Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, second from left in front, with members of the Texas delegation at the 2025 Jewish Communities Day at the State. Courtesy: Sharyn Vane

By Sharyn Vane 

Dozens of Central Texas Jewish advocates joined their counterparts from across the state at the Texas Capitol February 4 for the 2025 Jewish Communities Day at the State event.   

Shalom Austin’s delegation of 60 teamed with representatives from Jewish federations in Dallas, Fort Worth/Tarrant County, Houston, and San Antonio to raise state lawmakers’ awareness of antisemitism and key policy issues that affect Jewish communities. In all, about 200 advocates took part in the day’s programming, which featured education, training, and small group meetings with legislative offices. The 89th Texas legislative session began January 14.   

“Advocacy against antisemitism requires us to step up, speak out, and actively work for justice,” said Rachel Stern, Shalom Austin’s executive vice president and chief strategy and impact officer. “We can’t wait for others to change; we must take responsibility for ensuring our community’s safety, dignity, and rights.”  

Last session, Texas advocates helped secure $2 million in the state budget to augment federal security grants for nonprofits and houses of worship. Jewish nonprofits and synagogues currently receive about 40 percent of grants in the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.   

With antisemitism spiking locally and nationally, however, demand has outstripped supply. As a result, the 2025 delegation’s key ask was for lawmakers to increase the state budget allocation for these grants to bolster community safety.    

The group spent the morning in briefings from Capitol insiders and listening to a gripping presentation from Jeff Cohen, one of the hostages in the 2022 Colleyville synagogue standoff. Cohen shared details of his experience and underscored that training funded by the Nonprofit Security Grant Program was an essential factor in helping him and the other hostages survive the ordeal.   

“It was notable to have all the Texas federations together in Austin to lobby for one common goal. Acquiring funding for security grants for our Jewish institutions transcends all, as we have unfortunately seen how necessary this is,” said Austin’s Carli Price, who was participating in her first Day at the State. “Hearing from Jeff Cohen about his experience being held hostage in his synagogue in Colleyville was an important reminder, and a unifying voice to strengthen us all around our mission.”  

Attendees also heard a bipartisan panel discussion with Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Keller) and Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) about legislation this session that impacts Texas’s Jewish community.   

Capriglione, who helped secure state budget funds for the security grants, has introduced a bill to more clearly define antisemitism and associated penalties in the state’s education code. Lauding the “resilience” of the people he met on a June legislative trip to Israel, he said he is also working on efforts to add Israel as the third location of a State of Texas office abroad, joining existing offices in Taiwan and Mexico.  

Howard cited her collaborations with Jewish groups such as National Council of Jewish Women and interfaith advocacy, as she and Capriglione emphasized the importance of transcending party divisions to battle hate.  

Following the morning sessions, the group fanned out across the Capitol to connect with lawmakers and their staff. The Austin-area delegation met with 25 offices to share personal experiences and crucial highlights of the nonprofit security program.   

“This (program) is especially important to me because a few years ago, about a month before my bar mitzvah, an arsonist set fire to my synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel. Luckily, they were unsuccessful in burning down the building, but my bar mitzvah had to be relocated, and we still can’t hold services in our sanctuary,” said Sander Orman, a sophomore at Anderson High School and one of nine Austin-area students who participated. “I learned so much from my experience at the Capitol, and I hope I was able to make a positive impact.”  

To learn more about Shalom Austin’s advocacy work, email Shalom Austin Public Affairs Director Emily Bourgeois at [email protected].