November included two important meetings for the Government and Public Affairs Committee.
On November 4th, ADL visited United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Manhattan office and met with her staff, including her State Director, Senior Advisor, and Constituent Liaison for Immigrant and Foreign Affairs.
Due to the current climate in Israel and Operation Protective Edge, the meeting began by thanking Senator Gillibrand for standing with Israel and for her efforts in the Senate to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Senator Gillibrand has been a staunch supporter of Israel and pushed for Senate Resolution 498 which declared support for the State of Israel as it defended itself against unprovoked rocket attacks from Hamas.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Gillibrand has been outspoken about violence against women, especially in the military. ADL shared its support of rulemaking changes under the Violence against Women Act and several letters sent to various government departments concerning religious freedom in the military.
To close the meeting, ADL touted its Interfaith/Intergroup accomplishments throughout New York and the Senator’s staff committed themselves to working with ADL on future projects affecting her constituents.
On November 5th, ADL visited Noam Bramson, Mayor of New Rochelle as part of an ongoing initiative to strengthen outreach in Westchester.
Because of Mayor Bramson’s ability to impact local schools, the meeting primarily focused on ADL’s education initiatives such as No Place for Hate®. Mayor Bramson expressed interest in ADL’s educational work and offered to help place ADL programs into the City School District of New Rochelle.
The meeting also touched upon the ways ADL can provide resources to Mayor Bramson’s city in light of any possible anti-Semitism or hate crime his community may experience.
ADL will continue to meet with elected officials and spread its mission as 2014 comes to a close.