The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle leverages the strength and heart of Puget Sound’s diverse Jewish community to secure a vibrant Jewish future locally, in Israel, and around the world, and to champion a just, democratic, and pluralistic society.  Our goal is to educate and advocate at the local, state, and national levels to advance Jewish concerns in the public arena, and our work is guided by Jewish history and values.

To develop our 2025 legislative priorities, the JCRC conducted a statewide survey from self-identified Jewish community members asking what issues it was most important to them that the Federation’s JCRC be focused on this session. All of the issue areas above received a minimum of 74% support from respondents. The survey results, in combination with the expertise of the JCRC Public Advocacy Committee, led to the prioritization of the above issue areas. The specific legislative priorities were developed based on input from our lobbyist and coalition partners within and beyond the Jewish community, and form the basis of our advocacy in this legislative session.

There are two roles that we adopt within our legislative agenda: Lead and Support. Leading legislative efforts means that the JCRC focuses on these topics as our major work, and often serves as the primary figures within coalitions to advance these issues. Leading actions could include creating and sending action alerts, testifying, recruiting sponsors, meeting with legislators, and creating advocacy materials. Supporting legislative efforts means working with coalition partners and other groups in a secondary capacity, often guided by organizations that more directly represent impacted populations. Supporting actions could include signing in on bills, providing written testimony, sending action alerts, and joining sign-on letters.