 | AJC Sends Letter to President Bush AJC President E. Robert Goodkind and Executive Director David Harris have sent a letter to President George W. Bush expressing concern for this morning’s kidnappings at the Israeli-Lebanese border, and voicing appreciation that the U.S. government once again stands with Israel. “We applaud the statement issued by the White House spokesman, in which he condemned today’s terrorist attack and held Iran and Syria responsible for the violence,” wrote Goodkind and Harris. Click to read letter.
 Mideast Briefing: The Other “Battle of Gaza” In his weekly analysis, Eran Lerman, director of AJC’s Jerusalem office, writes that it is necessary for the Israeli government to ensure the protection of its citizens at all costs when fighting in Gaza, while at the same time restraining its military tactics in view of the importance of public opinion. “Hamas seeks our destruction, and they know all too well this can only happen, if at all, should the balance of legitimacy move decisively against Israel,” wrote Lerman. Click to read full briefing.
AJC Publishes Report Addressing America’s Addiction to Foreign Oil The American Jewish Committee has published a comprehensive primer addressing America's dangerous dependence on foreign oil. Over a Barrel: How America's Dependence on Foreign Oil Endangers our National Security, Economy, and Environment documents the increasing dangers connected to America's addiction to oil, and explores possible means of achieving energy independence. “We have come to a point in history when our reliance on foreign oil can no longer be blithely ignored and must be addressed with a sense of urgency,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. Click to read publication.
AJC Meets with Outgoing Peruvian President An AJC leadership delegation met privately with outgoing Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo in New York on Sunday. The meeting was held at his request. The President was accompanied by the First Lady, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Production, the Ambassador to the U.S., and other senior officials. The Toledo administration is eager to complete the ratification process for the Peru-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before President Toledo leaves office at the end of this month, and wanted to seek AJC’s counsel. In addition to discussing the FTA, the AJC group voiced disappointment with Peru’s votes on two anti-Israel resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this month, which ran contrary to the very friendly approach of this government toward Israel. President Toledo expressed his own anger at the vote, implying that there may have been some failure of communication or consultation in the bureaucracy. President Toledo eloquently addressed AJC’s 2002 Annual Dinner in Washington and has met with AJC groups on several other occasions, memorably beginning one of the meetings with the words, “Let’s get down to takhlis.” This meeting also gave the AJC delegation the chance to thank President Toledo for his steadfast friendship and support during his five years as Peru’s elected leader. AJC most recently visited Lima in the fall of 2005, at which time an association agreement was signed with the Peruvian Jewish Community.
AJC Executive Director Contributes to New Dershowitz Book Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School has edited a new book, What Israel Means to Me, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and available at all major bookstores and on-line. Among the contributors to the volume is David Harris, AJC's Executive Director. Other contributors include Senator Norman Coleman, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Congressman Barney Frank, CNN interviewer Larry King, actress Natalie Portman, and author Anne Roiphe. Dershowitz dedicates the book to Jim Freedman, former President of Dartmouth College and an AJC leader until his death earlier this year.
Turkish Foreign Minister Invites AJC’s Barry Jacobs to Opening of Oil Terminal Turkish Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah Gül invited AJC Director of Strategic Studies Barry Jacobs to the official opening of the oil terminal on his county’s Mediterranean coast, which will take place on July 13. The formal opening of the terminal at the port of Ceyhan marks the completing of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that is bringing oil from the Caspian Basin to European and regional consumers. The BTC is the first major project in creating an East-West energy corridor to bring oil and gas from the resource-rich Caspian region to Western markets while bypassing Iran. Jacobs, who follows events in the Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasus, and Central Asia for AJC, was also a guest of the government of Azerbaijan and a member of the Official U.S. delegation when, in May 2005, it opened its end of the pipeline at its capital of Baku.
AJC Meets with Senior Indian Government Officials  Following his visit to the AJC Vocational Center now under construction in the southern Indian city of Chennai, Jason Isaacson, director of AJC's Office of Government and International Affairs, was joined by AJC Board of Governors member Steven Wisch in meetings in New Delhi. The two met with senior Indian government officials, including Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, policy analysts, business leaders, journalists, and U.S. and Israeli diplomats. Discussions focused on U.S.-India relations, current congressional developments involving the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement -- which AJC supports -- and India's relations with Israel.
AJC Publishes Report on Pervasive Anti-Semitism at Ukrainian University The American Jewish Committee today released a report documenting the ongoing and pernicious spread of anti-Semitism at the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (MAUP), Ukraine's largest private university. The report focused in particular on the role of Georgy Tshchokin, MAUP’s president, in fostering a climate of hatred and incitement. “The virulently and unambiguously anti-Semitic views being touted at MAUP, under the influence of its president, fly in the face of the remarkable renewal of Jewish life since 1991 in an independent and democratic Ukraine,” said David A. Harris, AJC’s executive director. “Tshchokin uses language eerily reminiscent of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which caused such grief to the Jewish people in the twentieth century.” Click to read the publication.
AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs Receives Lithuanian Merit Award Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s director of international Jewish affairs, was presented with the Cross of Officer of the Order for Merits to Lithuania on July 6. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkas presented the award, citing Baker’s work in Lithuanian-Jewish and Lithuanian-American relations.
AJC’s Berlin Office Dialogues with Community NGOs In preparation for the German Federal Integration Summit on July 14, AJC’s Berlin office invited a diverse group of community NGO leaders representing ethnic and national minorities in Germany, along with experts in the field of intercultural education. Guest speakers included Rita Suessmuth, former President of the German Parliament, Detroit historian Thaddeus Radzilowski, a representative of the Polish American-Jewish American Council, and Mohammed Sini, director of the Foundation Islam and Citizenship in Utrecht, Holland. The 35 participants spanned the African, Arab, Kurdish, Polish, Roma and Sinti, Romanian, Vietnamese, Russian-Jewish, and Turkish communities. They discussed the two critical fields of education and self-organization of minority and migrant groups, proposing bilingual education, restructuring the existing education system to afford more educational opportunities to immigrants, multicultural training for educators and civil society, and better integration of cultural diversity in societal institutions.
AJC’s Yehudit Barsky Gives Presentation on Middle East Politics AJC’s Director of the Division on Middle East and International Terrorism Yehudit Barsky gave a presentation entitled “The Islamic Liberation Party in the Middle East” at a seminar organized by the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. Participants included government officials, policy makers and academics.
AJC Expresses Concern over UN Votes to Russian Foreign Minister AJC Executive Director David Harris has sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following their meeting in Moscow last month, expressing concern over two recent Russian votes at the UN. “While Israel faces a daily barrage of Qassam missiles, an arms build-up in Gaza, and planned terrorist attacks, the Council’s deliberations appear focused solely on alleged Israeli misdeeds,” wrote Harris. “Knowing that your nation understands better than most the dangers posed by terrorism, and maintains a strong bilateral link with Israel, the Russian decision to vote with Israel’s detractors came as a serious disappointment to us.” Click to read letter.
AJC Radio Message One year after the disengagement, Gaza poses an increasing threat to its neighbors, AJC Executive Director David Harris told listeners on CBS Radio this week. “My daily prayer is for peace,” said Harris. “But peace requires two sides. Will the Palestinians in Gaza one day realize that they’d be better served building their own state than trying to destroy Israel? I hope so.” Click to listen.
In the Media Executive Director David A. Harris was interviewed today on USA Radio, CNN, KSTE (Sacramento), and Dateline Washington on the escalating political tension in Gaza.
The Associated Press quoted AJC Executive Director David A. Harris concerning ethical issues surrounding the death of Enron executive Kenneth Lay and notions of justice.
The Christian Post reported that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom elected as its new chair Felice D. Gaer, director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
A New York Jewish Week editorial on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting the use of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay quoted AJC President E. Robert Goodkind’s support for the Court’s decision. The editorial said, “Goodkind had it right.”
The JTA reported on AJC’s sponsorship of the Israeli Flying Aid organization’s recent work in Indonesia, where the group provided aid to earthquake victims in several Muslim villages.
The Christian Century quoted AJC leaders on the recent Presbyterian Church USA vote to reverse its call for divestment from companies doing business with Israel.
The Forward quoted AJC Legislative Director Richard Foltin on the Bush Administration’s domestic wiretapping program.
ThePittsburgh Catholic and the Jewish Chronicle covered the Pittsburgh Chapter’s forum on interfaith relations in the Middle East.
UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer was cited by the Forward, Edmonton Sun, London Free Press, German Press Agency DPA, Stern, Süddeutsche Zeitung, CNSNews, Infosud, andInter Press Service (IPS), for comment on last week’s anti-Israel special session of the UN Human Rights Council. | |
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