The Democratic National Committee announced the launch of a new Jewish constituency council in order to organize and engage Jewish Democrats in advance of the 2028 election.

“Following many months of engagement with DNC members around the country, I’m pleased to welcome the Jewish American Council as a new constituency council of the DNC,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “The council will serve as an important outreach and advocacy body, and I’m grateful to the many members who shared their perspectives throughout this process.”

The announcement comes as a growing number of Jewish Democrats have felt unwelcome in the party amid rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment espoused by an ascendant far left. The DNC itself has also navigated heated divisions over Israel relating to resolutions seeking to dramatically shift official party positioning to the left.

Several prospective presidential candidates from the party are Jewish, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

The council will be chaired by Adam Goldwyn, a North Dakota state representative who leads the state’s Democratic Non-Partisan League Party. Steph Newton, the City Council president of Albany, Ore., will serve as vice chair, and Sam Crunkilton, a DNC committeewoman in Nevada, will be secretary, according to the announcement.

“Jewish Americans have a long and proud history of fighting for a better and more just America,” Goldwyn said in a statement. “The formation of this new Jewish American Council honors Jewish Americans’ contributions to the Democratic Party in that fight.”

The fledgling council “will support critical organizing needs to win elections and ensure Jewish Americans know that a vote for their Democratic candidate is a vote for their values, including the continued fight against the rising tide of antisemitism we’ve seen in recent years,” Goldwyn added.

The council, which encourages Jewish Democrats to join as members, will hold its first in-person meeting during the DNC’s winter gathering in Washington in late January 2027.

Jennifer Lazslo Mizrahi, a longtime Jewish Democratic activist in Maryland, told JI on Thursday that she is “deeply concerned with antisemitism and anti-Zionism across the political spectrum.”

“Thus, I am thrilled that the DNC is stepping up to further empower authentic Jewish leaders within the party,” she said, adding, “I hope that Jews across the political spectrum will get significantly more involved in public policy. After all, when we aren’t at the table, we are on the menu.”