Jewish Community Focus Group
Feedback
Jewish Community Focus Group
Feedback they had open sessions for the public . I would just want to sensitize actually the government to just be more sensitized to include those on their calendars and the respective of those holidays . If they do schedule anything for the public .
• We ’ re kind of invisible . Um , and that maybe due to the work of the people who came before me , but one of the things that we don ’ t have is , you know , things like the public Menorah lighting that happened when Chabad came to town . Too bad they left Arlington for the mid cities . But there was a couple of years where we did like an indoor lighting . It ’ s , you know , it was really nice that answered some questions . It brought some visibility .
• My just hearing things is that , as adults , your interactions have been generally positive . And the primary areas of concern have been more with our children in their relations that some of them have been exceedingly positive thing kind of a UN friend group , but also any problems that we ’ re having as a Jewish community has really been focused on the youth . Is that a fair assumption ? That ’ s been my experience .
• Our Arlington police department has been amazing . Whenever we call them because we have a concern or we have a question , they respond . They give us advice . They have come by and given us ideas on how we can make our building more secure . The police chief that was also very active , you know , so I want in the future to keep those kind of relationships open .
• Perhaps if city government made a point of putting out a calendar that said we ’ re not having meetings on this day , or we ’ re not having any kind of activity on this day because it is the Jewish High holidays or because it is a Muslim holiday that would go a long way .
• I think that it would be really wonderful . Somebody mentioned lighting a menorah . I think that the more visible expressions of acceptance of cultural differences racial differences religious differences that are done by the city , then that will help to cause change in a direction that results in more acceptance of all of those differences . So I think it would be wonderful . I mean to see a menorah . There are so many opportunities for the Muslim holidays and everything for the city to take a leadership role and in that I would love to see that . That would be so great .
• I think that the audience who needs to see these public expressions of acceptance of diversity are located at the Cowboys games and Mavericks games and stars games and baseball games . And so , you know , if we ’ re a sports place you can have 50,000 people in the stands . Why not have a huge celebration at the kickoff of this or whatever . I mean at multiple locations like here at Levitt pavilion . And have the city , say this is our city . And this is what we want . And guess what you ’ re going to go along with it because this is what ’ s going to be . And this is what the right way to be is so we got to go to the people who aren ’ t coming to these automatically . Otherwise , we ’ re just preaching to the choir .
• Well , I , you know , big bashes big fanfare where you know the parade in Arlington , and let ’ s make sure that the city has a diversity float and the mayor ’ s riding on it .
• God willing , we ’ ll have a fourth of July parade next year . Wouldn ’ t it be wonderful if the theme of the parade was something to do with diversity and embracing the diversity of our City .
Unity Council Report 121