AJC Dispatch

INTRODUCING AJC’S SHABBAT TABLE

We are excited to introduce AJC's Shabbat Table, a new weekly feature that will enrich your family's Shabbat or dinner table conversation. This week, for our inaugural issue, we discuss why this Shabbat affirms the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel—a connection that is sometimes called into question. We also focus on tools for discussing the antisemitic remarks made by prominent entertainers and sports stars and the national conversation that arose out of those incidents. And lastly, we give you some fascinating moments from this week in Jewish history. We hope AJC's Shabbat Table will become a fixture on your Shabbat or family dinner table! Read more

Advocacy Anywhere

Advocacy Anywhere is AJC’s online platform bringing you top-quality content during the pandemic. Tune in Monday, August 3 for a conversation with Elan Carr, U.S. State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, and Holly Huffnagle, AJC’s U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, in a wide-ranging discussion on the recent rise of Jew hatred and the important role of the U.S government in this fight. Then, on Wednesday, August 5, we are joined by Zev Krengel, Vice President and former President of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, to discuss South Africa’s multilayered, problematic, and complex relationship with Israel and how emigration threatens the future of Africa’s largest Jewish community. Finally, on Thursday, August 6, join Lord John Mann, the United Kingdom Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism and the former head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, for a conversation on rising Jew hatred in the UK and the government’s attempts to combat it. View the Advocacy Anywhere page for information on past and future programs.

On Air

The George Soros Saga: Antisemitism, Conspiracies, and Influence
People of the Pod / 27-minute listen
On this week’s episode of People of the Pod, we hear from Emily Tamkin, author of The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for Open Society, on why the Jewish billionaire philanthropist has become a political target and an easy mark for antisemitism. Then, in our closing segment, Shabbat Table Talk, we sit down with AJC’s new Director of Contemporary Jewish Life, Laura Shaw Frank, to hear what she’ll be discussing at her Shabbat table this week. Listen now

Must-read

Wiley, David Duke Banned After Twitter Walkout
Sky News / 5-minute video
When British rapper Wiley posted a string of antisemitic tweets last week, Twitter simply suspended him for 24 hours. AJC was the first American Jewish organization to join the British Jewish community and a host of allies—including numerous elected officials, celebrities, and other public figures—to call for a two-day virtual walkout under the hashtag #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate in protest of Twitter’s inaction. Following the campaign, Twitter banned Wiley permanently and apologized. By Thursday, Twitter also had suspended the account of white supremacist David Duke. AJC’s U.S. Director of Combating Antisemitism @HHuffnagleAJC tweeted: “For over ten years, Duke used Twitter as a megaphone to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Such hate is unacceptable. It has not place on Twitter or anywhere else in our society.” Watch now

To America: From a Worried European Friend
Wall Street Journal / 2-minute read
America remains what U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once called the “indispensable nation,” writes AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal. But while our national introspection on race relations is of vital importance, Schwammenthal cautions in this Wall Street Journal column that the U.S. must not lose sight of the fact that it has been “a unique force for good in the world.” “No other multiethnic, multi-religious society can credibly claim to be more democratic, more prosperous and more just than the U.S.,” he writes. “We know who will fill the vacuum left by an America in retreat and at war with itself. As they watch America’s self-immolation, leaders in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran surely can’t believe their luck.” Read more

10 Moments Athletes Stood Up to Antisemitism
AJC Global / 3-minute read
After the antisemitic postings from Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Zach Banner, New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, and NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar denounced antisemitism in articles, videos and social media posts. AJC tweeted: “Thank you, @kaj33, @ZBNFL, @Edelman11, and others for sending a loud and clear message against hate and discrimination.” As professional sports make a comeback, albeit in front of largely empty stadiums, here are ten inspiring tales of triumph over antisemitism from the sports world. Read more

Good to Know

Israelis and Palestinians Join Forces to Battle the Coronavirus
Jewish News Syndicate / 2-minute read
During the coronavirus pandemic, essential cooperation has transcended longstanding conflicts and allowed us to look at the Middle East through a different lens. In this column, AJC Jerusalem Director Avital Leibovich and Shay Avshalom Zavdi, AJC Jerusalem’s Director of Media Relations, explain how Palestinian health-care workers accepted help from Israeli doctors who in the early stages of the pandemic offered to share expertise and provide assistance. Every week, Israel sends medical equipment into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. It also facilitated the delivery of equipment from Turkey and the UAE to Gaza and the West Bank, even though Hamas fired rockets into Israel before and after the UAE donation arrived. To date, more than 52,000 people in Israel have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 470 have died, while in the West Bank and Gaza, more than 10,000 have been infected and 76 have died. Read more

Iran Fires Ballistic Missiles
The Times of Israel / 2-minute read
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles for the first time Wednesday, as part of a military exercise involving a mock-up aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz. It was the latest in a series of drills clearly intended to send a message to the United States, which has argued to extend a years-long UN weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October. Meanwhile, Israel’s military remains on high alert after foiling an attack by Iran’s proxy Hezbollah on Monday along Israel’s border with Lebanon. AJC tweeted: “The Iranian regime never fails to show its true colors – demonstrating once again the necessity of extending the UN arms embargo on the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, which is set to expire on October 18.” Read more

PA Governor Calls On Philly NAACP President to Resign for Antisemitic Post
Jewish Journal / 2-minute read
Pennsylvania’s governor called on the head of the Philadelphia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to resign after he posted an antisemitic meme on Facebook. The grossly antisemitic image posted by Rodney Muhammad depicted a caricature of a Jewish man with a hooked nose and sinister grin wearing a yarmulke and pressing a large hand down on a mass of people. It also included an antisemitic quote believed to have been written by neo-Nazi Kevin Alfred Strom in 1993, but incorrectly attributed to French philosopher Voltaire. On Thursday, AJC Philadelphia Director Marcia Bronstein published an open letter imploring the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference to act as a force for unity. “We are friends and partners in the struggle against discrimination and hate; we must work together to preserve and defend the rights and dignity of all,” she wrote. AJC tweeted: “We call on national @NAACP leaders, with whom we've long worked to advance civil rights, to wait no longer to remove this unfit representative.” Read more

Tidings

UnOrthodox Emmy Nomination (Vulture)
Israel Doesn’t Make Sense to Seth Rogen (The Forward)
Israel: Patient Zero for Cancel Culture (The Tablet)

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

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