American Jewish Committee

Advocacy Anywhere

Advocacy Anywhere is AJC’s online platform bringing you top-quality content during the pandemic. Join us on Wednesday, November 18, as AJC CEO David Harris, one of the Jewish world’s leading experts on global trends, examines developments on the world stage, analyzes the impact of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and addresses the most pressing issues on the minds of Jews around the world. View the Advocacy Anywhere page for information on past and future programs.

On Air

Election 2020 Analysis: Bethany Mandel, Ron Kampeas
People of the Pod / 35-minute listen
This week, we take a deep dive into the results of the 2020 election. First, we’re joined by writer and commentator Bethany Mandel to discuss what pre-election polls got wrong and why. Then, we hear from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s Washington Bureau Chief, Ron Kampeas, to break down the results of the congressional election and hear what the 117th Congress will look like. Listen now

Must-reads

AJC Election Analysis
AJC Global Voice / 4-minute read
Following several days of uncertainty, it is now official: former Vice President Joe Biden will be the 46th President of the United States and Senator Kamala Harris will become the first woman to serve as Vice President — as well as the first person of color. In this post-election analysis, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson and AJC Deputy Director of Policy and Diplomatic Affairs Julie Fishman Rayman break down the key factors that influenced the election’s outcome and the issues to follow. Watch Biden and Harris vow to support Israel and fight antisemitism during separate greetings to AJC Global Forum 2019. Read more

The Middle East Has Changed, France is Threatened
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
France must recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, writes former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in an incisive column about Europe's outdated conception of the Middle East. “Peace is not about a successful balancing act nor is it about moral arbitrage. It is about entering a new paradigm willingly,” he writes. Valls’ column echoes a recent column by AJC CEO David Harris, who also recently called on Europe to shed its archaic approach. Watch this AJC Advocacy Anywhere program on France’s fight against Islamist extremism. Read more

Antisemitism Circa 1974 and Now
Washington Jewish Week / 2-minute read
In this important piece, AJC’s Washington Director Alan Ronkin shares his personal experiences with antisemitism as a child growing up in Bridgeport, Connecticut, including the moment when he went from wearing a kippah in public to donning a baseball cap. “Some people just hate Jews,” his father told him. “They hate us because we are different and sometimes because their religion taught them to.” Today, antisemitism has taken on new forms, but ignorance still drives the discussion in many corners as demonstrated by several alarming findings in AJC’s recent State of Antisemitism in America report. Read more

AJC Shabbat Table

Weekly Torah Portion: Chayei Sarah
This week, in AJC’s Shabbat Table, we reflect on how the journey of Abraham reminds us that our goals may not be fully achieved in our lifetimes, but we must still work toward them to assure progress will continue after we are gone. We then pay tribute to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who believed that Zionism and American patriotism go hand-in-hand and we learn how thousands of Ethiopian Jews first landed in Israel and became an integral part of Israeli society. Finally, we encourage families to remember the legacy of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the beloved former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain who passed away last Shabbat. Read more

Good to Know

Bahrain’s Long Serving Prime Minister Dies
The New York Times / 2-minute read
A day after the Israeli Knesset ratified a peace agreement with Bahrain, the island nation’s prime minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, died at age 84. At the time of his death, Prince Khalifa was the world’s longest-serving prime minister. He oversaw the development of a strong economy and shaped much of modern Bahrain. Last month, Bahrain agreed to forge open diplomatic relations with Israel. In 2019, AJC honored Bahrain with its Architect of Peace award. AJC tweeted: “AJC extends condolences to the people of Bahrain on the passing of their Prime Minister, HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who served his country since its independence in 1971 and strengthened ties with the U.S.” Read more

Dutch Protestant Church Apologizes for Not Helping Jews
The Jerusalem Post / 1-minute read
During a ceremony to commemorate Kristallnacht, the Dutch Protestant Church apologized for having failed to do more to protect Jews during and after the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of approximately 70% of Dutch Jewry. The church acknowledged that the apology was overdue and vowed to fight antisemitism going forward. AJC tweeted: “We commend the Dutch Protestant Church for speaking hard truths about the institution's role in the Holocaust, in a far-reaching apology on the 82nd anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom.” Read more

Israel Shoots Down Hezbollah Drone; Lebanese PM’s Brother Calls for Peace with Israel
Associated Press / 2-minute read
In a two-part interview with Axios, Bahaa Hariri, the son of the late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and brother of Saad Hariri, the former prime minister tasked with forming Lebanon’s new government, said that the new administration should not include Hezbollah. He also said he hopes negotiations between Lebanon and Israel about demarcating their maritime borders will lead to a resolution of all border disputes and a peace deal. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces this week said it shot down a drone belonging to Hezbollah terrorists that entered Israeli airspace. Join AJC in urging the international community to designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Read more

Tidings

Biden Children’s Beloveds (NYPost)
Middle East Romance (NYT)
Farm to Shabbat Table (Bloomberg)

The articles featured here do not necessarily reflect AJC’s positions.

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