AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

On this week's episode of People of the Pod, JTA’s Washington Bureau Chief Ron Kampeas joins us to discuss Super Tuesday results, Senator Bernie Sanders’ decision to boycott AIPAC, and other significant developments in the U.S. presidential contest. Then Tal Schneider, an award-winning political correspondent for the Israeli daily Globes, joins us to break down the inconclusive results from Israel’s third election. Listen now

Must-reads

Drama Continues After Israel’s Third Election
The Times of Israel / 3-minute read
After more than 99 percent of the votes from this week’s Israeli election were tallied, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and its allies have a combined 58 seats in the Knesset. That means the right-wing bloc—which includes Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Yamina—fell short of the 61 seats needed to form a governing coalition. Meanwhile, the Israel Beitenu party announced on Thursday that it would support legislation barring a prime minister who faces indictment from forming a government. Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three criminal cases against him. His trial is slated to begin on March 17. In an interview on People of the Pod, Globes political correspondent Tal Schneider said this election, like the previous two, leaves Israel with no clear answers. Read more

Sanders, Trump Take AIPAC Center Stage in Absentia
JTA / 2-minute read
More than 18,000 pro-Israel advocates showed up this week for the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. But it was two no-shows who dominated the conversation: President Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump, whose pro-Israel credentials have been on display throughout his presidency, sent Vice President Mike Pence in his stead. Meanwhile, Sanders skipped the conference, citing his concerns that AIPAC provides a platform “for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” AJC denounced Sanders’ smears of AIPAC and attended the conference in record numbers, tweeting selfies and messages of support: “AJCers from around the country have gathered in Washington to stand in solidarity with our friends on both sides of the aisle at the @AIPAC Policy Conference. We are #AIPACProud!” JTA’s Washington Bureau Chief Ron Kampeas also sat down with People of the Pod to share his observations from the AIPAC meeting. Read more

Lessons From Europe
The Atlantic / 4-minute read
No country is immune to antisemitism. Europe’s experience over the last 20 years offers a cautionary tale for the United States, writes AJC Europe Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen in The Atlantic. “The most important lesson of the European experience for the U.S. is the need to analyze and confront all forms of antisemitism without exception, and to depoliticize the problem entirely,” she writes. In addition, she says, public authorities must immediately and unequivocally condemn antisemitism and its purveyors, prepare a clear action plan, and allocate abundant resources before the problem reaches an irreversible magnitude. Authorities must realize that antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It is society’s problem. Read more

Up to 100,000 Israelis in isolation as Israel expands traveler quarantine
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
Israel has imposed sweeping measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, requiring a 14-day quarantine on Israelis returning from France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, or Austria. No foreigners arriving from these countries may enter Israel unless they also have a place to be quarantined for 14 days. Israel has suspended hosting international conferences indefinitely, and citizens returning from international conferences will be required to self-quarantine as well. Any gatherings of 5,000 or more are prohibited, which precludes some upcoming Purim festivities. “We have to understand, we are in the midst of a global epidemic,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a press conference, “the most dangerous of these epidemics in the last 100 years." Read more

Good to Know

Vatican Opens Archives of Pius XII
NPR / 3-minute read
The Vatican on Monday opened the secret archives of Pope Pius XII, who led the Roman Catholic Church during World War II. Though the Vatican usually waits 70 years after the end of a pontificate to open its archives to scholars, pressure from Jewish groups and historians prompted the church to grant access sooner in order to better understand the pope’s public silence during the Holocaust. More than 150 scholars have applied to examine the materials, while some 85 researchers from more than a dozen countries, including the U.S. and Israel, have already been granted access. In a statement, Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs, welcomed the Vatican’s gesture of transparency: “We trust that the independent scholarly review of these archival materials will provide greater clarity as to what positions and steps were taken during this period by the Holy See, and help resolve the persistent debates and controversy in this regard.” Listen now

Why Never Again Education Act Matters
The Forward / 2-minute read
A recent survey by the Claims Conference in Germany showed that 49% of millennials cannot name a concentration camp, 31% of Americans believe that no more than 2 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and 52% of Americans believe Hitler came to power through force. Meanwhile, antisemitic attacks across the U.S. have risen at an alarming rate. To remedy this lack of knowledge and stem the hatred behind those attacks, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) authored H.R. 943, the Never Again Education Act, a bill that will expand the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s education programming. The bill also will require the distribution of resources to teachers to promote understanding about how and why the Holocaust happened. Join AJC and tell your senator to support the Never Again Education Act as passed by the House to support Holocaust education programs and to ensure that future generations understand the lessons of this dark time in history. Read more

Antisemitic ‘Joke’ Sparks Spiraling Consequences
The New York Times / 5-minute read
The photograph of “I h8 Jews” scrawled in the sand was sent out in a group chat by two teens, they said, as a harmless prank. But it wasn’t the first sign of trouble. Students had been seen doodling swastikas. A teacher had recommended Mein Kampf, which students were reading in their free time. The SAT teacher had been called an “obnoxious Jew.” The inscription in the sand and how administrators handled it prompted a state investigation in New Jersey, which found probable cause that the Marine Academy of Science and Technology and school district had discriminated against the Jewish student who sounded the alarm. It also prompted a federal lawsuit against the school, accusing the district and faculty of discrimination. And it derailed the college aspirations of all three students involved. It offers a cautionary tale of what can happen when antisemitism in the schools goes unchecked. Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT), AJC’s education and advocacy program for teens, trains high school students to advocate for Israel and combat antisemitism. It also connects young people to a support system that is the greater AJC community. Read more

How Jews and Nazis Shot For the Moon
L.A. Times / 5-minute read
During the Apollo space program, which landed Americans on the moon six times between 1969 and 1972, NASA was filled with both Jewish scientists and Germans who had worked for Hitler before and during World War II. The children of both the Germans and the Jews say neither resentments nor bigotry ever surfaced. All their fathers cared about was getting a man on the moon. Colleagues, historians, descendants, and others believe intellectual respect, a belief in redemption, and a partnership forged for the nation’s benefit triumphed over hatred and made the collaboration and lunar mission possible. Read more

Tidings

Jewish Remedy to Coronavirus (Kveller / 2-minute read)
Maccabee Madness (Associated Press / 2-minute read)
Blue Jean Bubbe (Tablet Magazine / 3-minute read)

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

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