Each year, JCPA convenes its network of 16 national agencies and 125 Jewish community relations councils to identify and build consensus on today’s most pressing matters through our resolutions process. Adopted resolutions become Jewish community relations policy. Resolutions, adopted at annually at JCPA’s national conference, influence and drive the work of our professional staff, our task forces, and our affiliate members.
Below is a list of all the resolutions JCPA and its network have passed, organized by year in descending order. You can also click on a topic area. For a summary of the resolutions by topic area, see our Policy Compendium. Please note that entries are summarized in the Compendium and may not reflect the full text of a given resolution. Contact jcpainfo@thejcpa.org if you have any questions.
Resolution on Expanding Voter Access
April 2021
Expresses the belief that recent voter suppression efforts are a disservice to democracy with particularly negative impacts on Black, Indigenous, Latinx, disabled, transgender, low-income, young, and elderly voters. The resolution calls on the Jewish community to advocate for legislation to make voting more accessible and to oppose efforts to suppress the vote.
Resolution Condemning the Genocide of the Uyghur People
April 2021
Condemns the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghur people, a Turkic ethnic and religious minority residing in the Xinjiang region. The resolution calls for additional sanctions, as well as an expansion of the targeted ban on products produced in or imported from the region.
Resolution on Renewing Our Commitment to Combatting Climate Change
April 2021
Elevates the urgency of the climate change crisis and calls on Jewish communities to take action, building on JCPA’s extensive body of climate and environmental justice policy. The resolution calls on the Jewish community to educate itself and demand that our leaders be guided by the best available science and work together towards achieving climate justice.
Resolution on Supporting the Abraham Accords
April 2021
Commends all of the individuals and governments whose work resulted in the signing of the Abraham Accords, including the United States, Israel, and Arab nations. The resolution urges the Biden Administration to seize upon the progress made in the Middle East, as evidenced by the Abraham Accords which the Trump Administration helped to bring about, and use its voice and leverage to expand the relationships between Israel and Muslim countries, and as another means for encouraging the Palestinians to forge a lasting peace with Israel.Principles for Responding to a National or Global Health Crisis
- Posted on May 10, 2020
Adopted by the Delegates Assembly, 2020 Click here for the PDF version. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on communities across the globe. JCPA believes it is critical that the community relations field set policy recommendations for handling public health crises, in order to guide the work of JCPA and the field…READ MORE
Voting Rights and Elections During a Public Health Crisis
- Posted on May 10, 2020
Adopted by the Delegates Assembly, 2020 Click here for the PDF version. The novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020 has exposed the very real and highly concerning overlap between public health and the way in which our elections are run. In 2020, we have even greater challenges as the coronavirus pandemic compounds pre-existing long-term voter access…READ MORE
Resolution on Criminal Justice Reform During a Public Health Crisis
- Posted on May 10, 2020
Adopted by the Delegates Assembly, 2020 Click here for the PDF version. In the context of our criminal justice system, the novel coronavirus pandemic has exposed the very real and highly concerning overlap between public health and the way in which our incarceration system operates. Jails and prisons have been described as petri dishes for…READ MORE
Immigration Concerns During a Pandemic
- Posted on May 10, 2020
Adopted by the Delegates Assembly, 2020 Click here for the PDF version. JCPA believes that people should not be treated as criminals for seeking opportunities for a better life in the United States. They should be treated with dignity and not deprived of basic human rights, including health and safety. JCPA believes that any current…READ MORE
Adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism
- Posted on March 3, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), a consortium of (then) 31 countries—including the U.S. and Israel—developed and formally adopted the Working Definition of Antisemitism. This definition is a useful tool for combating hate and antisemitism in the U.S. and around…READ MORE
Provision of Kashruth Food at JCPA-Sponsored Meetings
- Posted on February 14, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. For over 75 years, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (formerly the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council) has been committed to providing an inclusive environment where every segment of our membership could participate without compromising its core values. In that spirit,…READ MORE
Government Workers’ Right to Unionize
- Posted on February 14, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. Jews have always been concerned with treating workers fairly. The Torah makes clear, “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger… You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun…READ MORE
- Posted on February 14, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. “The world rests on three things: justice, truth, and peace” (Avot 1:18). Our Jewish tradition and American values rely on justice, which is chiefly administered in the United States by the judicial branch. Our cohesion as a nation relies on the legitimacy…READ MORE
Restorative and Rehabilitative Justice
- Posted on February 14, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. Beginning in the 1970s with the “War on Drugs” and harsh mandatory minimums, the U.S. prison population exploded—exacerbated by the 1994 Crime Bill—disproportionately harming poor people and people of color. The pervasiveness of mass incarceration has helped shed light on the dehumanizing…READ MORE
- Posted on February 14, 2020
Adopted by the 2020 JCPA Delegates Assembly Click here for the PDF version. Rooted in our belief in the sanctity of life, the Jewish community relations field has fought for decades to prevent gun violence, which has become heart-breakingly, unacceptably common. Gun violence, including mass shootings, have reached epidemic levels, impacting people from every walk…READ MORE
Amendment to the 2014 Resolution on Increasing the Minimum Wage
- Posted on March 3, 2019
Adopted by the 2019 JCPA Delegates Assembly Jewish tradition repeatedly calls for social justice, demanding that we not only feed the hungry, but also help those in need become self-sufficient. The Torah repeatedly emphasizes the need to treat workers fairly. According to Deuteronomy 24:14-15, “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer … but…READ MORE
Amendment to the 2010 Resolution on Civility
- Posted on March 3, 2019
Adopted by the 2019 JCPA Delegates Assembly Robust, vigorous debate about the pressing issues of the day is vital and essential in a pluralistic society, including within our diverse Jewish community. Deep divisions are to be expected over how to address many issues including but not limited to the domestic economy, the environment, health care,…READ MORE
Resolution on Holocaust and Genocide Education
- Posted on March 3, 2019
Adopted by the 2019 JCPA Delegates Assembly As the Holocaust fades further into memory and the number of first-hand witnesses and survivors dwindles year after year, we are confronted with how to preserve the memory of the victims as we again repeat our mantra, “Never Again.” It has been over 70 years since World War II…READ MORE
Resolution Condemning the Genocide of the Rohingya People
- Posted on March 3, 2019
Adopted by the 2019 JCPA Delegates Assembly Since August 2017, the Burmese military has engaged in a brutal genocide against the Rohingya people of Burma (Myanmar). Soldiers have razed entire Rohingya villages; indiscriminately massacred thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children; and forced over 700,000 others to flee their homes and make the perilous journey…READ MORE
Resolution on Israeli-Palestinian Coexistence
- Posted on April 22, 2018
Throughout its history, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) has worked to advance peace and understanding between Israel and the Palestinians. Committed leadership on both sides is essential to achievement of that goal. As an organization devoted to relationship-building, we know that a strong grassroots foundation for such peace is equally important, built through…READ MORE
- Posted on February 28, 2018
On August 11 and 12, 2017, white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, for a large rally they called “Unite the Right.” The event, which was ostensibly organized to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a local park, featured a torch-lit march, racist and anti-Semitic signs and chants (including “Jews will not…READ MORE
Resolution Reaffirming Commitment to Racial Justice Within the Jewish Community
- Posted on February 28, 2018
Since its founding in 1944, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) has adopted policy resolutions declaring our commitment to the elimination of racial segregation and discrimination.[1] Working toward an inclusive, fair, and just society is a cornerstone of Jewish communal relations work.[2] This flows from our values as a Jewish people and our recognition…READ MORE
- Posted on February 26, 2017
The Jewish people’s commitment to voting rights is rooted in our sacred obligation to pursue justice, in our historical experiences, and in our commitment to cherished rights. A 2011 Jewish Council for Public Affairs resolution on elections began with the core premise that “The cornerstone of democracy is the election process.” Unfortunately, the integrity of…READ MORE
Resolution on Domestic and Sexual Violence
- Posted on February 26, 2017
Intimate partner, domestic, and sexual violence affect our society at an epidemic level. In their lifetime, an estimated 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have experienced physical violence by a partner, and an estimated 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced some form of sexual violence. Domestic…READ MOREResolution on the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 War
- Posted on February 26, 2017
The 1967 War (June 5-10, 1967) was a transformative event in the history of Israel and the Jewish people. Surrounded on all its borders and threatened with annihilation, Israel emerged after six days with a decisive military victory against the combined armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. The city of Jerusalem was reunified…READ MORE
For Resolutions prior to 2017 click here.