American Jewish Committee

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Dear AJC Friend, Shabbat Shalom. Welcome to the latest edition of AJC Dispatch, bringing you everything you need to know about Israel and the Jewish world from the past week.

If you like what you see, forward it to your friends! They can sign up at AJC.org/Dispatch.

This week, both India and the U.S. State Department called attention to the threat Iran poses to global peace and security. Israel, Greece, and Cyprus scored a slam dunk with an agreement to speed up work on an underwater cable that will link power grids. Meanwhile, the NBA disciplined the Miami Heat’s Meyers Leonard for shouting an antisemitic slur during a video game livestream.

People of the Pod

AJC’s weekly podcast analyzing global affairs through a Jewish lens

The Nazi Hunter: Eli Rosenbaum on Tracking Down the World’s Most Wanted Criminals

For 40 years, Eli Rosenbaum has helped the Justice Department find former Nazis and hold them accountable for their World War II crimes, a role that has earned him the moniker “Nazi Hunter.” LISTEN NOW

Bleacher Report | 3-minute read

The NBA suspended Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard for a week and fined him $50,000 after he hurled an antisemitic slur while livestreaming his video game play. Leonard apologized for the slur after Jewish New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman posted an open letter on social media explaining the uproar and inviting Leonard to Shabbat dinner. READ MORE

AJC responds: “Thank you, @NBA, for your zero-tolerance stance on antisemitism.” (View on Twitter)

AJC analysis: This is not the first time Edelman has called out antisemitism from a fellow athlete. Last year he invited fellow NFL player DeSean Jackson to tour the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum after Jackson posted a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler that Jews would blackmail America. Read about other athletes who have taken a stand against antisemitism. (View on AJC Global Voice)

Israel, Greece, Cyprus Speed Up Euro-Asia Interconnector

The Washington Post | 3-minute read

Israel, Cyprus, and Greece took a key step this week toward a 2,000-megawatt undersea cable that will link the electrical grids of Mediterranean countries, providing new power sources and more energy independence. READ MORE

AJC analysis: AJC’s Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs Julie Fishman Rayman explains this critical trilateral relationship and what it means for the entire Mediterranean region on the Greek Current podcast. (Listen on Twitter)

AJC hosts: At AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke with AJC CEO David Harris about the vital Eastern Mediterranean democratic alliance among Greece, Cyprus, the U.S., and Israel. (Watch on AJC.org)

More News

Listen to 10 Trailblazing Jewish Women on People of the Pod

AJC Global Voice | 4-minute read

Since AJC’s weekly podcast, People of the Pod, first aired three years ago, dozens of trailblazing Jewish women — including Hollywood star Debra Messing, prominent historian Deborah Lipstadt and journalist Soraya Nadia McDonald — have joined us to talk about their inspiring work. Listen again in honor of Women’s History Month. READ MORE

India Blames Iran for Blast Outside Israeli Embassy

The Times of Israel | 3-minute read

Investigators in India have concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out the January bomb attack outside the Israeli embassy in New Delhi. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department barred two IRGC interrogators and their families from entering the U.S., citing the interrogators’ inhumane treatment of political prisoners and detainees during recent Iranian protests. READ MORE

AJC responds: “India has reportedly concluded that a local Shiite group, backed by Iran, was behind the terror plot targeting the Israeli embassy in New Delhi. Yet another indication that Iran poses a real and present threat to global peace and security.” (View on Twitter)

AJC responds: “Thank you, @StateDept and @SecBlinken, for sanctioning two Iranian government interrogators accused of torturing political prisoners and protesters in 2019 and 2020. Iran must be held accountable for these and other gross human rights violations.” (View on Twitter)

What’s happening next week? (And what you may have missed this week!)

Advocacy Anywhere is AJC’s online platform bringing you top-quality content during the pandemic. View the Advocacy Anywhere page for information on past and future programs:

Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET: Speaking Out for the Voiceless
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director Emeritus at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, discusses how to address religious persecution and the importance of interfaith dialogue. Register

Did you miss...

Religion: Cause or Cure for America’s Divides?
Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, and a member of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC), discussed how faith communities can champion good and oppose evil. Watch
Military Coup and Democracy Protests in Myanmar
Myanmar Jewish community leader Sammy Samuels discusses the situation on the ground and the future of democracy in Myanmar, where more than 60 protesters have reportedly been killed and 2,000 detained since the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup d'état. Originally offered exclusively to AJC’s National Leadership Council, the content is too important not to share more widely. Watch

AJC’s Shabbat Table

This week, in AJC’s Shabbat Table, we see how Moses’ reminder to the Children of Israel to keep the Sabbath holy coupled with the creation of the elaborate Mishkan (tabernacle) prepares us to emerge from this pandemic armed with lessons about the sacredness of time and space. And in honor of Women’s History Month, we recall the “scandalous” bat mitzvah ceremony of Judith Kaplan that opened the door to women’s ritual inclusion in synagogues and arguably led to the ordination of women as rabbis. READ MORE

Tidings

Another Reason to Boo Haman (JTA)
Hitler Haggadah? (The Forward)
Still Life in Lodz (Los Angeles Times)

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*The articles highlighted above do not necessarily reflect AJC’s positions.

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