AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

This week on People of the Pod: former refusenik, Israeli government minister, and chairman of The Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky joins us to reflect on Israel's 72nd Independence Day. Then, AJC CEO David Harris sits down with us to explain the significance of Germany’s decision to ban all of Hezbollah’s activities on German soil. Finally, we speak to Hannah Rose, former President of the UK's Union of Jewish Students, about the newly elected leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer. Listen now

Must-reads

Germany Announces Full Ban of Hezbollah, AJC Praises Decision
Reuters / 2-minute read
In a dramatic move Thursday, the German government announced a full ban of all Hezbollah activities on German soil, determining that the organization in its entirety is engaged in terrorist activity and carrying out police raids against organizations and individuals associated with the group. AJC has been a consistent voice in raising awareness of the threat posed by Hezbollah to Germany, Europe, and the world and AJC Berlin has played a key role in engaging German policymakers on the subject. “This is a welcome, much-anticipated, and significant German decision,” said AJC CEO David Harris, who has been directly involved in this issue for decades. “We would like to thank the Government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and express particular appreciation for the leadership role of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer as well as the important support of Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in advancing the landmark decision.” Harris added that he hopes other EU countries will follow Germany’s example. The EU lists the so-called “military” wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist group, but not its “political” wing – a distinction the group itself says is nonexistent. Following the dramatic announcement, AJC hosted an exclusive briefing with German Ambassador to the U.S. Emily Haber. Last year, AJC launched a global campaign to press the international community to hold Hezbollah accountable for its terrorist activities and designate the group in its entirety a terrorist organization.

NY Mayor de Blasio Blasted for Singling Out Jews Over Coronavirus Violations
Jewish Journal / 2-minute read
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has come under fire for singling out the Jewish community, after a funeral in a Brooklyn neighborhood was broken up by police for allegedly violating social distancing measures. An estimated 2,000 people gathered in Williamsburg for the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz, a member of the Satmar Hasidic community who died from complications related to COVID-19. The local Jewish community said in a statement that the city had granted permission for the funeral to occur. De Blasio personally attended the funeral to disperse crowds along with the NYPD. He tweeted afterward: “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.” AJC sharply condemned de Blasio’s comments, saying: “Mr. Mayor, the vast majority of the Jewish community is following the guidelines. You can find us donating blood, raising money to support our neighbors, and in emergency rooms providing critical care. We deserve better from our leaders than generalizations and fingerpointing.”

Brazilian Foreign Minister Compares Social Distancing to Concentration Camps
The Times of Israel / 3-minute read
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo has ignored calls for an apology from the Jewish community, after he compared social distancing measures to Nazi concentration camps in a critique of a book in a post on his Portuguese-language blog, Meta Political Brazil. “According to the author, Arbeit macht frei is the correct motto of the new era of global solidarity that is coming as a result of the pandemic,” wrote Araujo, reviewing the book “Virus” by far-left Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek. “The communists will not repeat the Nazis’ mistake and this time they will use it correctly. How? Perhaps convincing people that it is for their own good that they will be trapped in this concentration camp, devoid of dignity and freedom.” Araújo added: “It occurs to me to propose a definition: the Nazi is a communist who did not bother to deceive his victims.” AJC called the minister’s comments “both deeply offensive and entirely inappropriate” and said “he should apologize immediately.” Araújo later claimed his words had been misrepresented.

Good to Know

Bipartisan Group of Senators Calls for Increased Funding for State Department Antisemitism Envoy
JNS / 2-minute read
A bipartisan group of 28 senators have called on a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee to increase funding for the office of State Department envoy Elan Carr, who develops and implements policies to combat antisemitism. AJC had campaigned for the appointment of a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism since the position was vacated in January 2017. An unprecedented AJC survey released in October 2019—the largest and most comprehensive ever on the subject of antisemitism in America—revealed deep concern about antisemitism in the U.S. and widespread fear that it is increasing. In January 2020, AJC released a new survey which asked French Jews, and non-Jews, about their perceptions of and experiences with antisemitism in France. The survey found that 70% of French Jews have experienced antisemitism in their lifetimes, and 73% of the French public and 72% of Jews consider antisemitism a problem that affects all of French society.

U.S. Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Texas anti-BDS Law
The Algemeiner / 1-minute read
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on April 27 dismissed a lawsuit challenging anti-BDS legislation in Texas, ruling that the lawsuit is moot because the law had since been modified. The plaintiffs alleged that the anti-boycott legislation violated the First Amendment. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs were no longer affected by the law, after Governor Greg Abbott signed an updated version of the legislation in May 2019 exempting individuals and smaller companies from the restrictions. The ruling overturns a 2019 order from an Austin federal judge that had temporarily blocked the enforcement of the law. To date, 28 states across the U.S.—from Rhode Island to California, Texas, Florida and Minnesota—have passed anti-boycott legislation. The first states to pass these laws were South Carolina and Illinois in 2015. Since then, in both blue states and red states, these bills have passed either by unanimous votes or by extremely wide margins, indicating strong bipartisan consensus.

U.S. Agency: Iranian Regime Driving Force Behind Global Antisemitism
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
Iran is one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom and a driving force behind global antisemitism, according to the 2020 annual report released on April 28 by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal government entity. The report cites Iran’s systematic crackdown of religious minorities, including Christians, Sufi and Sunni Muslims, Baha’i, the country’s tiny Jewish population, and Jews in the diaspora. “Ethnic minority communities faced especially egregious persecution for the peaceful practice of their religious beliefs, including physical assault, detention, or banishment,” said the commission. The report also notes that in a hearing on antisemitism in January 2020, U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism Elan Carr identified Iran as the “world’s chief trafficker in antisemitism.” The envoy said that “antisemitism isn’t ancillary to the ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a central foundational component of the ideology of that regime, and we have to be clear about it, and we have to confront it and call it out for what it is.”

Tidings

What to Read in Quarantine: Celebrating Israel through Remembrance, Independence
(AJC Global Voice / 6-minute read)

On Al Pacino’s 80th birthday, his secret Jewish history
(The Forward / 3-minute read)

In first, Saudi TV dramas feature character urging Israel ties, Hebrew monologue
(The Times of Israel / 7-minute read)

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

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