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WJC President Ronald S. Lauder congratulates President Biden and Vice President Harris on inauguration

President Lauder: “As an honorary Delawarean by marriage, and as a former U.S. Ambassador to Austria and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, I have known President Biden for over 50 years and know that the Jewish community could not have a better friend and ally in the White House.” Read More... 

WJC launches #WeRemember campaign ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

“As eye-witness memories of the Holocaust fade, and as our world has confronted the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing rising levels of antisemitism, xenophobia, racist ideologies and Holocausht denial,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. Read More... 

Why we must remember the Holocaust 76 years after the liberation of Auschwit-Birkenau

With antisemitism and hateful conspiracy myths targeting Jews on the rise, it is critical that we join together to educate against hate and combat Holocaust denial around the world. Watch Now... 

2021 virtual commemoration from Auschwitz

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the WJC and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum will host a special commemoration ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Read More... 

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder congratulates Armin Laschet on election as CDU party leader

“I met Prime Minister Laschet on a number of occasions, most recently a good year ago in October 2019, a few weeks after the fatal attack on the synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur," said President Lauder. "Prime Minister Laschet made it unmistakably and consistently clear that the German state allows zero tolerance towards antisemitism and right-wing extremism.” Read More... 

Biden's homeland security pick, Mayorkas, addresses threat on antisemitism in nomination hearing | Jewish Insider 

“I am profoundly aware of the threat and existence of antisemitism in our country and the world,” Mayorkas said in response to a question from Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) about his approach to antisemitism. “My mother lost her paternal grandparents and seven uncles by reason of their Jewish faith in the Holocaust." Read More... 

Austria presents national strategy against antisemitism | The Associated Press  

The initiative, which improves protection of synagogues, increases education about Judaism and calls for the effective prosecution of hate crimes against Jews, was welcomed by the president of the Jewish community of Vienna, Oskar Deutsch. Read More... 

British Jews feel more welcome major poll finds | JTA 

The survey conducted by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and King’s College London found that 66% of Jews believe Jews have a future in the United Kingdom — the highest level of confidence since 2015. Read More... 

Cabinet extends lockdown until the end of January | JPost

Under the rules of the lockdown, passengers entering Israel are required to present a negative coronavirus test performed no earlier than 72 hours before their flight, schools will be forced to close with few exceptions. Read More... 

More of the same: Anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020

The WJC once again calls upon U.N. member states to condemn this bias, prevent these one-sided resolutions disproportionately targeting Israel from being repeated again next year and urges all countries to vote against them. Read More... 

Buchenwald memorial warns people against sledding on its grounds | Jewish News 

Following the latest string of incidents, the memorial at the former Buchenwald concentration camp stepped up security and warned that violators will be reported to the police. Over 56,000 people - mostly Jews - were murdered in the concentration camp. Read More... 

Colorizing photos from the Holocaust

Turkish artist Yusuf Tolga Ünker opened an online exhibit adding color to black and white photos from the Holocaust. Reflecting on the exhibit, Ünker said, "Colorizing these photos will allow the people in them to speak to us from the past." Watch Now... 

Biden administration to consult with Israel before return to Iran deal Secretary of State nominee confirms | Times of Israel 

During his Senate confirmation hearing, secretary of state nominee Tony Blinken, said, “It’s vitally important that we engage on the takeoff, not the landing, with our allies and partners in the region, to include Israel and to include the Gulf countries.” Read More... 

Iran loses UN voting rights over unpaid dues, blames US sanctions | JPost

UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote a letter to General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir that the countries in debt to the UN will have their UNGA voting rights suspended in accordance with the UN charter. Read More... 

Jewish community revives calls for truth and justice in AMIA prosecutor's death

“Six years after [prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s] death, our institution reiterates the urgent need for the judicial process to act quickly and impartially in the face of a tragic event that shocked the entire society,” AMIA said in a statement. Read More... 

Naomi Levine, civil rights activist, NYU doyen passes away at 98 | The Forward

“Naomi Levine was truly a force of nature. From humble roots in the Bronx, she earned a degree from Hunter College and a law degree from Columbia University, where, she said, “I was much more interesting to talk to than Justice Ginsburg,”’ writes Jewish Community Project of Lower Manhattan Executive Director Andy Bachman. Read More... 

20 January 1942 | Heydrich convenes Wannsee Conference to plan for mass extermination of European Jewry 

While the call to exterminate European Jewry was never explicitly mentioned at the Wannsee Conference, the intent of the conference was exceedingly obvious to the highly-educated German officials, and within a few months the Nazis installed the first poison-gas chambers in Poland. Read More... 

President Biden: "We must confront antisemitism whenever it occurs"

While accepting WJC’s Theodor Herzl Award in 2016, then-Vice President Biden spoke of his life-long dedication to protecting the Jewish people and Israel, adding that it is crucial for Americans to stand up to antisemitism and bigotry because "indifference is silence, and silence is consent." Watch Now...