Jewish Community Relations Council records

The first recorded incident of physical abuse to Jews in the state of Minnesota occured in 1882 when a streetcar conductor attempted to physically eject several Russian Jews because they were "unfit to occupy the car with other people." But the rise of anti-Semitism in the 1930s -- from the American Nationalist group the Silver Shirts to a volatile gubernatorial political campaign in 1938 with an overtly anti-Semitic campaign against Elmer Benson -- galvanized the state's Jewish community to action. The organization now known as the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas first took shape in 1938 as the Anti-Defamation Council of Minnesota, soon renamed the Minnesota Jewish Council under the leadership of Samuel Scheiner. Scheiner reviewed reports of anti-Semitic incidents, fighting against hate-filled leaflets and anti-Jewish remarks, while also attempting to expose discrimination by real estate agements and employers who attempted to subvert anti-discrimination laws. Through the second world war, the group continued to combat rising interreligious and intergroup tension while also raising concern over employment discrimination directed against Jews. By 1947 Minneapolis mayor Hubert H. Humphrey ordered an assessment of "intergroup relations" led by a collaboration of the NAACP, League of Women Voters, and the Minnesota Jewish Council, and by 1952 overt anti-Semitic acts were on the decline.

In 1959 the group changed its name to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota (JCRC). When Samuel Scheiner retired in 1974, new director Morton Ryweck ushered in a new era, merging with the local B'nai B'rith ADL to form the JCRC/ADL. Ryweck retired in 1991. By 2013 the JCRC of Minnesota and the Dakotas became independent of ADL. Other advocacy work over the years included support for Israel after the Jewish state was created in 1948, as well as advocacy work on behalf of Soviet Jews in the 1960s and 1970s. The agency monitors and combats violations of church-state separation in public schools, works to promote legislation to answer the needs of the underprivileged in Minnesota, and works as part of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition. Their mission remains -- as the public affairs voice of the Jewish community, the JCRC fights anti-Semitism and prejudice, advocates for Israel, provides Holocaust education, promotes tolerance and social justice, and builds bridges across the Jewish and broader communities. For more information, visit their website at: www.minndakjcrc.org.