With the inauguration of a new Wisconsin state legislature on Jan. 7 and uncertainty about federal and state budget cuts, the work of the Wisconsin Jewish Conference has become more urgent than ever.
The Wisconsin Jewish Conference monitors and, where necessary, lobbies the state government on matters of Jewish community interest; and helps link together Jewish communities throughout the state.
It also responds to anti-Semitic incidents outside the Milwaukee area, and works in coalition with other state organizations, including the Wisconsin Council of Churches, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, the Lutheran Office of Public Policy, the Wisconsin Counties Association, and the Survival Coalition of Disability Organizations.
Its past achievements have included securing passage of a state hate crimes law, obtaining changes in state laws that allowed the state investment board to purchase Israel Bonds, defeating a proposed municipal “service charge” for organizations like synagogues exempt from property taxes, among many others.
It started as a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and is also supported by funds from other communities in the state, especially the Jewish Federation of Madison, and some grant money.
Michael H. Blumenfeld is the Madison lobbyist and activist who has been the part-time director of the conference since its founding in 1987. And he calls this “a very critical time in our state’s history.”
“Unfortunately, due to a significant funding reduction, the conference and, as a result, Wisconsin’s Jewish communities are severely underrepresented in Madison,” said the text of a grant proposal from the conference to funders that the MJF furnished to The Chronicle. “During a time when significant cuts have been proposed to the state’s safety net programs, the Jewish community cannot afford to be absent from state government.”
“There is an urgent need for us to get reengaged in governmental affairs,” MJF president and chief executive officer Hannah Rosenthal told The Chronicle in a Dec. 17 interview in her office. “Thankfully, some donors have stepped up to ensure that our voice is being heard.”
Joyce Altman, president of the MJF’s Jewish Community Relations Council, said in a telephone interview Dec. 19 that she is “absolutely delighted” at this development.
The organization is “very important” for helping the JCRC “keep in touch” with state communities and for “keeping up on state issues of importance to the community — policy issues, interfaith issues, and the well-being of society,” Altman said. The conference can do “relationship building and lobbying work” that the JCRC “can’t do,” she added.
The Republican Party will control both houses of the new state legislature. Blumenfeld said he believed the legislature will convene in January to begin working on legislation.
“The main attraction for the first six months is the state budget,” he said. “We anticipate that [Gov. Scott Walker] will introduce the budget in mid-February. But other legislation can be introduced as soon as the legislature reconvenes in January.”
Blumenfeld said the conference’s “general areas of concern” include religion-state issues, civil rights, poverty, and health and human services funding. “We think there will be some important issues that will fall into those areas,” he said.
For example, the federal Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” will be an issue. “Even though Gov. Walker has decided that these health exchanges will be put together by the federal government, as opposed to the state, we believe there are other components that will be decided at the state level,” said Blumenfeld.
That law also involves the “ability for states to expand their Medicaid program,” said Blumenfeld. “That is a very important issue for us. It allocates funds to several programs important to low-income people, the elderly, and people with disabilities.”
In fact, Rosenthal said one major reason to restore funding to the conference is specifically “to make sure that Medicaid is not eviscerated. The damage to [Milwaukee’s] Jewish Home and Care Center, Jewish Family Services, and others who depend on Medicaid for care would be profound.”
In addition, “I’m sure there will be issues that the governor and the legislature bring up that we may need to react to,” Blumenfeld said.
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