 | AJC 100th Annual Meeting — May 2006  UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are confirmed keynote speakers for AJC's Annual Dinner. Houston Mayor Bill White will be honored for his leadership role in Katrina relief. And there is much, much more. Celebrate AJC's century of leadership at the Annual Meeting, May 2 - 5, in Washington, D.C. On May 1 and 2, AJC will host a major conference, "At a Century's End, At a Century's Beginning: The prospects for Judaism and the Jews." Following the Annual Meeting, May 5 -7, will be the 13th International Leadership Conference, bringing together Jewish leaders from dozens of countries around the world. Give a gift to yourselves and the future - Bring your adult children and grandchildren. Click here for the conference programs and to register online.
AJC Eulogy at King Funeral With four U.S. Presidents sitting on the stage behind her, Sherry Frank, director of AJC's Atlanta Chapter delivered a moving, personal eulogy of Coretta Scott King at her nationally televised funeral. Frank spoke passionately about King's inspiration, and recounts many examples of their cooperative work over the past 25 years. "Countless people, touched by Coretta Scott King's kindness and inspired by her determination to continue the struggle for a better America, feel a deep sense of pain and loss," said Frank. "I share that sense of pain and loss, yet feel so blessed to have been able to work with Mrs. King and witness first hand her concern for people and her unwavering commitment to Black-Jewish relations." Frank, invited by the King family to speak at the funeral, was the sole Jewish community leader addressing the service. Click for Frank's eulogy.
Cartoon Controversy AJC expressed deep concern over the furor unleashed by the publication in a Danish newspaper, and later in other papers, of cartoons deemed offensive by many Muslims. In his national radio message this week, and in a longer statement, David Harris speaks about the violent reactions in the Muslim world to cartoons published in Denmark. While it was not wise to publish the cartoons, says Harris, some of the protesting Arab and Muslim countries are intolerant nations, peddling anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views. "If violence succeeds in chilling the debate, what a tragic day it would be for all who cherish the values of a free society," he said. Click for news release. Click to listen and read radio message.
AJC Guide to Ending UN anti-Israel Activity  "A Diminished World Body: An Overview of the UN and Israel" provides details of the discrimination against Israel that permeates the UN, and offers a strategy for ending this outrageous singling out of the Jewish state. It is the latest initiative in AJC's campaign of advocacy and diplomacy for changing the unfair treatment of Israel, which violates the UN Charter. Click to view the publication. Order copies from larsond@ajc.org. Also view AJC's TV ad on the UN and Israel.
IAEA Sends Iran to Security Council AJC applauded the International Atomic Energy Agency decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council. "The world community has taken a significant, united stand to oppose Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons," said AJC. Meeting in emergency session in Vienna, the IAEA Board voted 27-3 to take the Iran nuclear issue to the UN. AJC saluted the important leadership role the U.S. has played, in cooperation with our European allies, in confronting the looming Iranian nuclear threat. "The international community must remain firm in confronting an increasingly defiant Iran," said AJC. Click for news release. Admiration for World Economic Forum Head AJC praised Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, for the additional steps he is taking in the wake of the controversy surrounding publication of an anti-Israel article in Global Agenda, the forum's official magazine. In a letter to David Harris, Schwab announced that the most recent issue of Global Agenda, which was distributed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, will be reprinted without the "inflammatory and venomous article," which had called for an international boycott of Israel. It will be replaced with an editorial by Schwab in which he underlines the values of the Forum and the principles that have guided his life's work. Schwab also announced in his letter that the magazine will cease publication after the reprint. "Following the appalling article in Global Agenda, it is best to close the magazine," Schwab wrote to Harris. Click for news release, which includes full text of AJC's letter to Schwab and excerpts from his letter to Harris.
AAUP Conference Concerns AJC commended the Ford, Nathan Cummings, and Rockefeller Foundations for their statements of distress about a conference on academic boycotts sponsored by the American Association of University Professors. The three foundations, which are funding the conference, noted with alarm the inclusion of a Holocaust-denying article in conference background reading materials. The foundations urged the AAUP to postpone the conference, asserting that its credibility has been damaged and the opportunity for constructive dialogue diminished. While the AJC similarly questions the AAUP's decision to go forward under these circumstances, we are gratified that Roger Bowen, the AAUP's General Secretary, has issued a statement taking full responsibility for the mistake of the inclusion of the article. He also reiterated the AAUP's strong opposition to academic boycotts. Click for news release.
NOTE: As we went to press the AAUP announced that it would postpone the conference.
AJC Confers with Jordanian Foreign Minister Jason Isaacson, AJC's director of government and international affairs, met privately in Washington with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah Al-Khatib. Discussion focused on the political and strategic implications of the victory by Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections, the cooperative relationship between Jordan and Israel on economic and security matters, and the threat posed to regional and global security by Iran's nuclear ambitions. Al-Khatib, reappointed as foreign minister in November 2005 after previous service in 1998-2002, has met frequently with AJC in New York, Washington and Amman.
Evangelical Statement on Religious Freedom for Soldiers AJC applauded the National Association of Evangelicals Statement on Religious Freedom for Soldiers and Military Chaplains, which recognizes that the military must respect the religious freedom rights of all armed forces personnel. "We look forward to working with the NAE and other concerned organizations to ensure, in this nation's best traditions, that the military remains an open and welcome environment for people of all faiths, without any element of religious coercion," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel. Click for news release.
AJC at Herzliya Conference Shula Bahat, AJC's Associate Executive Director, addressed the sixth annual Herzliya Conference on Israel's national security. The conference brings together for several days the most influential Israeli and international leaders, who address a wide range of areas including defense, foreign policy, economic policy, public diplomacy, education and society and the Jewish world. AJC is a co-sponsor of the conference, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
New Ukraine Ambassador Visits AJC An AJC leadership delegation met with Ambassador Oleg Shamshur, the new Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Among the issues discussed were Ukraine's position on the situation in Iran, the recent electoral success of Hamas in the Palestinian election, and the possibility of Ukraine graduating from the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, a move AJC has supported. The ambassador also spoke about Holocaust education in his country's school curriculum.
Latino-Jewish Relations Explored AJC's Orange County Chapter co-sponsored with the University of California at Irvine Center for Research on Latinos in a Global Society a major conference on Latinos and Jews at the university. Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute, was among the featured speakers. The conference, "Latinos and Jews: A Conference on Historical and Contemporary Connections," focused on the history of crypto-Jews and Jews in colonial Mexico, and the intermixing of Jews and Latinos in a Los Angeles neighborhood. The panelists also discussed Latino-Jewish relations regarding politics, education and immigration.
UN Watch Meets Chairman of UN Human Rights Commission Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, AJC's Geneva affiliate, met with the newly-elected Chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Ambassador Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros of Peru. The discussion centered on the current negotiations for a UN resolution to replace the Commission with a new Human Rights Council. Neuer emphasized the importance of strengthening the participation of non-governmental organizations, disqualifying notorious human rights abusers from membership, and ending the Commission's biased treatment of Israel.
In the Media
The New York Sun published a letter by David Harris regarding the international community's complicity in perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem. Click to read. The Dallas Morning News published a letter by chapter director Darrel Strelitz on the first UN Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Detroit Free Press published a letter by Chapter President Andrew S. Doctoroff and Director Sharona Shapiro on the passing of Coretta Scott King. The New Republic published a letter by David Harris regarding the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy, in which he complimented columnist Martin Peretz for calling Sirhan Sirhan a "Palestinian terrorist". Click to read. The Christian Science Monitor quoted David Elcott, AJC's U.S. director of interreligious affairs in an article about faith groups responding to the immigration crisis. The Associated Press reported that Sherry Frank, director of AJC's Atlanta Chapter would be a speaker at the Coretta Scott King funeral. The New York Jewish Week extensively quoted Jason Isaacson, director of AJC's Office of Government and International Affairs, on EU policy towards Hamas. Yehudit Barsky, AJC's terrorism expert, was interviewed about the Iran-Hamas relationship on the Zev Brenner Show, a popular Jewish talk radio show airing in New York and Florida. The JTA quoted Kenneth Stern, AJC's specialist ant-Semitism and extremism, in an article about a rise in skinhead violence in the U.S. The Los Angeles Times ran an extensive story on the AJC co-sponsored conference on Latinos and Jews at the University of California at Irvine. Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs, appeared on Special Report with Brit Hume on FOX NEWS discussing the controversy over Danish cartoon. "There are horrendous cartoons and portrayals of Jews and Israel and the most anti-Semitic material is actually coming out of certain parts of the Arab world," Rosen said. Kenneth Stern, AJC's specialist on anti-Semitism and extremism, appeared in a History Channel program on Charles Lindbergh that explored his ties to Nazi Germany. The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle printed a letter by Milwaukee Chapter Director Harriet McKinney on Coretta Scott King. The Westchester Jewish Chronicle published an op-ed by Laura Lewis on the film "Munich."
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