AJC Dispatch

AJC Shabbat Table

This week, in AJC Shabbat Table, we contemplate how to draw strength from the Torah readings about Abraham’s trials as we face loneliness and painful separations during the pandemic. Just like Abraham made his way through difficulties and became the father of a great nation, we too will weather this crisis and return to the richness and fullness of our family and work lives. We also provide some tools for taking stock of the year that has gone by and thinking about our goals and dreams for the year to come. We revisit an odd footnote in nineteenth century American Jewish history when a playwright named Mordechai Manuel Noah invited American Jews to join him in Ararat, a city in upstate New York where Jews would be able to seek refuge and govern themselves. Lastly, we unlock the AJC vault to listen to a radio dramatization of “Behold the Jew,” a prize-winning poem by Ada Jackson, aired by AJC and NBC on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in 1944. Read more

Advocacy Anywhere

Advocacy Anywhere, Powered by AJC, is our online platform bringing you top-quality content during the pandemic. Tune in Monday, September 21, to hear from Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) about their bipartisan initiative to build new partnerships between Israeli and Palestinian business leaders and civil society organizations. Then, on Wednesday, September 23, we mark the one-year anniversary of the historic United Nations report that surveyed and condemned antisemitism worldwide. Hear from its author, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion, about what progress has been made in the past 12 months. View the Advocacy Anywhere page for information on past and future programs.

On Air

Talking Arab-Israeli Peace with Acting Consul General Israel Nitzan
People of the Pod / 28-minute listen
Following Tuesday’s historic signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates at the White House, we sit down with Israeli Acting Consul General Israel Nitzan to help us break down this exciting development and what it means for Israel. Then, in our closing segment, Shabbat Table Talk, AJC Associate Director for Policy and Middle East Initiatives Benjy Rogers shares why the Abraham Accords give him hope for the region. Listen now

Must-reads

Abraham Accords Signed at White House: AJC Reflections
AJC Global Voice / 2-minute read
The peace agreements between Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE have flipped conventional wisdom on its head and heralded a new era in the Middle East. Minutes after witnessing the signing of the accords on the White House lawn, AJC’s CEO David Harris shared his firsthand account in the latest installment of his Around the World series. Meanwhile, AJC’s Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson, who also attended the White House festivities, writes in The Times of Israel that the young Bahraini diplomat who accompanied AJC’s delegation in Manama 25 years ago and became the king’s diplomatic advisor early this year played no small role in expanding the circle of Arab-Israeli peace. Finally, in this insightful Newsweek op-ed, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications Avi Mayer explains what the Abraham Accords mean for Israel, the Palestinians, and the entire Middle East. Read more

Addressing AJC, Senior U.S. Official Accuses Hezbollah of Stockpiling Weapons, Ammonium Nitrate Across Europe`
The Washington Post / 1-minute read
Ambassador Nathan Sales, the U.S. State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, revealed on Thursday during an AJC Advocacy Anywhere program that Hezbollah weapons caches, including significant stores of ammonium nitrate, have been discovered and destroyed across Europe. “Hezbollah is active in Europe right now” and it is important for European governments and citizens to know the extent of Hezbollah’s reach on European soil, Sales said, adding that the only reason Hezbollah has been stockpiling ammonium nitrate on European soil “is to conduct major terrorist attacks whenever it, or its masters in Tehran, decide.” European designation of all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization is imperative for regional security and for Lebanon’s future, he said. This week, AJC welcomed Serbia’s decision to join the growing list of countries that have designated all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Join AJC and urge the international community to stop Hezbollah. Read more

First Chadian Cargo Plane Lands in Israel for AJC-Provided Humanitarian Aid
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
AJC, in coordination with Israeli Flying Aid (IFA)—one of AJC’s Israeli partners for humanitarian aid—is providing tents for thousands of people in Chad who have lost their homes in massive floods. A military cargo plane from the Muslim-majority African nation, which re-established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2019, landed in Israel this week to pick up the tents and other humanitarian aid. Read more

Good to Know

AJC Joins European Union, Human Rights Groups in Condemning Execution of Iranian Wrestler
CNN / 2-minute read
Iranian champion wrestler Navid Afkari was executed on Saturday, despite a high-profile international campaign calling for the sentence not to be carried out. The 27-year-old athlete had been sentenced to death in connection to the murder of a security guard during August 2018 anti-government protests in Shiraz. He was reportedly tortured into confessing to the crime. The International Olympic Committee, which had appealed to Iranian authorities for mercy on Afkari’s behalf, as well as the European Union have condemned the execution. AJC CEO David Harris tweeted: “Iran should be expelled from Int’l Olympics for execution of #NavidAfkari, an athlete who wanted a dignified life for all Iranians.” Read more

Court Rules Government Can End Humanitarian Protections For Some 300,000 Immigrants
NPR / 2-minute read
The 9th Circuit Appeals Court ruled on Monday that the Trump administration can end temporary protected status for more than 300,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan. TPS provides a work permit and stay of deportation to foreign nationals living in the U.S. whose countries of origin are facing natural disasters, armed conflict, or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that make it unsafe for them to return. TPS for immigrants from Honduras and Nepal is still in litigation. AJC tweeted: “The 9th Circuit Court ruling allowing the termination of TPS is reprehensible. Sending as many as 300,000 immigrants, many of whom have lived in the U.S. for decades, back to nations plagued by instability and crime will jeopardize U.S. national security and put lives at risk.” Read more

Survey Finds Millennials, Gen Z Don’t Know Holocaust Killed 6 Million Jews
USA Today / 2-minute read
A survey conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found that almost two-thirds of millennials and Gen Zers (those born between 1996 and 2010) don't know that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and almost half can't name a single concentration camp. The survey of 1,000 18-to-39-year-olds in all fifty states also provided the first state-by-state breakdown of Holocaust knowledge in the U.S. In New York, for example, nearly 20% of millennials and Gen Zers incorrectly believe that Jews caused the Holocaust. Read more

Tidings

Nick Cannon vs. Professor Griff (The Forward)
From Vienna to Washington Via Tel Aviv (Jewish Insider)
America’s First Jews (Moment Magazine)

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