AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

On this week's episode of People of the Pod, we sit down with director Andrew Goldberg to discuss his new documentary, "Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations." Then, as Israelis prepare to head back to the polls on Monday for the third time in a year, we speak to The Times of Israel’s Senior Analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to break down what’s important to Israeli voters. Listen now

Must-reads

Is Third Time a Charm?: Israel Election Primer
JTA / 4-minute read
For the third time in a year, Israelis will head to the polls to select their new prime minister. But will the third time be a charm? Whoever voters choose will have to form a majority coalition in Israel’s Knesset. So far, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor former General Benny Gantz has been able to reach that goal, making the March 2 election more about creating an opportunity to form a functioning government. This week, Haviv Rettig Gur, a senior analyst for The Times of Israel, spoke to People of the Pod host Seffi Kogen about what really matters to Israeli voters. Read more

Bernie Sanders Boycotts AIPAC
USA Today / 2-minute read
Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders announced this week that he would boycott the upcoming AIPAC Policy Conference because, he tweeted, the organization provides a platform “for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights." Sanders, who won caucuses in New Hampshire and Nevada, has been an outspoken critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “reactionary racist” during Tuesday’s Democratic debate. The response to Sanders’ tweet was swift, with elected officials from both sides of the aisle expressing support for AIPAC and announcing their intention to attend next week’s conference. AJC tweeted: “We flatly reject Senator Sanders’ smears of @AIPAC and will attend its Policy Conference in greater numbers than ever before, led by our CEO @DavidHarris.” Read more

Israel Becomes Living Lab for New Technology to Treat Coronavirus
U.S. News & World Report / 3-minute read
An Israeli hospital is pioneering new telemedicine techniques to contain the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, which has spread to at least 40 countries since emerging in China late last year. Shortly after 11 Israelis disembarked in Japan from the Diamond Princess luxury cruise ship, on which hundreds of passengers fell ill, they arrived on a chartered flight to Israel and headed straight for a hospital outside of Tel Aviv. There, the patients use hand-held smart devices from an Israeli start-up to allow physicians to listen to their heart and lungs and examine their ears and throats remotely. Under patients’ mattresses, another Israeli medical device monitors their breathing. An Israeli immunotherapy company says it also has developed a drug for organ dysfunction that could assist the severest cases of coronavirus. And on Thursday, Israeli scientists announced significant progress toward the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. AJC CEO David Harris tweeted: “Once again, #Israel is helping advance the frontiers of human knowledge & make the world a better place.” Read more

Good to Know

Lasting Impact of Muslim Jewish Tour of Auschwitz
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
The groundbreaking joint AJC-Muslim World League visit of Muslim and Jewish leaders to Auschwitz that grabbed headlines in January was only the beginning of a remarkable interfaith journey. AJC’s Kenneth Bandler, who traveled with the group, shares with readers what happened beyond the historic tour of the Nazi death camp. The trip also included visits to the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Tatarska Street Mosque, the Nozyk Synagogue, and a festive Shabbat dinner in Warsaw. While both the Muslim and Jewish leaders had questions and uncertainties about the other before the trip, by Friday evening both AJC CEO David Harris and MWL Secretary-General Dr. Mohammad al-Issa were referring to one another as partners. What participants saw and heard at Auschwitz and Birkenau shaped their time together and, Bandler notes, repeatedly came up in Issa’s remarks. Those who deny that the Holocaust happened, Issa said, are “partners in the crime. They are like Nazis themselves.” Read more

Trump Administration Expands Travel Ban
CNN / 2-minute read
The Trump administration has expanded immigration restrictions to include six more countries: Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar (known as Burma), with exceptions for immigrants who have helped the U.S. The expansion comes three years after President Trump introduced the first travel ban, which sparked protests and demonstrations at international airports. The updated ban has already sparked controversy over its targeting of African countries. AJC tweeted: “America has been—and will always be—a nation of immigrants. This guiding principle has made us the envy of the world. The expansion of the travel ban betrays that principle and makes us weaker, not stronger.” Read more

Again, Farrakhan Singles Out Jews for Blame
Detroit News / 2-minute read
Banned by Facebook and suspended by Twitter for his hate speech, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in a speech last week singled out two Jews for harming African Americans and the U.S. He added the caveat, of course, that he doesn’t hate Jews. In addition to calling out 19th Century Louisiana lawmaker William Levy for brokering a deal that continued to define freed slaves and blacks as three-fifths of a person, he also lambasted former Harvard University Law professor Alan Dershowitz for defending President Trump during the impeachment proceedings. “Another brilliant Jewish man named Dershowitz came to Congress, to the Senate, and gave them one of the most magnificent covers for cowardice,” Farrakhan told the crowd. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the Executive Director of JCRC/AJC Detroit, told the Detroit News that Farrakhan’s message of hatred is harmful in today’s world. “Let’s come together with love, with respect, with honesty. Certainly, let’s not paper-over our differences and let’s tackle the difficult issues. But not with hatred.” Read more

Tidings

No Sour Grapes: Wine Named For Pompeo (JTA)
True Story: YouTube Banned TruNews (TOI)
JoJo Rabbit Goes to School (Forward)

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

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