American Jewish Committee

AJC Shabbat Table

This week, in AJC’s Shabbat Table, we discuss how this week’s Torah portion Shoftim, or “Judges,” reminds us that no matter how hard it might be, we are all obligated to work toward a more just and righteous world, engage in tough conversations about the best ways to move forward, and pursue justice with all of our might. We also provide some conversation starters for discussing the peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, announced last week. And lastly, we review some key moments in Jewish history, including the arrival of the first Jew in New York, the Hebron Massacres, and the Blaustein-Ben Gurion Agreement, a statement of principles developed by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and then-AJC President Jacob Blaustein that has defined the post-statehood relationship between American Jewry and Israel for decades. Read more

AJC AT THE 2020 POLITICAL CONVENTIONS

For the first time in AJC history, we are offering virtual programming on the sidelines of the virtual Democratic and Republican National Conventions. AJC programming covers today’s critical issues, including the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the threat posed by Iran, current immigration challenges, the fight for racial justice, and the changing nature of U.S. global leadership. AJC’s public programs alongside the DNC took place earlier this week and can be viewed here. AJC’s public programs alongside the RNC will take place August 24-27. Register now

On Air

Election 2020: The Democratic National Convention
People of the Pod / 27-minute listen
On the heels of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, we sit down with Halie Soifer, Executive Director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, who previously served as National Security Advisor to Senator Kamala Harris. We talk about support for Israel within the Democratic Party and other issues of importance to the Jewish community ahead of the upcoming election. Then, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson, who has long engaged with leaders throughout the Arab world, joins to discuss last week’s historic announcement of a bilateral agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Listen now

Must-reads

Europe Must Put Aside Its Outdated Thinking
Bild / 2-minute read
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel reached a peace deal. And the broker was the Trump Administration. How could this happen, many Europeans asked? AJC CEO David Harris writes in the German newspaper Bild that the answer lies in the region’s changing dynamics, which too many European leaders have failed to grasp. For the Sunni Arab world and Israel, the threat from Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, dominates strategic thinking. Arab countries are realizing that in addition to vital strategic partnership, Israel has a great deal to offer. “If Europe, unlike the U.S. today, wants to continue to insist that the Palestinian issue is front and center to an understanding of Middle East dynamics …then it will continue to be sidelined, while a new balance of forces emerges in the Middle East,” Harris writes. Watch Harris in this special Advocacy Anywhere program as he discusses his four decades of advocacy to strengthen Israel’s place in the community of nations, deepen the Jewish state’s ties with key countries, and advance Israel’s quest for enduring peace and security. Read more

Top Jewish Dems ‘Optimistic’ About Party’s Israel Stance Under Biden-Harris
Jewish Insider / 3-minute read
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Halie Soifer, Executive Director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said this week that the foreign policy agendas of a tiny percentage of Democrats in the House don’t reflect the vast majority of the Democratic Party — led by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden who remain staunchly supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship. During an AJC virtual event on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, Wexler pointed to the Israel plank of the DNC 2020 platform as clear evidence of Biden’s influence. “It was literally written by Joe Biden himself,” Wexler said. “He made the decisions in terms of whether or not to include the type of language that illustrates decades of strong Democratic Party and bipartisan consensus favorable to Israel.” Listen to Soifer address Israel and other priorities for Jewish voters on this week’s episode of People of the Pod. Click here to watch AJC programming from the sidelines of the DNC and to register for next week’s events during the RNC. Read more

How About a Modest Deal With Israel? The UAE Official Smiled At Us... And Said No
The Times of Israel / 3-minute read
After years of laying out the case — in Abu Dhabi and ten other Arab capitals — for normalized relations with Israel, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson writes in The Times of Israel that he and his AJC colleagues had learned to limit their expectations. But by the time they met with a UAE official in 2019, attitudes had shifted. Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE all had made unprecedented overtures to Israel. “Why, the official asked us, were we aiming so low? Why, he wanted to know, should his country not dispense with baby steps and set as its goal the establishment of full diplomatic relations?” Al Arabiya, a Saudi owned television news channel based in Dubai, reported that a public conversation between Isaacson and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash at AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020 was one of the eight key moments that led up to the UAE’s historic announcement. International cooperation to confront the pandemic opened opportunities to de-escalate tensions and resolve conflicts through diplomacy, Gargash said. Read more

I Spoke to Nick Cannon About Antisemitism. This Is What I Learned.
JTA / 3-minute read
Celebrities panned for antisemitic remarks often respond with a formulaic expression of regret and a desire to grow. Entertainer Nick Cannon did not follow that pattern. In this column for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations, writes about Cannon’s unusual process of atonement. That process has included a series of apologies, a commitment to learning more about Jews and Judaism, and both private and public conversations with AJC. “When his innumerable fans hear these antisemitic slanders, many believe the calumnies or have their own problematic ideas reinforced,” Marans writes. “But when Cannon changes his mind publicly because he unlearned falsehoods and learned truths — as he has — the same many will be educated by him and also may change their own beliefs.” Watch Marans and Cannon in conversation during this special Advocacy Anywhere program. Read more

Good to Know

U.S. Lawmaker Changes Position on Conditioning Israel Aid
The Times of Israel / 2-minute read
U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, one of three Democratic members of Congress running to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Thursday that the U.S. shouldn’t hold back its annual $3.8 billion in military assistance to Israel to stop the country from annexing parts of the West Bank. Speaking publicly during an AJC program on the sidelines of the DNC, Meeks reversed a position he took earlier this month. “We know the extreme importance in the region to make sure that Israel has the right to defend itself, and the dollars that we give Israel to defend itself [are] absolute and unequivocal,” Meeks said. Click here to watch Meeks, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland discuss U.S. global leadership on the sidelines of the DNC and to register for next week’s events during the RNC. Read more

U.S. Declares Snapback Sanctions on Iran
The Washington Post / 2-minute read
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to the United Nations on Thursday to officially notify the UN Security Council that Iran is no longer complying with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran nuclear deal. That sets the clock to trigger “snapback” sanctions in 30 days. The move comes after the Security Council rejected a U.S. proposal to extend an arms embargo on Iran, another part of the nuclear agreement. Only the Dominican Republic voted with the U.S., while 11 of the 15 members abstained. Among them were France, Britain and Germany, all of which co-negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran. AJC CEO David Harris tweeted: “Due to weak 2015 nuclear deal, Iran arms embargo ends in 2 months. From Oct. 18, Iran will legally be able to buy & sell weapons. China, Russia are delighted. So are N. Korea, Syria, Turkey. Will any countries join US, moderate Arab nations & Israel in opposing embargo’s end?” Read more

California Campus Ethnic Studies Law Excludes Jews
Fox News / 1-minute read
A new college course requirement intended to help students comprehend racism and other forms of ethnic bigotry leaves out Jews. By the 2024-2025 school year, graduates of California State University, the nation's largest four-year public university system, will be required to take a three-credit course that focuses on "four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina and Latino Americans." The Asian section points to “the unique experiences of Arabs and other Middle Easterners,” but leaves out religious minorities in the region including Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and Baha’is. Saba Soomekh, associate director of AJC Los Angeles and an Iranian Jew, writes in the Jewish Journal: “Leaving our histories and our voices out of the curriculum not only is ahistorical and faulty scholarship, it projects a revisionist and an Arab Muslim-centric understanding of a diverse region.” AJC tweeted: “AJC is disappointed [California Governor Gavin Newsom] has signed a bill which excludes the Jewish experience from the new [California State University] ethnic studies curriculum. Limiting exposure to Jewish stories ties one hand behind our back when addressing antisemitism both on and off campus.” Read more

FBI Apologizes for Posting Protocols of Zion
The Washington Post / 2-minute read
For more than a century, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion has promulgated the antisemitic lie that Jews are plotting to take over the world. On Wednesday, an FBI Twitter account called @FBIRecordsVault tweeted out a link to a PDF containing the book in its entirety, as well as reports from the FBI classifying the book as false, and a 1964 report from the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which they call the text “crude and vicious nonsense.” The FBI later apologized and clarified the account is automated and sends links to records that have been made public via Freedom of Information Act requests. AJC U.S. Director of Combating Antisemitism Holly Huffnagle tweeted: “The @FBIRecordsVault release of important records is an invaluable resource but releasing the text of one of the world's most nefarious antisemitic fabrications without context in the tweet was a horrendous error.” Read more

Tidings

Israelis and Emiratis to develop Covid stem-cell therapy (Israel 21c)
‘Teki’ah!’ - The ins and outs of the shofar (The Jerusalem Post)
How Mustard Became the King of Jewish Condiments (Tablet)

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