Nearly 600 community members, supporters and allies attended the 2026 JCRC Annual Meeting featuring Dara Horn, award-winning author of 7 books including People Love Dead Jews and newly published The Final Solution to the Jewish Question, A Love Story for the Living in which she writes at great length about the work of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas. Horn’s new book is shaping the national conversation on combatting antisemitism and we are honored to be featured in it prominently as an example of “best practices”. 

Our incredible Board of Directors elected 7 new members and thanked renominated, continuing and departing members. Consistent with JCRC’s role as the consensus public affairs voice of the Jewish community, the Nominating Committee continuously seeks to recruit Board members who represent various segments of the Jewish community and who will contribute to the Board’s diversity.

When Dara Horn took the stage in conversation with JCRC’s Directors of Judaism and Israel Education she smiled and said “You don’t often get to share the stage with your characters in your book.” If you’ve reached chapter 6 of Horn’s The Final Solution to the Jewish Question you’ll read all about Sally Abrams and Holly Brod Farber and our task to introduce Jewish civilization to students in schools across Minnesota and the Dakotas. Dara writes, “It’s a maverick task, not just because there aren’t many Jews on the prairie, but also because almost no one else is doing it.”

In tandem with the launch of her book Dara Horn published an article in Hadassah Magazine titled, The Jewish Story Missing From America’s Classrooms where she focuses on JCRC’s Judaism education program led by Holly Brod Farber and Sally Abrams where they and our cadre of volunteer speakers have been bringing the Jewish story to local classrooms for 25 years! At the event, a round of applause rang out for the hundreds of local educators who invite JCRC into their classrooms to deliver this story. 

When asked on stage about our extensive Holocaust education program, Dara replied, “What you’re doing here at the JCRC is best practices. It is best practices because you have this essential component of Holocaust education paired with this teaching about who are Jews, Jewish civilization, and the ongoing importance and deep content of Jewish life and civilization. I would love for this to be a model for the rest of the country.”

We are truly honored that our JCRC has been singled out by Dara Horn in leading the way in a national conversation to reframe what people learn about jews. Hear more from our moderated conversation with Dara Horn in TC Jewfolk’s coverage. 

Thank you to our community and allies for being part of this “love story for the living”. 

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Photos: Darrell Owens Photography