Centennial Annual Meeting Opens in 20 Days President Bush is expected to address the May 4 gala dinner celebrating AJC's Centennial. It will be the second time the president has addressed an AJC Annual Dinner. Other world leaders confirmed for the Washington event include UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The week-long Annual Meeting will be full of dynamic speakers and substantive sessions covering AJC's agenda that will engage members and guests from around the world. Haven't registered yet? Join the more than 1,200 AJC members and friends who already have. Click for more information.
 AJC Praises President Bush for Firm Stance on Hamas-led Government In a letter to President Bush, AJC praised him for suspending U.S. aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. AJC also welcomed the Administration's plan to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. AJC continues to support President Bush's vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "We continue to hope that responsible Palestinian leadership will ultimately emerge, and, with continued strong American support, peaceful coexistence will one day take root between Israel and the Palestinians," wrote AJC President E Robert Goodkind and Executive Director David A. Harris. Read letter.
Praise for European Union Stance on Hamas AJC sent a letter to Javier Solana, Secretary General/High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Council of the European Union, expressing appreciation for the council's decision to suspend assistance to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. "We firmly believe that the international community must remain consistent and united in its stance toward Hamas – dealing with it only if it agrees to recognize Israel's right to exist, to abandon terrorism, and to respect existing agreements and obligations," AJC wrote. "Any deviation from these principles, which have been set by the Quartet, would only strengthen the radicals who are opposed to peace, and further marginalize moderates." Read letter.
AJC Meets Air Force Secretary  AJC President E. Robert Goodkind led an AJC delegation in an intraorganizational meeting with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne. Focus of the discussion was on the air force's recently issued guidelines on religious tolerance. The guidelines, developed in response to claims of proselytizing and religious discrimination at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, were drafted by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, Special Assistant to the Secretary and former director of interreligious affairs at AJC. Goodkind also met privately with Air Force Chief of Staff Michael "Buzz" Moseley (see photo) to discuss Iran, the war in Iraq, and relations between the Israeli and U.S. armed forces. Richard Foltin, AJC's legislative director, and Barry Jacobs, AJC's director of Strategic Studies, also participated.
AJC to Launch Africa Institute AJC will launch at the Annual Meeting its latest international diplomatic initiative, the Africa Institute. "Our vision is to bridge the gulf of understanding between Americans and the peoples and nations of Africa," said Stanley Bergman, a member of AJC's national board and founding chair of the Africa Institute. A special panel discussion has been organized for May 5 in Washington, at which time AJC will release a book on Israel's relations with Africa. Eliseo Neuman is director of the Africa Institute. Click for news release.
European Students Thank AJC The European Union of Jewish Students sent a letter a letter of thanks to AJC for supporting the organization's recent mission to Geneva, which brought together Jewish students from across Europe to discuss international advocacy activities. "One hundred and twenty Jewish students at the UN, whether in Geneva or in New York, is not a sight one sees every day, yet due to your support our strength and our voice will undoubtedly become part of the Geneva diplomatic world," wrote EUJS leaders. "Since the inception of our growing relationship, AJC has continuously recognized creativity, initiative and courage." EUJS is an international partner of AJC.
Hillel Recognizes AJC Campus Initiatives AJC's pilot program at Princeton University, the AJC Princeton Society, was selected as one of six projects across the country to be showcased interactively at a Hillel summit on the state of the college campus in May.
Booklet Tells Story of AJC's Relations with Germany AJC in Germany: A Continuous Tradition of Dialogue and Tolerance by Georgetown University Professor Jeffrey Peck, traces the roots and history of this important relationship, which spans the post-war era. At the gala dinner in Berlin last month celebrating AJC's Centennial, attended by members of AJC's Board of Governors, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to this very special friendship. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the AJC Annual Dinner on May 4, in Washington. Download AJC in Germany .
Why Do Non-Jewish Spouses Convert?  Choosing Jewish: Conversations about Conversion by Brandeis University Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman is now available. Fishman presented her findings at a lunch program at AJC headquarters attended by more than 50 national Jewish leaders and media. The pioneering study, based on dozens of interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish men and women involved in mixed marriages, provides for the first time insights into why conversions to Judaism take place and their impact on the community. Copies can be ordered online from the AJC Store.
AJC Chapters Hold Intergroup Seders In major cities across the country, people of different faiths and ethnicities joined with local AJC leadership in model Passover Seders. More than 80 UN ambassadors, consuls general, and other diplomats attended the New York Chapter's 16th annual Diplomatic Seder. The Cincinnati Chapter hosed its 13th Annual Community Intergroup Seder. The Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition celebrated a symbolic Seder, which has been held annually for more than 20 years, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery and remembered the African-American struggle for freedom. The Milwaukee Chapter held its 11th annual African American-Jewish Seder.
New Web Site Features The AJC Web Site has a new look on the homepage, with Breaking News featured at the top. Other new features that are informative and interactive include Quote of the Day, which offers citations from Jewish sources, and the Question of the Week. Check out the new question every week in the right-hand column, and come back the following week to get the answer and to answer the next one.
In the Media
Yediot Achronot and the Jerusalem Post ran stories on the AJC study on conversion, Choosing Jewish . Other articles on the study are expected in this week's Forward and New York Jewish Week. The Jerusalem Post quoted Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latino and Latin America Institute, extensively in an article about Peru's recent elections. Haaretz quoted Siegel Vann in a lengthy article about an AJC mission to Israel for high-level U.S. Latino leaders. The trip was organized by AJC's Project Interchange. New York Jewish Week editor Gary Rosenblatt cited AJC Executive Director David Harris in a column about Jewish leaders. New York Jewish Week quoted Rabbi James Rudin, AJC senior advisor on interreligious affair, in a story on Evangelical Christian support of Israel. Rudin is also quoted in the Hartford Courant on his book, The Baptizing of America , and in a story from the Associated Press on the New Testament. The Financial Times published two letters to the editor about AJC's full-page ad in the paper on Iran's nuclear threat. (A response from David Harris has been submitted to the FT for publication.) The New York Times quoted Felice Gaer, director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, in a story on the new UN Human Rights Council. UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer was quoted in stories about the new UN Human Rights Council in Reuters, The Scotsman, Swissinfo, IPS News, and CNS News International, and also was interviewed by Radio Marti and Wordt Vervolgd, the Dutch magazine of Amnesty International. The Latham and Watkins International Legal Journal ran a story about AJC's New Orleans relief trip for ACCESS: AJC's New Generation Program, written by a participant, Efraim Chalamish. The Cincinnati Enquirer ran a story on the AJC Cincinnati Chapter's intergroup community Passover Seder. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted AJC Atlanta Chapter Director Sherry Frank in an article about the chapter's black-Jewish Seder. EDITOR'S NOTE: The next issue of AJC News Update will appear on April 26. | 
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