At the 2026 JCRC Luncheon, Brandon Rattiner reflected on antisemitism, community fragmentation, and the essential role of coalition‑building in Jewish safety. Below are his remarks from the Luncheon.
A lot of editing went into that video of the JCRC in action — so I won’t make you sit through the director’s cut of our many accomplishments. Instead, I want to step back for a moment and explain the thinking behind that work: how the JCRC understands the challenges facing Jewish communities today, and the role we need to play in meeting them.
I want to be precise here, because when we talk about “the Jewish community,” we often talk about it as if it’s one thing. But that’s not how Jewish life really works.
Jewish life is dispersed — especially in Colorado. People experience Jewish community in more personal ways: their synagogue, their Shabbat crew, their WhatsApp group. Smaller communities often provide more comfortable and curated experiences.
At the same time, the challenges Jews face today are collective.
Antisemitism doesn’t distinguish between denominations or political views. The attacker in Boulder didn’t ask his victims what kind of Zionists they were.
So, we find ourselves in an unusual situation.
Jewish identity is experienced locally. But Jewish challenges are experienced collectively.
And when our sense of community gets muddled, something dangerous happens.
Every Jew develops a vision of “the community” that looks like their own, creating a landscape where every organization has a plan, but the broader community may not.
That’s when fragmentation sets in. When trust erodes. And Jews begin to worry not only about threats from the outside, but about whether other Jews are undermining the safety or legitimacy of the community itself.
That’s a recipe for failure.
And it’s why the JCRC is so focused on creating shared strategy inside the Jewish community and building relationships beyond it.
Advocacy is a team sport. In a community as diverse as ours, different groups will approach challenges from different angles. Some use honey and others vinegar. Some speak to liberals and others to conservatives. That’s a strength, not a betrayal.
The real danger isn’t that we approach problems differently. It’s when we start assuming bad faith in one another, and our efforts pull against each other instead of adding up. JCRC’s role is to build trust and alignment to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Advocacy also has a purpose. And good advocacy is relentlessly focused on moving the hearts and minds of others — not simply reassuring our own.
That’s why the JCRC will focus on relationships with our neighbors more than ever — including leading our first-ever allies mission to Israel this fall with leaders from Colorado’s Hispanic and Latino community.
Because Jewish safety cannot be built by Jews alone.
Some antisemitism is simply a single-minded hatred of Jews. That reality is not new.
But the rise in antisemitism is also downstream of something bigger—the erosion of civic guardrails that keep all forms of hate in check. When leaders and institutions embrace dehumanization and fear . . . when conspiratorial thinking spreads . . . when intimidation and violence are normalized . . . it fuels even more antisemitism and identity-based hate.
That’s why allyship matters. Not as symbolism, but as strategy.
Let me say this plainly: working with our neighbors to protect the shared values that keep all of us safe is not naïve, and it need not be partisan. Because when those norms break down, antisemitism doesn’t stay at the margins — it spreads.
The JCRC will continue to seek out those who share our commitment to pluralism and nuance — and we will continue to challenge those who seek to divide us.
And we are grateful to have so many of those partners in the room today.
That spirit of partnership is exactly what the next part of our program is about. It’s my pleasure to introduce Sofi Hersher Andorsky to lead this year’s White Rose presentation.