Local Action Manual

01Chapter

City council

How to find the agenda, sign up for public comment, and use your 90 seconds well.

Most American cities hold a public council meeting twice a month. Almost every meeting includes a public-comment period, typically 90 seconds to 3 minutes per speaker, on any topic. You don't need an appointment. You don't need a connection. You just need to show up and read what you wrote down.

The four-step walk-through

Find your meeting
Search "[your city name] city council agenda." Most cities post the next meeting's agenda 72 hours in advance, with a livestream link and a public-comment sign-up sheet.
Sign up to speak
Add your name to the public-comment sheet. Some cities take walk-ins; others require email by 5 p.m. the day before. Either way, it takes one minute.
Write 150 words
That is roughly 90 seconds of speech. Use the script below as a starting template and fill in what is true for your neighborhood.
Send a follow-up email
Within 24 hours, email the mayor and your district commissioner. Thank them for the meeting, attach your remarks, and ask for a 15-minute follow-up call.

Sample script: 90 seconds at the mic

Good evening, mayor and commissioners. My name is First Last, and I have lived in your neighborhood for __ years.

I am here tonight because Jew hatred in our city is no longer a rumor. One sentence: a specific incident, a swastika you saw, a friend's child harassed at school.

I am not asking the council to make a statement. Statements do not protect anyone. I am asking for three things our city can do this month:

First, direct the city manager to publish a quarterly hate-crime report. Second, fund the synagogue-and-community-center liaison program inside the police department. Third, invite a UFJL representative to the next public-safety committee meeting.

I will be at every council meeting between now and the end of the year. I will be respectful. I will keep showing up. Thank you.

[ Sit down. Smile at the clerk. Email the mayor in the morning. ]

Follow-up email: same night, 6 sentences

Compose · ufjl-template-01

To: mayor@yourcity.gov
Cc: district.commissioner@yourcity.gov
Subj: Tonight's public comment: 3 asks and a 15-minute follow-up

Dear Mayor Last name,

Thank you for your time tonight. I am the resident who spoke during public comment about Jew hatred in your city. I made three concrete asks: a quarterly hate-crime report, full funding of the synagogue-liaison program, and a UFJL voice at the next public-safety committee.

I am writing because asks made at the mic are easy to forget, so this email is the paper version. I would value 15 minutes of your time in the next two weeks to discuss any one of the three. I am flexible on day and time, including early morning or by phone.

I will be at the next council meeting regardless. Thank you for the work you do.

Respectfully,
First Last · neighborhood

!

Habit, not heroics Going once is a one-night-stand with civic life. Going every month, with the same five neighbors, is a marriage, and elected officials notice the difference within sixty days.

Field checklist · before you go

Bring with you

Printed copy of your remarks (in case the screen reader fails)
The agenda PDF, with the comment item highlighted
One specific local fact, such as the date, address, or victim's age of an incident
A pen to take notes on what other speakers say
One neighbor, because of the plus-one rule: never go alone

02Chapter

School board

The ten questions every parent and teen should ask about curriculum, security, and how incidents are handled.

School boards are where the next generation gets shaped, and where some of the most important fights of the next decade will be decided. Most school boards meet monthly. Most agendas are public. Public comment is almost always permitted, and student speakers are almost always given priority.

The ten questions

How does the district define and report antisemitic incidents? Ask for the form. Ask who reads it. Ask how many were filed last year.
What does the curriculum say about the Holocaust, Israel, and contemporary Jewish life? Ask which grades, which courses, and which textbook. Ask to see a sample lesson.
Are teachers trained to recognize Jew hatred, including coded language? "From the river" chants, "globalist" slurs, swastika graffiti. Training, not vibes.
What happens to a student who harasses a Jewish classmate after a first offense vs. a repeat offense? The answer should be specific. "We handle it case by case" is not an answer.
What is the district's relationship with local law enforcement? Is there a school-resource officer? Who do they call when a swastika appears on a locker?
Are Jewish holidays accommodated in the calendar without penalty? Major exams during Yom Kippur is not an accident. It is a policy choice.
Who reviews outside speakers, clubs, and library acquisitions? Most antisemitic content arrives by accident, through a vendor or guest. Ask about the gate.
What is the protocol for hate-related vandalism on campus? Within how many hours is it removed? Photographed? Reported to the family?
Is there a Jewish student group, and is it treated like every other affinity group? Same room access. Same advisor support. Same yearbook page.
How can parents and students escalate concerns if the principal does not respond? There must be a paper trail. There must be a backup. Get both in writing.

Bring five neighbors, not five hundred

Boards respond to the room. Five parents on the same agenda item, with different stories and the same three asks, will move a board faster than a 500-name petition that no one read. The point is not the size of the crowd. It is the texture of it.

★

The 5-neighbor rule Five neighbors, three different schools, one shared ask. A board cannot dismiss that as "a small group of activists," and they will not try.

03Chapter

Police & sheriff

How to request a meeting with your precinct commander and what to ask about reporting, training, and liaison programs.

Local police chiefs and sheriff's commanders are usually more accessible than residents assume. Most have a community-affairs liaison, and most will take a 30-minute meeting with two or three respectful neighbors who arrive prepared.

The request: three sentences

Compose · ufjl-template-03

To: commander.precinct@citypd.gov
Subj: 30-minute community meeting request from UFJL neighbors

Dear Commander Last name,

I am a resident of the precinct number precinct and a signer of the United Front for Jewish Life pledge. With two of my neighbors, I am requesting a 30-minute meeting in the next four weeks to discuss three topics: how your precinct receives and tracks hate-crime reports, what training officers receive on antisemitic incidents, and whether your precinct has an active synagogue-and-community-center liaison program.

I will follow up by phone on date if I do not hear back. Thank you for your service.

Respectfully,
First Last · phone

What to ask, in person

Don't ask

"What are you going to do about antisemitism?" It is too big. The commander cannot answer it. The meeting will end with platitudes and a handshake.

Do ask

"Show me the form a resident fills out to report a hate-related incident, and tell me what happens in the first 24 hours after it is filed." That, the commander can answer, and you can act on the answer.

Field checklist · meeting-day

Walk in with

One specific local incident, with a date and (if known) a case number
Three concrete asks, written on one page, with a copy for the commander
The names of two synagogues, one community center, one school in the precinct
A pen, a notebook, and the will to take notes quietly
A "next-meeting" ask: would they come to the next UFJL chapter meeting?

04Chapter

The ballot box

Local races are won by a handful of votes. Here is how to make sure yours is counted and how to bring five neighbors with you.

Local races are decided by neighbors, not by Washington. Steve Meiner won the 2019 Miami Beach Republican primary by two votes, and only after volunteers fanned out through the building and got mismatched mail-in signatures resolved. That is the unit of organizing.

The four checkpoints for every election

Confirm your registration is current
Check your name, address, and signature on file at your state's voter portal. Twelve seconds. Do it the morning the next election is announced.
Calendar the deadlines
Voter registration deadline. First day of early voting. Last day to request a mail-in ballot. Election Day. Four dates per cycle. Put them in your phone.
Vote early and take a neighbor
Early voting reduces every kind of risk. Bringing a neighbor doubles your impact and triples the chance you actually go.
Recruit five voters in your building
Not five "like-minded" voters. Five neighbors. Their reasons for voting are not yours, and that is fine. The habit is what matters.

2

Two votes Steve Meiner's 2019 Miami Beach Republican primary was decided by exactly two votes. If you have ever told yourself your vote does not matter, that is the number to remember.

05Chapter

Coalition building

Who else in your town is doing this work? How to find them, support them, and show up for one another's events without losing your weekends.

UFJL is not a silo. Jew hatred is a problem for every community that values democracy, and the most durable coalitions are built between neighbors who do not look or vote alike. The work is to find allies, support their fights, and ask them to support yours.

Who to look for in your town

Local clergy of any faith who have publicly named Jew hatred as wrong Send a one-paragraph thank-you. Then ask if they would attend the next council meeting.
School board members who have publicly defended Jewish students Subscribe to their newsletter. Show up to their events. Reciprocity is the currency.
Small-business owners who have hung a flag, a sign, or a sticker Buy from them. Tell them why. Ask if they will host a meet-up.
Black, Asian, Latino, and LGBTQ neighbors fighting their own version of this fight Show up for them first, before you ask them to show up for you. That is the rule.

The rule of one weekend in three

Burnout is the enemy of a movement. The rule: one weekend in three goes to organizing, such as a meeting, a march, a phone-bank, or a public hearing. The other two weekends are for your family and your rest. A movement of exhausted volunteers is a movement that ends in eighteen months.

06Chapter

When you see hate

What to do calmly and deliberately when you witness Jew hatred at school, at work, online, or in public.

The first instinct, often, is to freeze. The second is to argue. Both are understandable. Neither is what you want. The protocol below has been refined by organizers, parents, and teens. It works in person, online, at school, and at work.

The five steps · in order

Document before you react
Photo. Time-stamp. Location. Witness names. The work of accountability requires evidence, and evidence has a shelf life of about ten minutes before it disappears.
Get to safety
If you or anyone is in physical danger, leave the room. Movement first, conversation second. Nothing is more important than getting out.
Report to the right address
School: principal, in writing, with photo attached. Work: HR, in writing, with witness names. Public: local police non-emergency line, with photo. Online: platform report + screenshot to ADL Center on Extremism.
Tell one person who will follow up with you tomorrow
Not to vent. To make sure you are not carrying it alone. UFJL's chapter coordinators take these calls.
Decide, on a quiet day, what you will do next
A council appearance? A letter to the editor? A coffee with the principal? Action follows reflection, not the other way around.

♡

You are allowed to be tired Witnessing hate is its own injury. Rest is part of the work. Showing up next month requires not breaking yourself this month.

Resources

UFJL · 24h Chapter coordinator hotline Call 954-546-1810. We pick up. ADL Center on Extremism Online incident reporting. SCN Secure Community Network Threat reporting for synagogues & JCCs.

Show up. Here is how.