The Massachusetts Legislature has voted on the FY25 Budget, and it is now on Governor Healey’s desk for action. 

We applaud the leadership of Senate President Spilka; House Speaker Mariano; Chair Rodrigues and Chair Michlewitz; and the entire legislature for adopting a budget that demonstrates a serious commitment to addressing antisemitism.

We commend the establishment of a special commission on combating antisemitism. The commission is tasked, among other charges, with reviewing the U.S. National Strategy to counter antisemitism and making recommendations for its implementation. We are proud to have advocated for its passage and are grateful for the proactive engagement of our legislative leadership in seeking our advice and collaboration in recent months. Together, we have explored actionable steps to strengthen the Commonwealth’s role as a supportive ally to the Jewish community in confronting antisemitism and other forms of hate. 

Equally important is the inclusion directing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to create evidence-based curricula and training programs that address the underlying factors and impacts of antisemitism and bias in our society. 

The legislature’s budget also makes substantial investments supporting critical initiatives to address communal security and other policy priorities. A few highlights include:

• Nonprofit Security and Personal Grants: $5.25 million dollars for grants to support communities at risk of hate crimes, as well as security enhancements and other upgrades.
• Genocide Education Trust Fund: $3 million dollars to support the continued implementation of the genocide education mandate passed in 2021, which ensures student’s understanding of the history of genocide and the condition which have led to mass atrocities.
• Employment Support Services: $3 million dollars to support agencies providing job training and placement programs for immigrants and refugees receiving TAFDC, helping them to establish self-sufficiency. 

We are fortunate to have many elected leaders whose longstanding partnerships with us have been instrumental in this process. This reflects our shared commitment to the values and priorities of our community, including our ongoing collaboration on working to secure funding for genocide education initiatives and nonprofit security grants. These leaders include Senators Friedman, Creem, DiDomenico, Oliviera, Velis, Rausch and Representatives Balser, Roy, Vitolo, Peisch, Cahill and Cataldo.

These allocations are a testament to the essential work we do in advocating for legislation and funding to fortify our community and its institutions, and in educating future generations. We at JCRC are proud to lead this advocacy work on Beacon Hill.

We also deeply appreciate the steadfast support and advocacy of community members who responded to our action alerts, emphasizing the importance of these issues to their elected officials.