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WJC President Ronald S. Lauder: Agreement between Israel and the UAE is “the beginning of regionwide peace”

“It is a catalyst for more countries in the Middle East to actually envision a better future for their children, and it confirms to the entire world that there are still righteous women and men who have worked tirelessly for this moment,” wrote President Lauder in Arab News. Read More... 

World Jewish Congress, UNESCO, European Commission, Twitter launch digital resources to counter COVID-19 conspiracy theories

The campaign is geared towards raising awareness of the existence and consequences of conspiracy theories linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign’s infographics are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and are being disseminated on social media via the hashtag #ThinkBeforeSharing, UNESCO MIL CLICKS social media pages, and through the European Commission’s website on fighting disinformation. Read More... 

WJC applauds German minister for efforts to eliminate illegal hate speech on social media

Following Federal Justice Minister Lambrecht’s letter assuring the WJC that the German government takes antisemitic statements seriously and is working to increase authority to remove criminal statements from the Internet, World Jewish Congress Executive Vice President Maram Stern shared, “The World Jewish Congress is appreciative of Federal Justice Minister Lambrecht’s firm commitment to combating antisemitism online and to leading the way both nationally and internationally in this fight.” Read More... 

Israeli Air Force holds joint drill with German air force

The Israeli Air Force and their German counterparts held a joint flyover this week over the Dachau concentration camp, as well as over the nearby Fürstenfeldbruck airbase, to commemorate the Israelis killed by terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics. It was the first time ever that Israeli fighter jets performed such a memorial exercise in Germany. Watch Now... 

An appreciation of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

“Using his slogan 'Let My People Know' and his fundraising connections, Rabbi  Steinsaltz reached out to stimulate Jewish education in Russia. He founded the Jewish University in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the first degree-granting institution of Jewish Studies in the former Soviet Union…He was lovable, gentle, kind and sweet. He was blessed with wit and a pixieish sense of humor,” writes Rabbi Yitz Greenberg in The Jerusalem Post. Read More... 

WebTalk | The current tide of antisemitism

Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Jewish Heritage Abraham Foxman speaks with WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps member Randy Fried about the current state of global antisemitism. Watch Now... 

Ruth  Gavison, civil rights activist and leading Israeli scholar, passes away at 75

Ruth Gavison’s work has been widely recognized. Throughout her career, she received several awards including, among others, Israel’s highest cultural honor, the Israel Prize, in 2011; the Zeltner Prize for legal research in 1997; and the Avi Chai Prize in 2001 for her work uniting secular and observant Jews in Israel. Read More... 

Newly elected MK Tehila Friedman's “Maiden Speech” goes viral

In her maiden speech to the Knesset, MK Tehila Friedman made an impassioned plea to Israeli society for unity that quickly went viral. Friedman used this opportunity to issue a heartfelt call for unity among diverse cross-sections of Israeli society in the aftermath of three national elections in less than two years. Read More... 

July 2020: Antisemitism in review

The World Jewish Congress has compiled a short review of some of the concerning incidents witnessed and recorded over July 2020. We will continue to monitor developments as they arise and remain committed to working together with our communities to ensure a safer and more tolerant world for all. Read More... 

WJC Vice President Dr. Schuster: Anti-lockdown protests featuring conspiracy myths and antisemitism

“I am also concerned about the myths about who is supposedly responsible for the pandemic. This reminds me of the Middle Ages, when it was said that the Jews were to blame for the outbreak of the plague. That was when the pogroms began. Whenever a threat cannot be grasped, an angry look is directed at the minorities. The Jews have always been pushed into the role of the guilty and have then become victims,” said President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Dr. Josef Schuster. Read More... 

'Heil Hitler' and 'Juden' tagged on a Jewish-owned house in France | The Jerusalem Post

The two phrases were discovered sprayed on a house owned by a Jewish family in Lyon on 18 August. Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet, "strongly" condemned the incident, tweeting that “the perpetrators of these heinous acts defile the humanistic spirit of our city and put us all in danger.” Read More... 

Defining antisemitism as a Jewish problem is a lose-lose proposition

"Jew-hatred has become excusable and almost mainstream in America. In recent months, for example, we have seen it trending among celebrities and athletes. When faced with this hate, far too many in our community stay silent," writes Adam Milstein in The Jerusalem Post. Read More... 

Christian Democratic Union calls for students to visit concentration camps

The announcement was applauded by Central Council of Jews in Germany President Dr. Josef Schuster, who said that the decision was welcomed “in light of the growing tendency to stop confronting the Nazi past.” Schuster added that it is “desirable for federal states to go further and make such memorial visits an obligatory part of the school curriculum." Read More... 

12-year-old Jewish hero of WWII | Aish

On June 22, 1941, Nazi forces invaded Belarus and immediately began rounding up Jews. When Nazis arrived in Karmanovka, local families told them where to find the Schleins and the Gernsteins. Nazis entered the Schleins’ home and arrested everyone they found there – Motele’s mother, father and his little sister Bashiale. The family was sent to Auschwitz. When the Nazis reached the Gernsteins’ house, a terrified Motele hid cowering in the attic. Read More... 

250,000 new immigrants will arrive in Israel in next 5 years, Jewish Agency estimates | JTA

According to a report by the Jewish Agency, there was a dramatic rise in the number of people who inquired about immigration to Israel this year, with 90,000 calls from around the world. In addition, some 25,000 new immigration files were opened, a 91% increase in Western countries and 400% in North America. Read More... 

Balloon-borne device from Gaza starts fire outside Sderot kindergarten | The Times of Israel

Firefighters were called to the scene and quickly put out the blaze in a plastic closet outside the school. Police said a “suspicious item” affixed to a balloon was being neutralized in the southern town of Netivot, after apparently being flown across the border from Gaza. Read More... 

Israeli Border Police officer and 58-year-old woman wounded in suspected terror attack | The Jerusalem Post

The officer and the woman were stabbed by a 30-year-old male near the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, police said. The suspect was shot and neutralized. Read More... 

Macron urges new Middle East peace talks after call with Abbas | France 24

After a phone conversation with President Mahmoud Abbas, Macron took to Twitter to write that he told Abbas that “the resumption of talks to reach a fair solution that respects international law remains a priority.” Read More... 

Report: Iran sold Hezbollah hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate in 2013 | The Times of Israel

According to a report in Die Welt, Tehran’s extra-territorial Quds Force supplied Hezbollah with some 670 tons of ammonium nitrate in mid- and late-2013, charging approximately $72,000 for it. Read More... 

16 August 1943 | Jewish inmates revolt in Białystok Ghetto

By the end of the operation, more than one hundred Jews successfully escaped into the forest and joined partisan groups nearby. However, hundreds of others were killed, including 71 members of the resistance discovered together in a bunker. Approximately 10,000 Jews from the Białystok Ghetto would be captured and deported to Treblinka and other death camps. Read More... 

16 August 1913 | Future Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Menachem Begin born

In 1978, Begin was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to make peace with Egypt. According to recent surveys, Begin was one of Israel's most-beloved prime ministers. Read More... 

Remembering victims of terrorism

In honor of the third annual International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism established by the United Nations, Martin Marro shared a message of comfort to victims of terrorism and their families. Marro survived a terrorist attack in NYC on 31 October 2017. Watch Now... 

The Jews of Aruba

Just off the coast of Venezuela, the small Jewish community in Aruba continues to carry on its Jewish traditions. Watch Now...