February 27, 2017 — Washington, D.C.
Members of the new national Latino-Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC) will gather for their first consultation on March 1, in the nation’s capital.
LJLC, convened by AJC, is comprised of more than 35 prominent figures in the Latino and Jewish communities across the country. The Council aims to further strengthen Latino-Jewish cooperation in advocating for issues of shared concern and values cherished by both communities. Many members of the bipartisan group have held important positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations.
"The future of this country is based, as it has always been, on communities coming together with a vision for a better future and, through hard work and perseverance, making that vision our shared reality,” said Luis Ubiñas, President of the Board of Directors of the Pan American Development Foundation, and former President of the Ford Foundation. “In this coming generation, the Latino and Jewish communities working together can achieve any aspiration."
At Wednesday's meeting LJLC members will discuss, among other issues, the political transformations taking place in the U.S., tensions affecting relations with Mexico, the hardening of immigration policies, and the recent increase in incidents of hate against religious minorities.
"When the very ethos of American pluralism has been challenged by some, when hate crimes have increased, and when entire communities have been stigmatized, creation of this Council reinforces the importance of our shared destiny, and the strength and resilience of our nation derives from its diversity,” said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA).
AJC has long been committed to deepening Latino-Jewish understanding and cooperation. The LJLC expands upon groundbreaking initiatives that have included helping launch the bipartisan Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus in 2011, and hosting in 2013 a National Conversation on the State of Latino-Jewish Relations in Washington, D.C., attended by 100 high-level leaders from both communities. Most LJLC members have participated in these and other BILLA initiatives.
