestinian public opinion, which finds that "An overwhelming majority of 83% [of Palestinians] supports the local and international boycott movement against Israel while 15% are opposed to it.") This 10% the Jewish American community falls outside of the red line the JCRC of Greater Boston has drawn on the question of Zionism, as do the even larger percentage of Jewish Americans who would be interested at a minimum in collaborating with anti-Zionist groups around shared causes.
The JCRC of Greater Boston receives the majority of its funding from Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Greater Boston. In fiscal year 2020, the JCRC derived "approximately 72% of its total operating revenue from grants received from Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP)," along with another "4% of their total operating revenue from targeted gifts from donors to the Council, which flowed through CJP." Much of this funding from CJP originates from ultra-wealthy donors such as Seth Klarman and the Klarman Family Foundation, who from fiscal years 2016 through 2016 made donations to Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) totaling $1,050,000 which were earmarked "to support the mission and goals of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston."
The JCRC of Greater Boston is composed of the following 39 member organizations:
The JCRC of Greater Boston's staff and leadership are as follows:
| Jeremy Burton | Executive Director |
| David L. Cohen | Director, Community Affairs |
| Erica Daniels-Strater | Director, Development |
| Jonathan Dudley | Director, Finance and Operations |
| FayeRuth Fisher | Director, Government Affairs |
| Shira Burns | Senior Marketing and Communications Associate |
| Sarah Hofstadter | Development Coordinator |
| Leahy Ish Shalom | Engagement Manager, Israel & Boston Partners for Peace |
| Lisa Kessel Freedman | Executive Assistant and Board Administrator |
| Rachel Lewis | Director, Synagogue Organizing |
| Emily Reichman | Director, Community Engagement |
| Rebecca Shimshak | Rebecca Shimshak |
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AIPAC is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
AJC New England is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston. The ADL of New England has collaborated closely with the JCRC to mobilize opposition to 2018 and 2021 BDS efforts in Cambridge, MA. Similarly, the ADL collaborated closely with the JCRC on to mobilize support for multiple (failed) attempts over the past decade to pass anti-BDS legislation in the state of MA, laws which would have imposed civil and/or criminal penalties upon MA residents engaged in political boycotts of Israel.
CAMERA is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston, voting within the JCRC and helping shape the JCRC's positions and actions.
Former Coordinator of Government Affairs at the JCRC of Greater Boston Amy Dain is on the Board of Advisors of Harvard Kennedy School's Rappaport Institute.
In 2019, International Union of Police Associations AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Hugh Cameron participated in the "MA Labor Study Tour of Israel," an expenses-paid propaganda trip to Israel coordinated by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston in collaboration with the Jewish Labor Committee. Cameron is also listed as a "Community Leader" in JCRC's "Boston Partners for Peace," an initiative aimed at normalizing relations with Israel and undercutting solidarity with Palestinians.
The Israeli-American Council Boston is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston. David Shimoni who currently serves on the Boston Regional Council of the Israeli-American Council Boston also served a "Council Member" of the JCRC of Greater Boston from September 2018 through June 2020.
J Street is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) New England, JCRC, and CJP have tried to get the Newton Public Schools to change their curriculum. According to a joint statement by ADL, JCRC, and CJP, released in 2019, Newton distinct officials have met with ADL to review the latter's concerns regarding "antisemitic" materials being used in the curriculum - and the officials were favorable to the changes: "In 2017, following a curriculum review, ADL met with Newton district officials and they agreed to make changes based on a number of basic principles that we outlined."
However, the Zionist groups then found that "one teacher" was still using the curriculum that these NGOs objected to, but after exerting more pressure, the school had apparently relented: "This past spring, thanks to our advocacy, combined with the Israel American Council organizing parents and working directly with teachers, the school changed the program and Israel was prominently and positively featured throughout the day."
As the statement makes clear, the ADL and related NGOs are deeply involved in decisions involving the curriculum, and the Newton distinct sends teacher to get training by the ADL (an organization with a known record of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, and in fact anti-Jewish racism). The joint statement makes this relationship quite clear:
...our work with Newton remains ongoing. At Newton’s request, the Schusterman Center at Brandeis University has been meeting with school officials and has found them to be open and amenable to learning. In fact, the Center hosted 20 teachers in the spring for an in-service day to learn about Israel and anti-Semitism. Additionally, ADL is actively implementing anti-bias training programs in Newton schools.
ADL, JCRC and others have very strong relationships with the local elected and appointed leadership that we've developed over time and we have been working closely with other organizations to drive the necessary changes.
The bottom line is that we're deeply engaged with this situation.
The Synagogue Council of Massachusetts is a member organization of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston.
The Hillel Council of New England is a member organization of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston.
The JCRC of Greater Boston is the main organizational sponsor behind Boston Partners for Peace. Through Boston Partners for Peace, the JCRC pushes the narrative that "friendship," "cooperation," and "tolerance" can bring an end to (what they falsely label to be) the "conflict" between Palestinians and the Israeli settlers stealing Palestinian land and resources. By pushing this false and offensive narrative, Boston Partners for Peace program attempts to relegate Palestinians to the position of a minority group who can at best aspire toward increased integration into Israel's colonial political framework (a framework premised on their removal and subjugation), rather than an indigenous group who should (and do) aspire toward reclaiming the land and resources that the Zionist entity has stolen from them.
The JCRC of Greater Boston uses Boston Partners for Peace to propagandize this false and harmful narrative to the Boston Area community leaders who attend the JCRC's all-expenses-paid "study tours" (propaganda junkets) to Israel. In 2019, for example, the JCRC of Greater Boston and the New England Jewish Labor Committee partnered to coordinate a "Study Tour" to Israel specifically targeting Boston area labor leadership. Accordingly to the JCRC, participants in this 2019 trip "returned inspired and eager to share their new perspectives with their communities and to support Boston Partners for Peace." Boston Partners for Peace is indeed endorsed by the multiple Boston area labor organizations, including New England Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU 1199, and IUPAT dc 35.
Hadassah is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
Over the past decade alone, numerous members of the Boston City Council are known to have participated in all-expenses-paid propaganda trips to Israel ("study tours") coordinated by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston. Participants in the trips include: Edward Flynn, Mark Ciommo, Kim Janey, Matt O'Malley, Tito Jackson, Josh Zakim, Timothy McCarthy, and Andrea Campbell (joined on the trip by her Chief of Staff Elizabeth Pimentel). These Israel junkets have paid dividends for the JCRC and other Boston area Zionist lobbying groups: In the lead-up to a February 2019 Boston City Council hearing on a proposal for the city to disclose, divest, and reinvest the city pension fund holdings, then city councilor Mark Ciommo privately told leadership of organizations backing effort that they should not talk about Palestine if they wished for the proposal to have a chance to succeed.
Kraft Family Philanthropies donated $10,000 to the JCRC of Greater Boston in FY14
The Krupp Family Foundation donated $215,000 to the JCRC of Greater Boston from FY16-FY18.
The current Executive Director of the JCRC of Greater Boston, Jeremy Burton, serves as a mentor for participants in the The Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership's Executive Leadership Program.
The Jewish Labor Committee is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
In 2019, for example, the JCRC of Greater Boston and the New England Jewish Labor Committee partnered to coordinate a "Study Tour" to Israel specifically targeting Boston area labor leadership. Accordingly to the JCRC of Greater Boston, participants in this 2019 trip "returned inspired and eager to share their new perspectives with their communities and to support Boston Partners for Peace." Boston Partners for Peace is indeed endorsed by the multiple Boston-area labor organizations, including New England Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU 1199, and IUPAT dc 35.
In 2019, David Borrus, Business Manager of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, participated in the "MA Labor Study Tour of Israel," an all-expenses-paid propaganda junket to Israel coordinated by the JCRC of Greater Boston in collaboration with the New England Chapter of the Jewish Labor Committee. Accordingly to the JCRC of Greater Boston, participants in this 2019 trip "returned inspired and eager to share their new perspectives with their communities and to support Boston Partners for Peace." Boston Partners for Peace is a people-to-people normalization initiative sponsored by the JCRC of Greater Boston which pushes the false narrative that "friendship," "cooperation," and "tolerance" can bring an end to the "conflict" between Palestinians and the Israeli settlers who are ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their land and stealing Palestinian resources. Borrus is listed as a "Community Leader" of the "Boston Partners for Peace" initiative.
New Israel Fund is a member organization of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
The Ruderman Family Foundation donated $38,300 to the JCRC of Greater Boston from FY13-FY19.
In fiscal years 2016-2019, the Klarman Family Foundation made donations to Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) totaling $1,050,000 which were specifically earmarked "to support the mission and goals of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston."
In spite of the Zionist Organization of America's overt white supremacy, Islamophobia, and homophobia, the ZOA is a member organization of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston, meaning that the ZOA votes upon and shapes the decisions of the JCRC Boston, along with the JCRC's 38 other member organizations. The ZOA's inclusion within the JCRC stands in sharp contrast to the JCRC of Greater Boston's strict insistence that member organizations who so much as co-host an event alongside opponents of Zionism will be expelled from the JCRC.