August 23, 1999 Vol.1, No. 17

This Week in Washington…
For more information, contact Reva Price, Washington Representative

HATE TAKES NO HOLIDAY: Representatives Connie Morella (MD) and Jerrold Nadler (NY) have urged House members to support retaining the language of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 as part of the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill, as that legislation goes to conference. The bipartisan Morella-Nadler "Dear Colleague" letter noted that "the August 10 shooting of three young children and two adults at the Los Angeles Jewish community center is the latest in a series of brutal hate crimes that continue to plague victims, families, communities and the nation. This latest violent act comes on the heels of the July 4th shooting spree in Illinois and Indiana, and the burning of three synagogues and the shot-gun murders of two gay men in northern California." Calling hate crimes "especially odious because they victimize more than just the individual victim," Morella and Nadler stress that "they also are acts of terrorism directed against an entire class of citizens. When a hate crime is committed, it sends a message to every member of the targeted group that they risk their lives simply by remaining part of the community. No American should have to be afraid to live in any community because they are threatened with violence because of who they are."

Sign-ons to date include Representatives Slaughter (NY), McGovern (MA), Sandlin (TX), Markey (MA), Wexler (FL), Shays (CT) and Kennedy (RI). The JCPA urges member agencies to be in contact with Representatives - both at home and in Washington - during the remaining days of the August Congressional recess to sign on to the Morella-Nadler letter, and to urge that this important legislation be passed - either as a stand-alone bill (HR 1082) or as part of the C-S-J appropriations bill. For more information, contact Reva at rprice@thejcpa.org. Look for a memo detailing the legislation's progress later this week.

HAPPY CAMPERS: JCPA Washington Representative Reva Price and Public Policy Fellow Jonah Goldman are off to the 1999 Schusterman Hillel International Student Leaders Assembly to lead advocacy skills training workshops. Stay tuned: they'll be previewing a module for campus-CRC cooperation.

This Week in New York…
For more information, contact Benita Gayle-Almeleh, Senior Community Consultant at bga@thejcpa.org

FOR THE RECORD: Insider writers inadvertently made the NCSJ an "outsider" in last week's edition, omitting the National Conference on Soviet Jewry from the list of groups represented in the meeting with President Clinton. Our apologies!

PLENUM CALENDAR COUNTDOWN: Watch your mailboxes ("e" and snail-mail) for early registration information for Plenum 2000, February 26 - March 1 in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.