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ACCESS Mission to New Orleans  Wearing body suits and masks, dozens of young Jewish leaders from across the country gutted three houses in New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged Ninth Ward. The work included tearing down walls and throwing out debris. As part of ACCESS: AJC's New Generation Program, they also cleaned and painted the gym of Torah Academy, a Jewish day school, and restocked and reorganized the library at Gates of Prayer Synagogue. At Xavier University, a black, Catholic college, the group presented a donation of $100,000 from AJC's Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. Participants also met with officials from FEMA, as well as professors from local universities and journalists. "The group was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster, but came away deeply moved and committed to continuing AJC's advocacy and humanitarian mission," said Rebecca Neuwirth, AJC's director of special projects.
Cartoon Controversy: Danish Ambassador Visits AJC Ambassador Torben Getterman, Denmark's Consul General in New York, briefed dozens of AJC leaders in an off-the-record conversation about the cartoon controversy, the mood in Denmark and the ongoing challenges that tiny nation, with a population of 5 million, faces in dealing with boycotts of Danish products and violence against Danish embassies and consulates. David Harris, who is visiting Copenhagen with an AJC leadership delegation this week, observed that while it is "painful to see the level of hatred directed at Denmark, this situation also shows that Europe cannot avoid being pulled into the incendiary politics of the Mideast."
AJC Radio Message: We Are All Danes AJC continues to express solidarity with Denmark and outrage over the reaction, often violent, across the Muslim world to the publication of controversial cartoons in a Danish newspaper. "We are all Danes," declared David Harris in his national radio message on the CBS radio network. "Danes are targeted. Danish goods are boycotted. Danish embassies are attacked. The goal is to bring Denmark to its knees." Click to listen. Also, read Harris's op-ed on the cartoon controversy, published in the Sun Sentinel .
Ballot Box Alone Cannot Change Hamas "Today is a sad day for all who have been striving tirelessly for Arab-Israeli peace," said AJC immediately after the new Palestinian Parliament was sworn in. Click for AJC statement. AJC has launched an international advocacy effort to encourage governments to remain firm in not dealing with Hamas. AJC sent letters to the ambassadors of the 25 nations that are members of the European Union. We are deeply concerned that the international community's commitment to shun the terrorist organization already has begun to unravel. AJC criticized Turkey for hosting a Hamas delegation, and cautioned that Russia's upcoming welcoming of Hamas to Moscow will only further confer legitimacy on an organization that still is on the EU and U.S. lists of terror organizations. The international community must remain united in not dealing with Hamas unless and until it changes its policy, in word and deed, regarding Israel. Hamas must fulfill the basic requirements of the Quartet, to end violence, recognize Israel, and accept previous Palestinian agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap. AJC also praised the firm stance of the United States regarding the composition of the new Palestinian legislature.
New AJC Publication on Hamas  "Neither the liberation of the Gaza Strip nor the liberation of the West Bank or even Jerusalem will suffice us," says a top Hamas leader newly elected to the Palestinian Parliament. AJC has collected quotes from Hamas leaders who, in their own words, demonstrate clearly the Hamas commitment to destroying Israel, as well as targeting Westerners. Hatred Unmasked, Hamas Speaks is a must read for all concerned about Israel's security and Middle East peace. (Currently, it is available only on our web site). More.
AJC Leaders Attend CRIF Dinner An AJC senior leadership delegation traveled to Paris to meet with French officials, including Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Iran, Hamas and the brutal murder of a young French Jew were discussed extensively. For the sixth consecutive year AJC attended the annual dinner of the CRIF, the umbrella body for French Jewry. The French Prime Minister, eighteen members of the French Cabinet, and other dignitaries were among the more than 800 people in attendance. AJC participates each year in an expression of solidarity with the French Jewish community.
French Jew Brutally Murdered AJC was shocked by the horrific murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew who was kidnapped and tortured before being killed in Paris. "Together with our French Jewish friends, we share the shock at this horrific crime. Our deepest sympathies are with the Halimi family and the entire French Jewish community," said David Harris, who was in Paris with an AJC delegation to attend the annual dinner of the CRIF, the umbrella organization for French Jewish organizations. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy reiterated to the AJC group his government's commitment to ensuring the security of the Jewish community. Click for news release.
AJC Leaders Visit Berlin A senior leadership delegation traveled to Berlin, after attending the CRIF dinner in Paris, to meet with senior officials in the Chancellor's office and at the Foreign Ministry to discuss Iran, Hamas and transatlantic relations. The group also met with the Israeli and American ambassadors. AJC has been involved with the Federal Republic of Germany on many levels for well over 50 years and established an office in Berlin in 1998. Chancellor Angela Merkel will be a keynote speaker at the AJC Annual Dinner on May 4.
Poland Rejects Iranian Holocaust Denial Campaign AJC commended Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Meller for sharply refusing Iran's request to send a "research" team to Poland to investigate basic, historical facts relating to the Holocaust. In his letter David Harris wrote: "Your unequivocal and immediate condemnation helps ensure that the community of democratic nations stands firmly united against Tehran's increasing hostility." Read letter.
AJC Advocacy Tool on UN Dozens of Missions to the UN have received copies of AJC's new report, A Diminished World Body: An Overview of the UN and Israel. The report 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. Copies also were personally delivered to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and are currently being distributed to all members of Congress. Click to view the publication. Order copies from larsond@ajc.org. Also view AJC's TV ad on the UN and Israel.
Austrian Court Jails Holocaust Denier AJC applauded an Austrian court for sentencing David Irving to prison for violating Austrian laws prohibiting Holocaust denial. "At a time when Holocaust denial is increasingly in vogue as Iran ratchets up its own efforts to question the Nazi extermination of six million Jews, an Austrian court has made a great contribution in countering this hate by punishing David Irving, one of the world's leading Holocaust deniers," said AJC. Click for news release.
AJC Pilots Program at Princeton University The AJC Princeton Society, a new initiative for select students at Princeton University, hosted Michael Blumenthal, former Secretary of the Treasury, who currently serves as chairman of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, and AJC's Eugene DuBow, founding director of our Berlin Office. Following the event, which was open to the larger Princeton community, Blumenthal and DuBow continued the conversation with Princeton Society members over dinner. The AJC Princeton Society will be hosting Danish Ambassador Torben Getterman for its next event in March. A similar project on the Cornell University campus will be launched next week with David Harris as the first speaker.
Encouraging UN Peacekeeping Missions AJC's Africa Institute and Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights jointly hosted a panel discussion on lessons learned from the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone. Ambassador Daudi Mwakawago, who recently completed his term in charge of UN peacekeeping forces in Sierra Leone, and Ambassador Donald Steinberg, vice president of Multilateral Affairs at the International Crisis Group, addressed diplomatic representatives and leaders of non-governmental organizations. The discussion at AJC addressed the challenges of peacekeeping, focusing on the important steps that must accompany a peacekeeping mission in the areas of security, political and economic development, and rebuilding the rule of law and civil society. Stan Bergman, Chairman of the Africa Institute, and Robert Rifkind, Chair of JBI, introduced and moderated the discussion.
Darfur Advocacy Day Dozens of Jewish and interfaith activists from across the country gathered for the American Jewish Committee's Darfur Advocacy Day to press the U.S. government to take greater action in trying to stop the genocide raging through the war-torn region of Sudan. "The goal of the day was to energize activists to return to their home communities, empowered with greater knowledge, and to encourage them to be more public about the worsening situation in Darfur," said David Bernstein, AJC's associate director of community services and coordinator of Darfur Advocacy Day.
Supreme Court Supports Constitutionality of RFRA AJC applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision recognizing that a small church's religious utilization of hoasca, a controlled substance, as a sacrament in its communion service, is permitted despite federal laws generally prohibiting its use. In Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal (UDV), et al., "The Supreme Court upheld the statutory scheme enacted by Congress in passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel. "The Court's decision clarifies the obligation of the federal government to avoid substantially burdening the free exercise of religious practices." AJC had filed an amicus brief in the case, advocating the constitutionality of RFRA.
David Harris Book in Russian I Am My Brother's Keeper is a newly published collection of David Harris's writings translated into Russian. This is the second in a series of Russian-language books by Harris. They are popular in the large community of Jews from the former Soviet Union. The book was published in Kiev, Ukraine. Copies can be ordered from Sam Kliger at kligers@ajc.org
AJC Meets Dalai Lama in Jerusalem Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs, met privately with the Dalai Lama in Jerusalem. Rabbi Rosen also participated in a meeting between the Chief Rabbis of Israel and the Dalai Lama, held at the office of the Chief Rabbis.
Chapter Diplomatic Activity The Chicago Chapter hosted a two-part seminar for the Foreign Consular Corps on the ethnic and religious groups that live in Chicago. Consular representatives from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Holland, Israel, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey attended the program. In a separate meeting, officials from the Chinese Consulate met for the first time with Chicago Chapter leadership, and discussed ideas for joint programs.
In the Media
The Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) published an op-ed article by David Harris on the cartoon controversy. Click to read op-ed. Kenneth Bandler, AJC's director of communications, was interviewed about Hamas and the new Palestinian Parliament, on several national radio networks, including FOX, CNN and Metronetworks, as well as on WBZ, the CBS affiliate in Boston. The New York Jewish Week quoted Richard Foltin, AJC's legislative director, in an article about new U.S. Air Force guidelines on religious activity. The Forward quoted Richard Foltin in an article about the Set America Free energy independence coalition, which AJC recently joined. The Associated Press quoted Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international interreligious affairs director, in a story about the World Council of Churches conference and discussion of divestment. The Forward quoted Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs, and UN Watch Director Hillel Neuer, in an article about Anglican Church and divestment. Agence France Presse quoted Kenneth Bandler, AJC's director of communications, in a story about "Paradise Now" the film about suicide bombers nominated for an Oscar The New Orleans Times-Picayune quoted Brian Siegal in a story about AJC's weekend relief mission to the city and gift of $100,000 to Xavier University. The newspaper also ran a feature on a synagogue and neighboring Catholic church that have been rebuilding with the assistance of donations from AJC's Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. Deidre Berger, director of AJC's Berlin Office, was quoted in a Knight Ridder story about the trials of Holocaust deniers Ernst Zuendel, who is in court in Germany, and David Irving, sentenced to prison in Austria. Berger said it is important not to underestimate the seriousness of the cases. ''They're dangerous men," she said. The story appeared in the Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Times, among others. The Detroit Jewish News quoted AJC Chapter Director Sharona Shapiro in an article about U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas electoral victory. The New York Jewish Week quoted Shula Bahat, AJC's associate executive director, in an article about Peretz Goldmacher, a former refusennik and leader of the Russian Jewish community in New York, who was honored at a party held at AJC. Rabbi Rosen was interviewed by ABC Australia about the Museum of Tolerance currently under construction in Jerusalem, and ramifications resulting from the Muslim burial site uncovered during construction Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, AJC's Geneva affiliate, was quoted in The Washington Times, United Press International and Cybercast News Service, concerning the latest talks to establish a UN human rights council to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights. Several Turkish newspapers, including Milliyet and Yeni Safak reported on the AJC statement criticizing Turkey for welcoming Hamas leaders to Ankara. Polskie Radio reported on the recent meeting of Polish President Lech Kaczynski with AJC leaders in Washington. | |
In the past three weeks, fourteen potential suicide bombers have been arrested by the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in the West Bank, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky said last week. Shin Bet sources were quick to stress that the capture of the suicide bombers did not necessarily mean the bombings had been thwarted. "Only after the bomb to be used in the attack has been found and all those involved in planning the attack have been caught can we say an attack was actually thwarted," sources said. (Jerusalem Post)
The head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, on Thursday told the A-Shams radio station based in Nazareth, "We are coming into power with an open mind, and are ready to talk to anyone in the world, including the United States. Only with Israel we won't talk." (Ha'aretz)
At the very moment that the Israelis have achieved a new consensus about withdrawing from territories and abandoning settlements and establishing borders and acquiescing in the creation of Palestine, the Palestinians have achieved a new consensus of the antithetical sort and have elected, by a significant majority, a movement that stands brazenly for theocracy and terrorism and the destruction of Israel. (The New Republic)
On Feb. 16, Case and Hillel hosted Yechiel Leiter, Chief of Finance to former Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. The former Chief of Finance discussed the economic issues Israel faces. Democratic beliefs, elections, and the spread of democracy were also discussed. "Democracies do not go to war with democracies," said Leiter. (The Observer)
"[Martyrdom] is a good thing. We don't want this world, we want the Afterlife. We benefit not from this life but from the Afterlife." This is the opinion of 11-year-old Yussra, presented in an interview on Palestinian television. According to Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority teaches its people, and especially its children, to desire "shahada" - death for Allah. Marcus spoke about current Palestinian propaganda targeted against Israel and Jews. (Sun)
A petition calling on national leaders to "act appropriately and swiftly" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons will be presented to the student body for a vote early next month following a campaign by the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee. If the petition passes the March 1 vote, BIPAC will present the resolution at the annual policy conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the influential lobby with which BIPAC is affiliated. (The Justice)
Tel Aviv University President Itamar Rabinovich, a former ambassador to Washington and chief Israeli negotiator with Syria, explained to a UCLA audience Feb. 16 that prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement were "not very auspicious" in the wake of the war in Iraq, Hamas's victory in Palestinian elections, and uncertainties in Israeli politics. (UCLA International Institute)
