AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

On this week’s episode of People of the Pod, we talk to Dr. Einat Wilf, a member of Israel's Knesset until 2013, about the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan proposed by President Trump and what it means for the future of Israel. Then, Rabbi David Rosen, AJC Director of International Interreligious Affairs, joins us to discuss the historic visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau by Muslim World League Secretary General Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa and a group of Islamic religious leaders, organized by AJC and accompanied by the organization's leadership. Finally, we hear from Melcher de Wind, the son of author Eddy de Wind, about his father’s book, Last Stop: Auschwitz, the only novel written inside the death camp in the days following its liberation, 75 years ago this week. Listen now

Must-reads

Trump Unveils Peace Plan With 2-State Deal, Undivided Jerusalem
The Times of Israel / 2-minute read
Seeking to heal a decades-long divide between Israelis and Palestinians, President Trump on Tuesday unveiled his long-awaited peace plan, already vetoed by Palestinian leadership. The 181-page plan promises not to displace Jewish settlers or Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank. It also proposes a “pathway to a Palestinian state” and gives American imprimatur to the annexation of settlements in the Jordan Valley such that any West Bank areas of a potential Palestinian state would be surrounded by Israel. AJC released a statement welcoming the effort to develop a plan. AJC CEO David Harris urged Palestinians to participate: “Now more than ever, in the best interests of peace, the Palestinian Authority should resume talking to the U.S. and return to the negotiating table with Israel.” Read more

How Auschwitz Has United Muslims and Jews
The Chicago Tribune / 2-minute read
After a landmark interfaith mission to Poland, AJC CEO David Harris and Muslim World League Secretary General Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa together pledged to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, combat hatred and racism, and foster a new era in Muslim-Jewish relations. Last week, the two leaders led Muslim and Jewish delegations on visits to the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Writing together in the Chicago Tribune, the two leaders said their presence at Auschwitz was as much about the present as about the past. “We stood together with united resolve in the face of history’s greatest horror, the Holocaust, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp where more than one million Jews perished. Never again. Not for Jews. Not for Muslims. Not for any of God’s children.” In an interview with Reuters ahead of the ceremonies in Poland to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Harris explained that far-right white supremacists, far-left anti-Israel activists, and terrorists acting in the name of Islam are fueling antisemitism worldwide. "Jews in western Europe think twice before they wear a kippa, they think twice before they go to a synagogue, think twice before they enter a kosher supermarket," Harris said. Read more

AJC Launches Arabic-Language Video Series About Jews
The Times of Israel / 3-minute read
AJC has launched a groundbreaking Arabic-language online video series aimed at increasing understanding of the Jewish people in the Arab world. Titled 'An al-Yahud, or About the Jews, the animated short videos will focus on contemporary Jewish life, Jewish history, and current issues of importance to the Jewish people. AJC also launched Arabic-language pages on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, which will be used to promote 'An al-Yahud and foster conversation around the topics addressed in the videos. The inaugural two-minute video released Thursday (available also in English) offers viewers an introduction to the Jewish people, its history, and its diversity. The second video, about the history of Muslim-Jewish relations, will be released in mid-February. Additional videos will follow every few weeks. Read more

Remembering the Righteous When Remembering the Holocaust
AJC Global Voice / 2-minute read
They were upstanders, not bystanders, and risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis and their collaborators. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, AJC paid tribute to more than 27,000 non-Jews named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem. These brave individuals hailed from more than fifty countries and saved countless lives. From Ireland, Albania, Belgium, Poland, and the U.S., meet five extraordinary examples of moral courage. Read more

Good to Know

Attorney General Targets Antisemitic Crimes, Enters Bail Reform Debate
The New York Times / 2-minute read
Wading into New York’s latest discussion of criminal justice reform, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr on Tuesday announced federal hate-crime charges against a Brooklyn woman released without bail after allegedly slapping three Orthodox Jewish women. She was re-arrested a day later for another alleged assault in the predominately Jewish Crown Heights neighborhood. Barr’s attempt to target antisemitic crimes comes amid a statewide debate over whether to tweak a law that went into effect on January 1, removing cash bail requirements for people charged with anything less than a Class D felony. Nearly all the recent antisemitic attacks in Brooklyn fall into this category. AJC has urged New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to reconsider the new law. Read more

Muslim Students in Germany Keep Lessons of Holocaust Alive
The Washington Post / 3-minute read
As Holocaust survivors age, far-right political movements grow, and migrants from majority-Muslim countries bring biased views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, efforts to teach about the Holocaust face a number of challenges. “What we see in Berlin schools in general is that, because the atmosphere is so tense, sometimes teachers shy away from educating about the Holocaust,” AJC Berlin’s Remko Leemhuis told The Washington Post. At the Theodor-Heuss Community School in the Moabit neighborhood of Berlin, where most of the students are from immigrant families, those challenges haven’t deterred one particular teacher, who sees the importance of teaching the truth now more than ever. She also sees those lessons bearing fruit. Read more

Netflix Series Sparks Controversy in Argentina
The Los Angeles Times / 2-minute read
A true-crime docuseries on Netflix about the prosecutor in the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires has sparked controversy in Argentina. Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spy explores the suspicious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman four days after accusing Argentina’s then-President of conspiring with Iran to cover up the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust. The senior Iranian officials accused by Nisman of killing 85 and wounding hundreds more, are still sought under international arrest warrants known as Interpol red notices and remain protected by Iran. On the 25th anniversary of the AMIA bombing, survivors of the attack expressed little hope of ever seeing justice. Read more

Tidings

Duchess of Photography (The Forward)
Rabbi is a Cover Model (Kveller)
Bye Bye Barneys (Tablet magazine)
Gridiron Gribenes (The Nosher)

The articles featured here do not necessarily reflect AJC’s positions.

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