By Trent Spoolstra
Trent Spoolstra, Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council
March will mark six months since I took the helm as director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. During that time, I have given media interviews, attended Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly, presented to various audiences, and begun establishing and strengthening relationships with non-Jewish communities throughout Louisville. But the work I’m most proud of so far is being a part of a project to restructure our JCRC, a process that began last summer under then-director Matt Golden.
Many Jewish Community Relations Councils across the country have undergone changes in leadership and structure to better meet challenges faced by American Jews following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. Antisemitism was already rising before that fateful day, but afterward Americans Jews saw a sudden jump in Israel-inspired antisemitism, fueled predominantly from far left-wing groups and individuals. This has proven to be just as alarming as the more traditional antisemitism – emanating from far right-wing sources — that Jews are all too familiar with. In the face of these intensifying challenges, JCRC’s role as a representative of the Jewish community, and as a voice advocate for that community’s interests, has seldom been more critical.
From this past October until late January, a small cadre of dedicated Louisville JCRC members took time out of their already busy lives to meet on a regular basis, with a goal to begin charting a new path for our committee. Over the course of three months, our core group – which we called the ‘Revamp Committee’ — made several key changes. These included clarifying our mission statement, instituting term limits, and establishing a 12-member executive group, plus a new Advocacy & Engagement Sub-Committee.
This work could not have been done without two people: new JCRC Chair Bill Altman and new Vice-Chair Jon Salomon. Bill and Jon were among the first people I met when I moved to Louisville last fall, and I soon learned how they have contributed so much to our Jewish community. Jon led our revamp committee and was instrumental in ensuring that any changes made to the JCRC were in compliance with established Jewish Community of Louisville by-laws. Bill, who has co-chaired and led our SAFE Louisville program, also helped lead our revamp committee while preparing to take over from Beth Salamon as JCRC Chair. I consider Bill and Jon mentors I look up to, not simply partners. I look forward to all we are going to accomplish over the next couple of years.
The path ahead for our JCRC is bright. Now that a new structure is in place, JCRC will soon launch its next phase of reshaping. This will include establishing strategic goals and laying out clear processes and procedures on how we respond to key news events that affect Louisville’s Jews. Guided by our mission to improve community relationships and promote Jewish values via advocacy, education, and coalition building, the new JCRC will work on a series of prime initiatives. Some possibilities are training more teachers to educate students on the Holocaust and preparing our teens and parents to better respond to antisemitism. We will seek to promote pro-Israel sentiment through city-wide presentations by our Israeli teen ambassadors. Vitally, we’ll foster long-term bonds with government officials serving on Metro Council, in Frankfort and Washington, D.C. Additionally, we will bolster relationships with key non-Jewish communities to achieve mutually beneficial goals.
We want the community to know that we are here to serve them, and we intend to share next steps in more depth. To that end, we welcome everyone in the Jewish community to join us March 30 at 7 p.m. for a Zoom webinar. We will discuss the role of a Jewish Community Relations Council and introduce its members, elaborate on our new structure and future plans, and share how you as a community member can get involved. You can register for this webinar by scanning the QR code below or by visiting our online community calendar. The webinar will be recorded and everyone who signs up will receive a link to the saved online version
Trent Spoolstra is the Jewish Community Relations Council Director at the Jewish Federation of Louisville and the Trager Family JCC. He welcomes you to contact him about community related issues at tspoolstra@jewishlouisville.org.