Agudah NE Testimony in Opposition to H. 2984
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Mrs. Ariella Hellman testifying before the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism – April 2025
Kosher Food Spaces at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital
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Attention Massachusetts Residents: Take Action to Support Senate Amendment Combatting Antisemitism
Dear Community Members,
Last month the Massachusetts Senate unanimously voted to adopt an amendment to address the rising levels of antisemitism in our Commonwealth. Agudah New England is deeply grateful to Senator John Velis, Senator Cindy Creem and Senator Becca Rausch for sponsoring this amendment and to the entire Senate for voting in support. The Senate amendment seeks to address antisemitism in K-12 schools and would create a statewide commission to counter antisemitism in Massachusetts.
The budget is now being debated by the conference committee where differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget are being negotiated. Our goal at this stage is to advocate for the inclusion of the Senate language relative to antisemitism in the final budget. Please use the action alert below to contact the conference committee members and your local state representative and senator to express your support. This language will send a clear message that antisemitism will not be tolerated in our Commonwealth.
If you can take an additional moment to personalize the message that will be even more impactful. If your senator cosponsored this amendment please also take a moment to thank them for their support.
Thanks in advance for your partnership and your advocacy.
Brighton Community Safety Meeting with D14
Dear Brighton Community Members,
I am writing to invite you to a community safety meeting with Captain Lanchester from D14 at 5:30pm on Thursday, September 21 at Bais Yaakov of Boston. The Captain will share where they are in terms of the investigation and the additional security measures that are being put in place to prevent future incidents. There will also be time for Q&A from the community. A representative from the Boston Mayor’s office will attend along with Jeremy Yamin from the CJP Communal Security Initiative.
In the meantime, please know that the Boston Police Department is taking this very seriously and is making every effort to ensure that the community is safe.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Please fill out the below form to confirm you are coming.
Best wishes,
Ariella
Brighton Community Safety Meeting with D14
Kosher Cabinet Opens in the Boston’s Children Hospital
Agudath Israel of New England partnered with Rofeh International, Boston’s local bikur cholim organization, to open a kosher cabinet in Boston’s Children Hospital. After nearly two decades of work, patients and their families now have access to kosher meals, snacks, and Shabbos essentials during their stay in Boston Children’s.
Ariella Hellman testifies on Universal School Meals
Ariella Hellman, director of government affairs for the Agudah’s of New England office, testified in front of the Joint Committee on Education to advocate for nonpublic school students’ eligibility for Universal School Meals. She explained that nonpublic schools are home to many low-income students who should be able to receive free meals and that the cost for the schools who have benefitted so far is insignificant when compared to the overall program costs.
Action Alert for Massachusetts: Security for Shuls and Schools
Given the significant increase in antisemitic incidents across the country and right here in Massachusetts, we ask that you please send the note below to your legislators. Our schools and shuls are spending significant funds each year to protect our community and we should not have to shoulder these costs alone. One of the state’s core functions is to ensure the safety of all residents and to deploy resources to where they are most needed to prevent attacks.
We are asking our state legislators to partner with us and invest in the nonprofit security grant program for security related building upgrades. In addition, we are also requesting that the state allocate additional funds to cover the cost of contracted security guards.
Please see below to email your legislator about this important issue. Please forward this action alert to others in the community. The more messages our legislators receive, the more responsive they will be to this request.
Action Alert for Massachusetts: Universal School Meals for Nonpublic School Students
For the last few years many of our Jewish day schools have participated in the universal school meals program and have been able to provide free school meals to all students. In the House Ways and Means budget, the House has indicated that they would like to permanently fund school meals for public school students in the Commonwealth. However, this benefit has not been extended to students in nonpublic schools.
All students who need a school meal should be able to access this important program without stigma or regard for cost, including students in nonpublic schools. This is an important social service that is being delivered in a school setting and students attending nonpublic schools should be included in this support.
Please see below to email your legislator about this important issue. Please forward this action alert to others in the community. The more messages our legislators receive, the more responsive they will be to this request.
Agudah of New England Hosts Representative Tommy Vitolo Candidate for State Representative
Agudah‘s New England office was pleased to host State Representative Tommy Vitolo, candidate for state representative, as part of a their candidate forum series. “It was great to host Tommy Vitolo last night at Maimonides Kehillah for a wide-ranging conversation on the issues that are most important to our community,” said Mrs. Ariella Hellman, director of government affairs for Agudah‘s New England office.