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October 2020


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Top 3 ADL Actions Around the Globe


1


Diplomatic Seminar Highlights ADL’s Israel Work and Fight Against Global Antisemitism

ADL Israel conducted a two-day training seminar ISRAEL: Know. Share. Act. geared for the diplomatic corps serving in Israel. Attendees included ambassadors and senior diplomats from several European and Latin American countries, as well as representatives from the US and Australia.


Speakers addressed global antisemitism, the resurfacing of age-old antisemitic myths in the age of COVID-19 and international efforts to delegitimize Israel, as well as domestic issues inside Israel, including the challenges facing Israeli Arabs and the LGBTQIA community. The seminar was held with the generous support of the Genesis Prize Foundation as part of Robert Kraft’s initiative entitled: Speak Out for Israel.


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Halle Synagogue Attack Commemorated

ADL
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marked the first anniversary of the neo-Nazi attack on the Synagogue in Halle during Yom Kippur services by highlighting the vibrancy of Jewish life in Germany. 
 



In an
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op-ed marking the anniversary, Dalia Grinfeld, Assistant Director of European Affairs, writes:


Jewish life in Germany is often viewed solely within the lens of past and current anti-Semitism, or the Holocaust, or when there are sudden flareups in the Middle East conflict. But the reality shows Jewish communal life defying the odds and thriving. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanied anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery, many positive actions and activities in Jewish life in Germany have taken place: the Jewish Women Empowerment Summit, Jewish summer camps, Pride Shabbat and a Jewish student fundraiser for the owners of a kebab shop where a person was killed during the Halle synagogue attack last year, who have been adversely affected by the pandemic...Next year, German
Jews will celebrate 1,700 years of Jewish life in Germany. This is a meaningful milestone, but the continuity of Jewish life in Germany should not be taken for granted.


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3


Reported State Department Plan to Designate Human Rights Groups as Antisemitic is Criticized

ADL criticized a reported State Department plan to label several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam, as antisemitic. 
 



In a
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statement , ADL said while “we have had very significant disagreements with these organizations and certain staff members over the years, particularly on their approach to Israel which often has been excessive and unfair. Nonetheless, we strongly believe that these organizations are crucial to ensuring robust civil society and democratic protections worldwide. To suggest that these groups are somehow constitutionally anti-Jewish is plain wrong. It would be shortsighted and counterproductive for the State Department to blacklist them in this way.” 



Upcoming Event: Join thousands of experts, community and business leaders, students and concerned community members by taking part in Never Is Now, the world’s largest summit on antisemitism and hate. Never Is Now will be presented as several sessions over the first two weeks of November. Delivered virtually in 2020, Never Is Now is the best way to learn about and discuss contemporary drivers of antisemitism and hate and learn how to add your voice to the conversation combating bias of all kinds.
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Register here .




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AROUND THE WORLD


Israel & Broader Middle East

ADL
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welcomed the announcement that Israel and Sudan agreed to begin normalizing relations, the third Arab nation to do so in recent weeks.


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ADL
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marked the 35th anniversary of the killing of Leon Klinghoffer by Palestinian terrorists aboard the hijacked Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro.



Reflecting on the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Ken Jacobson, ADL Deputy National Director,
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writes :


He was one man, a true patriot always thinking about what was best for his nation and how he could best contribute to its well-being. Early on, when Israel was under siege, his contribution was to lead the way in protecting the nation from its enemies. But when things started to change and Israel became more secure, protecting the best interests of the nation took the form of seeking a viable and secure peace with the Palestinians. No contradictions there. A life well lived, tragically cut short in a savage way. Let us not forget him.



In welcoming the State Department’s announcement that passports belonging to US citizens born in Jerusalem can now list “Israel” as their country of birth, ADL
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stated that “US citizens born in Jerusalem have the right, as does every U.S. national born abroad, to list both their city and country of birth.”



President Erdogan of Turkey must stop using the holy city of Jerusalem for his populist, anti-Israel threats, ADL said in a
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statement .



The International Affairs Committee hosted a special briefing on “Turkey: Regional Influencer or Global Threat?” with Aykan Erdemir, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gallia Lindenstrauss, of the Institute for National Security Studies and Steven Cook, of the Council on Foreign Relations. The briefing was moderated by Sharon Nazarian, SVP for International Affairs. The panel explored today's Turkey under the leadership of President Erdogan, the country’s ideology and impact on the region and the international community. 



Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir, Coordinator of ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities, participated on a "Religious Freedom in Turkey" panel organized by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.



A
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blog by Washington Affairs Director David Weinberg highlighted an announcement of the launching of a third Holocaust cartoon contest by the Iranian regime.


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Europe

ADL
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welcomed the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour party for whitewashing antisemitism during his time as party leader. The suspension came on the heels of a new
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damning report by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission. 



ADL
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called the European Union’s Commission’s first ever strategy on combating antisemitism “a big step forward in fighting antisemitism in Europe jointly.”



Albania’s decision to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism was
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welcomed .



ADL
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expressed shock at the beheading of Paris teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamist extremist.



Guilty verdicts against the leaders of Greece’s neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn for leading a criminal organization and against a Golden Dawn member for the murder of a left-wing activist were
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welcomed .



ADL
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condemned the hate-motivated stabbing of two Muslim women in Paris.


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ADL
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joined with French Jewish partners in criticizing a Parsian court’s ruling that a swastika is not considered an antisemitic symbol.



ADL
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welcomed Estonia’s banning of Hezbollah members from entering the country, and urged other countries to follow their example.



The publishing of a national strategy on combating antisemitism by the Romanian foreign ministry was
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welcomed .

Latin America

ADL lay leaders from across the country participated in a virtual mission to Mexico and the San Diego -Tijuana border to learn about the Jewish community of Mexico and immigration issues at the border.



ADL
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welcomed the Guatemalan government’s designation of the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.



A Chilean law against incitement of hate and violence would help address neo-Nazi groups who demonstrated their vile hatred in recent protests, ADL
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said in a statement.



The Argentine Football Association’s decision to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism was
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welcomed . 




Director of Latin American Affairs Liat Altman conducted a webinar for the Reform Synagogue in Panama on current issues regarding antisemitism, extremism and delegitimization of Israel in the US, Europe and Latin America.

Global and Communal


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ADL condemned antisemitic attacks and trends globally, including: antisemitic graffiti in a Kosher restaurant in
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France ; an attack on a Jewish student outside a synagogue in
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Germany ; the desecration of several Jewish cemeteries and a Holocaust memorial in
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Greece ; and a neo-Nazi campaign outside a synagogue on Yom Kippur in
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Norway .



ADL
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welcomed a South African court ruling finding an individual guilty for posting antisemitic threats on Twitter.



ADL
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welcomed the Government of Ontario’s adaption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.



ADL
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expressed concern at reports of the shelling of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral during fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.



The International Affairs and Government Relations committees co-sponsored a webinar examining the foreign policy positions of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden that featured Jane Harman of the Wilson Center, Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution, and Cliff May of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The speakers addressed several issues including on the new dynamics in the Middle East following normalization between the UAE and Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, Turkey, Russia, China, the United Nations/international organizations and more.



ADL
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called on Pakistan’s Supreme Court to keep Daniel Pearl’s killer jailed during the appeals period, while welcoming the Court’s overturning of his acquittal by a lower court.


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