As we usher in Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we pause to reflect on the blessings and accomplishments of the past year. Just as this season calls us to remember, renew, and rededicate ourselves, we take pride in the many milestones our community has reached together. None of this would be possible without your generosity — please consider making a donation to HoCoJAG to help us continue this vital work in the year ahead.
September 2024:
HoCoJAG leadership met with candidates for Senate, Larry Hogan, and Congress, Sarah Elfreth, to discuss their approaches to fighting antisemitism.
We held our first general membership meeting at the Central Branch Library.
October 2024:
Over 100 people, including County Council member (and candidate for County Executive) Deb Jung, attended “A Parent’s Guide to Combating Antisemitism in K-12 Schools”, at Temple Isaiah, where HoCoJAG and Rebecca Schgallis, CAMERA Education Institute (CEI) Senior Education Strategist, led a seminar focused on providing the knowledge and tools we need to protect our students. We are incredibly grateful, as Ms. Schgallis has continued to serve as an advisor, helping HoCoJAG as we meet with HCPSS leadership and state legislators to craft policy changes.
November 2024:
HoCoJAG members put in hundreds of hours volunteering to support our endorsed candidates in the general election. We were successful in helping elect Sarah Elfreth (D) to the US Congress. The time we spent with various campaign teams provided a crash-course education in political action which we will use to help supportive candidates win for years to come.
The Baltimore Jewish Times published a feature on HoCoJAG.
December 2024:
Retired HCPSS teacher and HoCoJAG member Willma Iny used the CEI resources to develop and lead lessons on Zionism, Antisemitism, and the amazing achievements of Israel for children in grades K-7.
January 2025:
After countless hours put in by HoCoJAG members and our partners in the Jewish Parents Coalition, President Biden’s Department of Education Office of Civil Rights released a bombshell Title VI report that found HCPSS has failed to protect the civil rights of Jewish Students.
HCPSS entered into a “Resolution Agreement” in which they pledged to take steps to create an environment where Jewish students’ civil rights will be protected.
February 2025:
HoCoJAG members sent hundreds of letters to Board of Education members and HCPSS Leadership insisting HCPSS take “4 Actions” to protect Jewish students: 1. Engage national experts in fighting antisemitism. 2. Adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism 3. Amend policy 9020 to address student expression. 4. Mandate universal training for faculty and staff.
To ensure HCPSS took proper action to abide by the Title VI Resolution Agreement, HoCoJAG President Trevor Greene testified in front of the Board of Education in support of our “4 Actions.”
We commemorated one year since HoCoJAG’s genesis by creating a video about the formation of HoCoJAG and our many successes.
March 2025:
HoCoJAG board members met with key HCPSS leaders, including Superintendent Bill Barnes, Chief Equity and Innovation Officer Caroline Walker, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Judith Jones, and General Counsel J. Stephen Cowles. The meeting centered on HCPSS’s Title VI Resolution Agreement with the Department of Education OCR and creating a collaboration between HoCoJAG and HCPSS to proactively address antisemitism.
To build support for legislation that will protect Maryland’s Jews, HoCoJAG members fostered relationships with members of the Maryland Jewish Legislative Caucus and testified in front of State Senate and House of Delegate Committees.
April 2025:
In our advocacy, HoCoJAG recommended HCPSS engage national experts including the American Jewish Committee (AJC). We are pleased to share HCPSS partnered with AJC to support implementation, guidance, and professional development. Credit for this achievement goes to the HoCoJAG and JPC members that pushed through the Title VI Report, the hundreds of HoCoJAG members that wrote letters to HCPSS leadership, HoCoJAG’s public testimony, and HoCoJAG and JPC meetings with HCPSS leadership, as well as many more individuals and groups that advocated “behind the scenes.” Thank you to everyone that played a part in advocating for HoCoJAG’s “4 Actions” to HCPSS leadership.
HoCoJAG established a positive, effective presence on social media, and to date, have had many tens of thousands of views on our Facebook page.
May 2025:
Along with our partners in the Jewish Parents Coalition, HoCoJAG sponsored “A Yom Ha’atzmaut Shabbat for Israel.” We had a blast with a couple hundred of our family and friends celebrating Israeli Independence Day and Shabbat with Israeli food, music, and dancing.
June 2025:
HoCoJAG President Trevor Greene was featured in the Baltimore Jewish Times.
After a deep statistical analysis of Howard County Police Department data, we revealed that Howard County Jews are the victims of hate/bias incidents at an astronomically higher rate than any other minority group. This trend of Jews being victims of hate crimes at a far higher rate than any other group is true Nationally, in Maryland, and regrettably, here in Howard County, underscoring the importance of our work.
July 2025:
HoCoJAG’s Political Action Committee began vetting and meeting with candidates for State Senate, House of Delegates, County Executive, County Council, and Board of Education, in preparation to support candidates that pledge PUBLICLY that they will support legislation to fight Jew Hate in Howard County and Maryland.
August 2025:
Over the past year, HoCoJAG enhanced our Board of Directors by adding multiple leaders with exceptional talents and knowledge in a variety of fields.
To make it easy for HoCoJAG members to get involved, we established Political Action, Legislative, Communications, Membership, and Fundraising Committees, led by our Board Members. We need your help over the coming months, especially with vetting candidates, so please join our growing volunteer committees here: https://hocojag.org/beactive/
As we look ahead to 5786, may this be a year of strength, growth, and continued success. With your partnership, we will build on the foundation we have laid, confront challenges with courage, and celebrate even greater achievements. Wishing you and your families a shanah tovah u’metukah — a good and sweet new year. To ensure our progress continues, we invite you to support HoCoJAG with a contribution today.