Regardless of people’s personal opinions about Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president, one thing is clear: This change in leadership comes with many dramatic changes in the status quo for people all over the country. And that includes advocacy groups that focus on the American Jewish community.
With the president recently sworn in and a flurry of executive orders announced, some advocacy groups have had to step back and reexamine their approach to activism, not only on the federal level but also on the state and local levels. The approaches they used during the Biden administration may not be as effective now, and while many of them successfully made it through the first Trump administration, so much has changed over the past few years that the strategies they used at the time will have to be reconsidered.
This is especially true for the Jewish advocacy groups centered in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area.
“We have a very unusual and unique role as the third largest Jewish community that happens to be located in the nation’s capital, and we play a key role on federal legislation and mobilizing people to be engaged in national movement,” explained Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. While the JCRC’s work primarily focuses on the D.C. area, its reach extends to Virginia and Maryland.
Some of the issues that Jewish advocacy groups are focusing on are the same as the ones they were concerned with during the first Trump administration, such as immigration. Halber noted that from 2016 to 2020, the JCRC was active in the field of immigration issues, working with local synagogues to help resettle refugees.
“This time, it’s going to be a matter of trying to protect those who are undocumented from having their families broken up and being able to stay here,” he added.
One thing that is likely to remain unchanged during the second Trump administration is the United States’ relationship with Israel. According to a Jan. 18 report from JNS, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credits Trump with playing a key role in negotiating the current cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but states that he has also removed restrictions on supplying weapons to Israel and given the country permission to continue the war on Gaza if its government is not satisfied with the first phase of the agreement.
“I think you’ll see the president taking positions in support of Israel and using the government’s power to confront antisemitism, which I think will be appreciated by many Jews, as long as it doesn’t go so far to the right that it offends American Jewish sensibility,” Halber said.
While Jewish advocacy groups are assured by Trump’s support of Israel, his policies regarding other marginalized people — primarily immigrants and the transgender community — have been more concerning.
The D.C. area is in a precarious position due to this change in leadership, and not just because it’s where the country’s federal institutions are located. Since 1973, D.C. has operated under the principle of home rule, which delegates power over the area to the mayor and local council rather than the U.S. president and Congress. But D.C.’s right to home rule may be under threat, with Trump promising to “take over” D.C.
“Previously, while Trump was in government, we passed some incredible policies in D.C. — paid family medical leave is one example,” recalled Yael Shafritz, the D.C. director of Jews United for Justice. “But this time, both the administration and Congress have threatened to go after D.C.’s right to self-governance. This time, there’s a concern that if we try anything too big, that Congress will attempt to overturn it.”
For many D.C.-based advocacy groups, the district’s right to home rule is crucial to affecting change at a grassroots level.
“Like it or not, Trump cannot overturn states’ rights, but the dynamics in D.C. are different right now,” Shafritz said. “Everything we do depends on D.C.’s right to home rule.”
While home rule remains in place, though, local activism remains more important than ever. Halber and Shafritz both cited it as an effective way for people to get involved in community affairs beyond voting. And it’s especially important to take part in grassroots organizing as part of the Jewish community.
“Getting involved in local organizing can be an amazing way to not get overwhelmed by the big crazy federal stuff that’s going on,” Shafritz said. “The idea of being proudly Jewish and Jewishly progressive in this moment is really powerful and important. Showing up as Jews in support of a more equitable and just society feels more important now than it ever has been, because we care and because it’s the right thing to do. We have a history of being affected by inequity, by fascism, and we should be involved in fighting back against all of those things.”
