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Good to Know
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Fight for Justice Is Inextricably Linked for Black, Jewish Communities
Philadelphia Magazine / 2-minute read
The Black and Jewish men and women who together founded the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) worked in solidarity and shared the struggle against oppression – a history that seems to have been forgotten by some in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. There, Rodney Muhammad, president of the NAACP’s Philadelphia chapter, posted a blatantly antisemitic image to Facebook that suggested Jews are trying to silence prominent Blacks, who recently committed antisemitic blunders. In this column, Jared Solomon and Jordan Harris, two members of the Pennsylvania statehouse, call for a more holistic and less divisive approach to the pursuit of social justice. Meanwhile, in The Jerusalem Post, AJC Director of Media Relations Kenneth Bandler writes that the partnership AJC and others established decades ago with the Black community, and more recently with some in the Muslim community, is resilient. But those responsible for modern antisemitism must be held accountable. Tune in Monday, August 10 for a special Advocacy Anywhere conversation with entertainer Nick Cannon, who recently apologized for making antisemitic remarks. Read more |
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Why are Arkansas, South Carolina, Wyoming holding back on adopting hate crime laws?
The Hill / 2-minute read
AJC is urging the U.S. Senate to join the House in adopting the National Opposition to Hate, Assaults and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to provide resources to adequately track and prosecute hate crimes in all 50 states. But Dov Wilker, AJC Director of Black-Jewish Relations, writes in The Hill that the NO HATE Act cannot take the place of state laws. Arkansas, Wyoming, and South Carolina need to join the other 47 states, distinguish crimes driven by prejudice, and charge them as felonies. Read more |
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Virginia Jewish, Black Cemeteries Vandalized
JTA / 2-minute read
Monuments in two Virginia cemeteries, one Jewish and one African American, were spray painted this week with the same hate symbol. The vandalism was discovered Monday at Richmond’s Evergreen Cemetery and at the Sir Moses Montefiore Cemetery in Henrico County on the border with Richmond. The symbol, called a triskele, which looks like three interlocking sevens, was one of many ancient European symbols appropriated by the Nazis and later by white supremacist groups. AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism Holly Huffnagle tweeted: “Lest we forget anti-Jewish and anti-Black hatreds both lie at the core of white supremacist ideology. We condemn these acts of hate against our two communities.” Read more |
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The Siren Song of One State Solution
The New York Times / 2-minute read
“How can anyone imagine Israelis and Palestinians, with rivers of blood between them, joining hands in a common political enterprise?” That’s the question Bret Stephens poses to anyone who thinks one state is the answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposal ignores the fact that such a utopian vision has very little support among Palestinians and no support among Jewish Israelis or Israeli Arab leaders, he writes. Not to mention, if it attracts a critical mass among American Jews, it jeopardizes hopes of a peaceful two-state solution, widens the chasm between American Jews and Israel, and endangers Palestinians who embrace the fantasy and continue to fight a futile war to return, which no Israeli government can ever concede. Watch a special Advocacy Anywhere program with AJC Director of Contemporary Jewish Life Laura Shaw Frank in conversation with author Daniel Gordis about why he hasn’t given up on a two-state solution. Read more |
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