Who We Are
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The Center For Latino-Jewish Relations and Crypto-Jewish Studies
The Center for Latino -Jewish Relations (CLJR) is a multi-faceted, double impact 501-C3 non profit organization. In addition to its important academic and cultural mission, the Center is also HUD Certified as a 501(c) (3) Non‐profit Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) with fully audited financials.
CLJR has designed an important sustainability model that leverages its community development expertise to help provide Affordable Housing for Low Income Texans. In turn, CLJR’s housing initiatives help support the long term operations, academic and cultural activities of the organization.
What We Do
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Mission
The Center for Latino and Jewish Relations seeks to unite two peoples who share a common heritage and histories and whose roots run deep into the soil of the Iberian Peninsula. Through exploration and education about the historic, linguistic and cultural roots that binds the heritage of thousands of Mexican and Jewish Americans, important linkages and relationships are established.
The organization is also committed to providing affordable housing to low income Texans.
Values
The Center is non-political and serves as a platform for dialogue in which peoples from these two communities can seek commonalities of purpose and the promotion of common goals. CLJR also leverages its expertise with community development in support of affordable housing.
Cultural Tours
The Center has developed unique, curated tours to Israel that are specific and culturally relevant for the Latinos / Jewish shared history and educational awareness. These tours are highly rated by industry professionals and tour participants.
Sustainability
In addition to its non-profit donor base, CLJR has sought to amplify its financial strategy to ensure the sustainability of the organization’s mission and the ability to expand its outreach.
The organization turned to its unique expertise with mission based, community development initiatives through real estate and tax credit financings.
CLJR has successfully focused on affordable housing partnerships, acquisitions and building a portfolio of LIHTC multifamily properties. Collectively, this community impact results with providing much needed Affordable Housing for low income Texans, providing support for the CLJR mission and operations while expanding the inclusion of Latinos as real estate owner operators.
OUTREACH
The center’s activities in support of its mission includes a wide variety of academic lectures and cultural programs:.
Curated tours to Israel to educate and experience the Holy land, and the Jewish history in Spain that created a global impact on Jewish and Latino genealogy
Curated tours to both Spain and Portugal as a means of reuniting the Hispanic and Jewish populations with their Iberian roots
The collection and display of Inquisitional documents from colonial Mexico
A historical chronology, teachings and understanding of the common roots that bind many Mexicans to their Jewish heritage
Conferences on Crypto-Jewish and Sephardic culture
- A dialogue series for Jews and Hispanic citizens to discuss common problems and seek common solutions
The promotion of Iberian Jewish and Hispanic cultural heritage within Texas and the United States
The development of bilingual texts about both Texas-Mexican and Jewish-Mexican culture and history
- Receiving of official visitations from other centers of Iberian Jewish and Mexican culture.
- A model for other shared cultures: the CLJR mission to educate about joint history and heritage among peoples, can also serve as a paradigm for Texans from many backgrounds to explore their shared linkages and genealogies