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WJC President’s Hanukkah message

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder: “I would like to wish all the Jewish communities of the World Jewish Congress family a Happy Hanukkah. My hope is that we can all find happiness and comfort in this year's Festival of Light, and that it will help us banish the darkness of this difficult period.” Read More... 

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg praises partnership with WJC in address to Governing Board, affirms decision to ban Holocaust denial

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder told the representatives of more than 100 Jewish communities: “Facebook has taken very positive action in facing Holocaust denial and hate speech. The major fight we have today is fighting antisemitism. It’s a battle that can’t be won, but we can have a major impact on it.” Read More... 

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder welcomes normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco 

President Lauder declared, “This agreement is the latest evidence of shifting societal attitudes toward Israel in the region, and I hope that this move will encourage others to follow their lead." Read More... 

Women in Contemporary Judaism: Jewish Unity and Religious Diversity

In partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, WJC will bring together Jewish women religious leaders on 15 December to celebrate their diversity of opinions, acknowledge the challenges they face, and address how to best meet these obstacles going forward. Read More... 

WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps: United Against Racism Global Conference 

During the last two weeks of November, the WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps held a major 10-day global event, aimed at empowering and training its members to build personal and organizational alliances with other communities. Read More... 

Follow Finland - ban racist organizations

In a joint op-ed with several other Jewish leaders, WJC Executive Vice President Maram Stern called on Sweden to follow Finland's example and ban the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement party: “When a group seriously threatens democracy, it is of the utmost importance that the democratic society vigorously reacts.” Read More... 

COVID-19 fuels highest rate of online antisemitism ever recorded in the UK, report finds | The Independent

The report issued by the UK's Community Security Trust discussed the prevalence of several antisemitic conspiracy myths online, including that Jews are creating and spreading COVID-19. The first half of 2020 saw the highest rate of online antisemitism ever recorded, the report found. Read More... 

New Zealand still struggling with identifying hate crimes, but Jewish community hopeful for improvement 

According to a report by the New Zealand police department, 40% of hate crime complaints are recorded improperly or downgraded. Police have started working with advocacy groups to improve their system logging hate crimes. Read More... 

Jewish sites vandalized in Greece​

Following the defacing of a Holocaust monument and an outer wall of a synagogue, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) issued a statement stressing that the perpetrators’ actions “emanates from religious fanaticism and intolerance.” Read More... 

Israeli government unlikely to tighten restrictions over Hanukkah | JPost

While restrictions are unlikely to be tightened, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said that the ministry would likely establish a threshold of infection that would require Israel to increase restrictions. Read More... 

UK and Israel sign agreement on military cooperation | Jewish News

While many of the details of the agreement are classified, the agreement covers areas of warfare such as maritime, land, air, space, cyber and electromagnetic. Analysts suspect that a driving force behind this week’s announcement is the UK’s desire to transition to a digital military, potentially using Israeli-designed platforms. Read More... 

The first Hanukkah in the Warsaw Ghetto

Reflecting on Hanukkah in the Warsaw Ghetto, Chaim Kaplan wrote in his dairy, "Never before in Jewish Warsaw were there as many Hanukkah celebrations as in this year of the wall... Polish Jews are stubborn: The enemy makes laws but they don’t obey them. That is the secret of our survival.” Watch Now... 

The life of Władysław Szpilman

Born in 1911 in Poland, Szpilman trained as a pianist in Warsaw and Berlin. His incredible story, including his escape of the Warsaw Ghetto, became known to the world with the film based on his memoir of survival, The Pianist. Watch Now... 

Rabbi Elie Abadie of UAE: My country is going to become the new safe haven for Jews and the persecuted 

The United Arab Emirates' first full time resident Jewish spiritual leader, Rabbi Elie Abadie, sat down with The Jerusalem Post to discuss his new role, as well as how the Abraham Accords is changing the country. Read More... 

President Duda wishes Happy Hanukkah to Poland's Jewish community

"Due to the epidemic this Hanukkah is going to be different than usual. But the story dating back more than 2000 years about the miraculous multiplication of the olive oil in the Temple of Jerusalem following the victory of Jewish rebel warriors who defeated their enemy and defended the freedom of their nation will be equally momentous," wrote Polish President Andrzej Duda. Read More ... 

Prince Charles honors Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at ceremony marking 30 days since passing | JTA

During his remarks, Prince Charles called former British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks a “light unto this nation”, adding that “Through his writings, sermons and broadcasts, Rabbi Sacks touched the lives of countless people with his unfailing wisdom, with his profound sanity and with a moral conviction which, in a confused and confusing world, was all too rare.” Read More... 

Jewish community reflects on anniversary of Jersey City shooting | Bergen Record 

A year after one of the worst hate crimes in New Jersey history, the scars remain. But the shocking attack that left four victims dead has also brought people closer together and forced Jews and African Americans to come to shed preconceptions about one another. Read More... 

Jewish law says: If science shows COVID-19 vaccine is helpful, you should take it 

"As a rabbi, I am a student of Jewish law, which underscores the importance of seeking out experts in their particular fields to help communities navigate worldly challenges. If the science says it’s helpful to take the vaccine, we should do so," writes Rabbi Avi Weiss in the New York Post. Read More... 

Guido Goldman, co-founder of Center for European Studies, passes away at 83 | The Harvard Crimson

Goldman was born in Zurich on Nov. 4, 1937, and his family fled Europe in 1940. His father, Nahum Goldman, would go on to co-found the World Jewish Congress and serve as president of the World Zionist Organization. Read More... 

Chief Rabbi Mirvis and Archbishop Welby: No two bereavements are the same 

In a joint interview marking National Grief Awareness Week, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Archbishop Welby reflected on the pain of losing a loved one. Earlier in the week, a two-minute moment of silence was held at St Paul’s Cathedral in memory of those lost during the pandemic. Read More... 

7 December 1941 | Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, leading U.S. to enter WWII 

The tragedy had far-ranging geopolitical effects beyond Japan and the United States. In what is seen by many historians as one of his greatest errors during World War II, Adolf Hitler applauded the attack and along with Italy declared war on the United States. Read More... 

9 December 1946 | Doctors' Trial commences to bring Nazi criminals to justice 

The trial aimed to bring leading German physicians to justice for their participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. The most important legacy of the Doctors’ Trial is believed to be the Nuremberg Code, which defined legitimate research in attempt to protect humans from enduring the cruelty that Nazi physicians had enacted during the Holocaust. Read More... 

8 December 1978 | Former Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir passes away  

Affectionately known as the ‘Iron Lady’ and dubbed "the best man in the government" by Prime Minister Ben-Gurion, Meir is often remembered as a "strong-willed, straight-talking, grey-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people." Read More...