AJC Leaders Visit Madrid An AJC leadership delegation conducted meetings in Madrid with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, Justice Minister Juan Antonio López Aguilar, former Prime Minister José María Aznar, former Foreign Minister Ana Palacio, the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors,and members of parliament of both major parties. The AJC group, led by David Harris, also met with alumni of three recent Project Interchange International seminars in Israel for Spanish journalists, policy analysts and parliamentary aides. In addition, the group met with leaders of the Jewish community (the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain), one of AJC's international partners.
 Portuguese Jewish Community Signs Association Accord AJC and the Comunidade Israelita de Lisboa (CIL), representing the Portuguese Jewish community, signed an association agreement, the eighteenth accord signed in recent years with Jewish communities around the world. “We believe in AJC's unique and effective approach to Jewish advocacy and diplomacy around the globe and we are proud to join the extended AJC family,” said CIL President José Oulman Carp. The agreement was signed during the visit to Lisbon of a senior AJC leadership delegation. While in Lisbon the AJC delegation met with Prime Minister José Socrates, foreign ministry officials, parliamentarians, as well as American and Israeli diplomats. Click for news release.
Israeli Journalist Presents Book on Nuclear Mideast ACCESS: AJC’s New Generation Program hosted Israeli journalist Michael Karpin for a lecture about his book “The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What that Means for the World.” More than 50 young people attended as Karpin addressed the current nuclear situation in the Middle East, including the repercussions of Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s longstanding policy of nuclear ambiguity. ACCESS is AJC’s newest outreach initiative aimed at engaging young Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s in AJC advocacy activities.
Mexico Foreign Minister Visits The foreign minister of Mexico, Luis Derbez, visited AJC for a two-hour discussion of Iran's nuclear program, the Hamas electoral victory, and American immigration reform. During the frank discussion, the foreign minister assured AJC that his government would not invite Hamas representatives to visit Mexico until the organization recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and agrees to abide by previously signed agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
AJC Human Rights Focus on Bangladesh Felice Gaer, director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute,visited Bangladesh to look into incidents of religiously-motivated violence and other extremist measures prohibiting freedom of religion and belief. She met with Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim leaders, as well as a variety of ranking governmental officials including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Religious Affairs, and the Deputy Attorney General. During the visit, Gaer met with Salah Choudhury, a Bangladeshi journalist who had been imprisoned as he was attempting to leave the country en route to a conference in Israel. Choudhury will be honored at AJC's Annual Meeting in May. Gaer's visit was connected to her role as vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Future Communal Leaders Visit AJC Twenty five future Jewish community professionals from Los Angeles visited AJC during a short New York visit. Students from the Jewish Communal Service School of the Hebrew Union College in L.A. made AJC their only Jewish organization on their tour. The students met with AJC experts Yehudit Barsky, Steven Bayme and Noam Marans.
AJC Contributes to Presidential Classroom Presidential Classroom' a Washington–based initiative bringing 6,500 high school juniors and seniors to the nation’s capital to learn about government, the development of public policy, and explore the public’s role in democracy invited AJC Executive Director David Harris to write an essay on Gaza for the program's curriculum. Harris's article, “After Gaza: Taking Steps Toward Peace,” appears in the classroom's 2006 Resource Guide.
Saudi Arabian Religious Freedom The U.S. Commission of International Religious Freedom has found that a new State Department annual report on human rights gives more credit to the Saudi government than it deserves. Felice Gaer, the Director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute, brought to the Commission’s attention that some language in the report implies improvement in atrocious practices where there has been none. A waiver expires later this month on U.S. government action for religious freedom violations in Saudi Arabia. The Commission believes the U.S. should press for concrete commitments from the Saudis that would demonstrate real improvements in freedom of religion. Gaer also serves as vice-chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Darfur Advocacy in Seattle AJC's Seattle Chapter initiated a program in early December to increase public awareness of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Last month the chapter helped bring to Seattle an exhibit of children's art from Darfur, and put together a program for high school students. AJC and the Save Darfur Washington Coalition student facilitators have visited more than 10 schools and have presented to more than 900 students. The chapter's initiative has received extensive local media coverage.
Take Action Now - AJC Advocacy Center Visit www.ajc.org/advocacy and let your government officials know where you stand. Current action items include Stop Iran Now; Fix Our Broken Immigration System; Stop Genocide in the Sudan; Stand Against Hatred. The Advocacy Center provides background materials on each issue and makes its simple to send letters to government officials.
In the Media
The New York Times published a letter by Yehudit Barsky, responding to the three-part series on Brooklyn Imam Reda Shata and the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge that appeared on March 5, 6, and 7, which omitted the fact that the Imam’s mosque was linked to the attack and murder of Ari Halberstam on the Brooklyn Bridge several years ago. Maariv published an op-ed by Eran Lerman on U.S.-Israeli relations. The Associated Press quoted Steven Bayme, AJC’s director of Contemporary Jewish Life, in a story on a New Jersey study program called “Jewish Unity Live 2006” that engaged 1,000 in the study of their history and faith. The BBC quoted Eran Lerman in a story about Costa Rica’s president-elect, who will take office in May, and is considering moving his country’s embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. The Herald News published a letter on Hamas by New Jersey Chapter president Linda Kohl. The Forward quoted Felice Gaer, director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute, in a story on the proposal to create a UN Human Rights Council to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights. Radio Suisse Romande, IPS News, Le Temps, Geneva’s daily French newspaper, Tachles, the Swiss Jewish Weekly, and the Forward quoted Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch, on the UN Human Rights Council. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune quoted Rabbi James Rudin, AJC senior interreligious affairs advisor, in an article about his book, The Baptizing of America.
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