AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

Long before the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Jewish historian Deborah Lipstadt launched her latest book, Antisemitism Here and Now. On this week’s episode of People of the Pod, Lipstadt joins us to talk about what sparked her prescient work. Then, Raoul Wootliff, The Times of Israel's political correspondent, brings us up to date on the progress – or lack thereof – toward a unity government since Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz was tapped with forming a coalition with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. And Matthew Levitt, senior fellow and director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, joins us to discuss the political upheaval in Lebanon. Listen now

Must-reads

U.S. Senate Launches Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism
CNN.com / 2-minute read
To mark the first anniversary of the antisemitic attack against three congregations inside the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh, the U.S. Senate has launched a bipartisan task force for combating antisemitism. Co-chaired by Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen and Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, both members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the task force intends to collaborate with law enforcement, federal agencies, state and local government, educators, advocates, clergy, and other stakeholders to combat anti-Jewish hatred. Rosen began conversations about the task force after traveling to Israel with AJC Project Interchange. In the U.S. House, 175 members of Congress have joined a similar bipartisan task force to combat antisemitism since its formation in 2015. Join AJC and urge your representative and senators to join the Bipartisan Task Force For Combating Antisemitism. Read more

House Passes Resolution Recognizing Armenian Genocide
The New York Times / 2-minute read
Breaking years of diplomatic tradition, the U.S. House on Tuesday passed a bipartisan resolution officially calling the Armenian genocide precisely what it was -- a genocide. Since the mass killing of more than a million Armenians by Turkey’s Ottoman Empire during World War I, Turkey has denied it ever took place. U.S. diplomats and lawmakers have gone along with that fiction to preserve the U.S. relationship with Turkey, a NATO ally. But angered by Turkey’s recent attacks on the Syrian Kurdish population as soon as the U.S. began to withdraw its troops, Congress voted overwhelmingly to change its future foreign policy by recognizing the past. AJC tweeted: “We stand with Armenians the world over in this important struggle.” Read more

As Lebanon Looks To Form New Government, All Eyes Turn to Hezbollah
The Los Angeles Times / 2-minute read
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation on Tuesday, after nearly two weeks of anti-government protests sparked by a proposed tax on WhatsApp calls. Thousands of demonstrators have camped out on streets and squares and formed a human chain along major highways in and around Beirut. The demonstrations turned violent Tuesday as supporters of Hezbollah, a terrorist group that is part of the Lebanese government, attacked protesters and set fire to their tents. AJC has been urging the international community to follow the examples of the U.S. and several other countries by designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization in its entirety and doing away with the charade of its so-called political faction. Read more

Good to Know

Macron inaugurates $17 million Jewish Community Center
JTA / 1-minute read
Seeking to defy the forces of terrorism and antisemitism, French President Emmanuel Macron and French Jewish leaders unveiled the European Center for Judaism Tuesday – a 54,000-square-foot building on Jerusalem Square in Paris. The $17 million facility includes a 600-seat synagogue and an equally vast auditorium. The center also includes a gym, offices, and a large terrace to accommodate a sukkah. The center will mostly cater to Orthodox Jews. AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban attended the opening. AJC Paris tweeted in French: “At the inauguration of the #centreeuropeendujudaisme, the President @EmmanuelMacron evokes the working definition of ‘antisemitism of @TheIHRA ‘The government and the parliament have started to act, commitments have been made and will be finalized.’” Read more

Jewish Man Beaten in Antisemitic Attack on Berlin Street
The Times of Israel / 1-minute read
Less than a month after a deadly attack outside a synagogue in eastern Germany on Yom Kippur, a 70-year-old Jewish man was beaten on a Berlin street on Tuesday. Berlin Mayor Michael Muller denounced the attack and others as “events that in our city, in the face of our history, just should not happen, and [must] never become normal.” Police said Tuesday when the Jewish man defended himself verbally from antisemitic jeers, the suspect struck him multiple times in the head and chin. Join AJC in showing solidarity with the German Jewish community at AJC Global Forum 2020 in Berlin. Read more

Jordan Recalls Ambassador to Israel to Protest Detention of Citizens
The Times of Israel / 1-minute read
More than 25 years after Israel and Jordan signed their landmark peace agreement, Jordan has recalled its ambassador to protest Israel’s ongoing detention of two Jordanian citizens: Heba al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Miri. Labadi is suspected of “meeting with persons identified” with the Hezbollah terror group during trips to Beirut in 2018 and 2019. She has been carrying out a hunger strike for 36 days and has been transferred to a hospital in Haifa multiple times in the past week. An Israeli military court on Tuesday refused an appeal to release Miri, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and needs regular exams. Jordan also has detained an Israeli citizen who it says crossed the border illegally. Read more

Tidings

Stephen Miller Time (Moment magazine)
The Secret Jewish History of Prince (The Forward)
Decent Proposal: Free College for American Jews (Tablet magazine)

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

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