The state commission that works against antisemitism and teaches Holocaust history meets Sept. 3 in Dallas to vote on how to divide as much as $300,000 among Texas nonprofits. Its vote is a recommendation, not the last word.
The commission has nine members appointed by the governor and sits as an advisory body to the Texas Historical Commission, which hires its staff and carries its money. Its fall grant round closed July 12. Applicants could ask for up to $50,000 each, must put up half the cost themselves unless the commission waives it, and are paid by reimbursement, with the last tenth held back until a final report clears. A scoring committee has ranked the applications against a written rubric that rewards, among other things, spreading the money across the state. Members vote Sept. 3 on that ranking; historical commission members have the final say at their meeting in late October.
Earlier rounds show where the money goes. Summer awards went to Holocaust Museum Houston for an Anne Frank exhibition, to Texas Hillel, to a campus antisemitism project at the University of Texas, to a speaker series at Texas A&M and to two smaller groups. In the spring the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum took two $50,000 grants, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley took a third.
Members also vote on two requests to the commission’s private fundraising arm, the Friends of the THGAAC, which may take up requests of $10,000 or less: an educators’ trip proposed by the Houston Jewish Federation and a Bryan Museum exhibition on Jewish settlers in Texas. The Bryan Museum request was added by a revised notice filed Aug. 19. The Dispatch found no public description of the educators’ trip.
Two reports point past the grants. The executive director briefs members on preparations for the next legislative session, and the commission owes the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker and every legislator its biennial study of antisemitism in Texas by Nov. 1. The 2024 edition, citing incident reports collected by a national Jewish security network, said antisemitic incidents in Texas nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023. A budget overview is also on the agenda; the commission has said lawmakers gave it an extra $1 million for campus work.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 8:30 a.m. CT Thursday, September 3, 2026, scheduled through 1 p.m. The operative notice was filed August 19 at 11:02 a.m. and revises an earlier one to add the Bryan Museum request.
- Where
- Fruhman A, Main Building, Aaron Family Jewish Community Center of Dallas, 7900 Northaven Road, Dallas.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission — nine members appointed by the governor to staggered six-year terms. Kenneth “Kenny” Goldberg is chair. Five of the nine make a quorum.
- Format
- In person only. Public comment may be limited to three minutes at the chair’s discretion; speakers register at the meeting or email in advance. The commission may close the meeting under the Open Meetings Act.
- Live video
- None. The notice says a recording will be available after September 3 on request to the commission.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · commission’s event page
Commission members
- Kenneth Goldberg — chair; Dallas; retired founder of Gold Metal Recyclers.
- Sandra Hagee Parker — vice chair; San Antonio; chairwoman, CUFI Action Fund.
- Jay Zeidman — secretary; Houston; managing partner, Altitude Ventures.
- Jeffrey L. Beck — Dallas; board chairman, United Texas Bank.
- Adam Blum — Austin; owner, Old Hickory Partners.
- Larry Levine — Houston; chairman, Levcor Inc.
- Cara Mendelsohn — Dallas; city council member, District 12.
- Ira M. Mitzner — Houston; president of RIDA Development.
- LeElle Slifer — Dallas; litigation partner, King & Spalding.
Names, cities and occupations come from the commission’s own roster and are corroborated for the three newest members by the governor’s release of March 20, 2026; Goldberg was named chair in an April 2022 release. The commission is created by Chapter 448 of the Government Code, added by House Bill 3257 of 2021, which replaced the Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission created in 2009. Joy Nathan is executive director. Meeting contact: Elizabeth Langford, (512) 463-5108.