The three leading Democratic candidates in the race for executive of Montgomery County, Md., pledged to address the rise of antisemitism within the local school system, while some noted their disappointment that the school board has yet to adopt a Jewish group’s recommendations for doing so.

As the June 23 primary approaches, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington hosted a forum on Monday in which the group’s CEO, Ron Halber, asked Councilmembers Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass and Will Jawando how each would address rising antisemitism in Montgomery County’s K-12 schools if elected as executive. 

Earlier this month, the JCRC called out the uniquely high rate of antisemitic incidents in the school district and called on the district to incorporate specific antisemitism training. Montgomery County, which is just outside of Washington, D.C., is home to more than 35 active synagogues and has the largest Jewish population in the state. 

“I am disappointed that MCPS has not accepted that [training]. I will continue to urge them to do so,” said Jawando, the most progressive Democrat in the race. “There is some Holocaust and antisemitism education happening but we need to start it earlier, in middle school.” 

Jawando said as county executive, he would create a Jewish community advisory board and dedicated Jewish liaison to work with schools.   

Friedson called for “much better coordination between the school system, county government, JCRC and ADL to ensure better communication and coordination, and ultimately the training to avoid incidents.” 

“That’s been offered” to MCPS, continued Friedson. “It has not been fully accepted, which continues to be a major frustration for all of us.” 

Glass acknowledged that for years, “most of the antisemitism” in the area has come from schools. “The county executive has to use the bully pulpit to call out hate whenever they see it, wherever it is and for whomever it is pointed at.” 

“I will continue to make sure that MCPS does better, either in their appointed leadership and also in their elected leadership.”

The question came at a fraught time for the district — located just outside of Washington, D.C. — as a new report from the Anti-Defamation League showed that Maryland ranked ninth in total antisemitic incidents nationwide in 2025, two-thirds of which occurred in Montgomery County. Among the top ten states with total incidents, Maryland ranked first in the percentage of incidents occurring at K-12 schools, at 34%. 

Jawando, who has positioned himself as the most progressive of the candidates, has been critical of the Maryland Israel Development Center, which promotes relations between Maryland and Israeli businesses. “We should never use Montgomery County tax dollars to support the development or production of offensive weapons, whether that’s bombs or munitions or anything else. For me, that’s a nonstarter and I will always oppose it. That’s one reason my office is looking into exactly how MIDC funds are used,” he  told the Montgomery Perspective last year.  

Friedson, who has positioned himself as the most moderate among the Democratic candidates, has campaigned on a pro-business platform focused on job growth as the county faces slower economic expansion than some of its D.C. metro neighboring counties.

Both Friedson and Glass are Jewish and have longstanding ties to the county’s Jewish community. 

Outside of the public school system, Montgomery County has experienced a surge in antisemitic vandalism targeting Jewish institutions.   

All three candidates running to replace term-limited County Executive Marc Elrich also said they would retain the local Nonprofit Security Grant Program, one of the few outside of the federal program, in the county budget. Halber and other Jewish leaders have called for increasing NSGP funding in Montgomery County.