NCJW Applauds House Votes on Head Start and Hate Crimes

May 3, 2007, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) today applauded victories in the US House of Representatives on two important civil rights issues -- protection against religious discrimination in Head Start and passage of hate crimes prevention legislation. NCJW President Phyllis Snyder issued the following statement:

"This has been a good week for all of us who care about justice and equality. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives defeated a proposal that would have allowed federally funded faith-based Head Start providers to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring. This move would have rolled back critical civil rights protections that apply to nearly 200,000 Head Start teachers and over 1.4 million parent volunteers -- a provision that has existed from the inception of this program. NCJW believes that taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund discrimination and worked hard to retain anti-discrimination provisions in this highly successful pre-school program.

"Today, the House took a critical proactive step in advancing civil rights for all Americans through its passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA). With bipartisan support, representatives strengthened existing hate crimes prevention laws by extending coverage to those victimized because of their sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. NCJW advocates have worked for passage of this legislation for many years.

"We hope that this week's victories in the House will be quickly followed by successful Senate votes. We express our appreciation to the legislators who stood up this week to be counted in favor of civil rights and justice."

NCJW is a volunteer organization, inspired by Jewish values, that works to improve the quality of life for women, children, and families and to ensure individual rights and freedoms for all through its network of 90,000 members, supporters, and volunteers nationwide.

Contact:
Debbie Stillman
202 296 2588 x2; debbie@ncjwdc.org