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Senior ADL Leaders Meet with Political and Societal Leaders Across the Mideast | |
ADL hosted a day-long virtual mission to the Middle East and North Africa for senior ADL leaders, which focused on the importance of complementing government-level peace accords with people-to-people engagement, the benefits of peace for fostering more widespread tolerance, and the importance of demonstrating the benefits of peace to prevent backsliding. Highlights of
ADL’s Virtual Mission to the Middle East on the Impact of the Abraham Accords included:
A conversation between CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ben Zayed Al Nahyan, which touched on critical issues, including the future of Abraham Accords, religious extremism and hate online.
Ambassador Dennis Ross, William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who offered context to the US perspective on the Abraham Accords and their geostrategic consequences across the region.
Eliav Benjamin, head of the Middle East bureau at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, shared the Israeli perspective on the Accords, including about what might lay ahead for other related developments and expanding the circle of peace.
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Deputy Jerusalem Mayor, and AlAnoud Al Hashmi, Founder and CEO of the Futurist Company in the UAE, who talked about the critical role of women in advancing relations between Israel and the UAE.
Jacky Kadoch, President of the Jewish community of the Moroccan city of Marrakech, and El Mehdi Boudra, the Founder of a Muslim youth organization for promoting Morocco’s Jewish heritage called the Mimouna Association, spoke about what the agreement means for the Jewish community in Morocco.
Mohamed Abubakr, President of the Africa Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL), and Ambassador Alberto Fernandez, VP of the Middle East Media Research Institute ( MEMRI), shared insights into Sudan, including recent developments related to the military coups the country has gone through in recent years.
Ambassador Houda Nonoo of Bahrain spoke about the importance of the normalization between Israel and Bahrain, and what she has done to showcase Judaism to Bahrain’s society and the broader Arab world.
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Never is Now Conference Features Important Statements About Anti-Zionism | |
ADL hosted its annual Never Is Now summit featuring an outstanding line-up of speakers including Vice President Kamala Harris, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid,
L’Oreal Chairman Jean-Paul Agon and many others.
During his annual State of Hate address, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt sounded the alarm on antisemitism from both the far-left and far-right, for example saying: “Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Denying the right of Jews – alone among the people of the world – to have a homeland is antisemitism. Singling out the Jewish state for condemnation while ignoring others is a contemptible expression of prejudice.”
Never is Now also featured several panels on antisemitism, including one focused on “Combating Anti-Zionist and Antisemitic Activism in Progressive Spaces
.” Moderated by Senior Director of International Affairs Susan Heller Pinto, the panel featured Sara Yael Hirschhorn, Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University, Oren Jacobson, Founder of Project Shema, and Lord John Mann, the UK Government’s Independent Adviser on Antisemitism. Each shared their insights into how anti-Zionism was manifesting in the political sphere, in social justice movements, and on the campus, and how to effectively raise awareness about the real-life impact of these manifestations.
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ADL mourned the death of Eli Kay, a Jewish-Israeli new immigrant from South Africa who was killed in a terror attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. In a blog published following his murder, ADL experts highlighted how a number of groups and
individuals affiliated with the anti-Israel movement justified the attack and engaged in intolerant rhetoric, including accusing Kay of being a
settler colonialist
, that also disparaged the victim.
To commemorate the anniversary of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Deputy National Director Ken Jacobson published an op-ed on why anti-Israel activists continue to fail to recognize the growing normalization between Israel and Arab states.
ADL condemned two leading Israeli Haredi Rabbis Kanievsky and Edelstein’s for issuing a dangerous call “to do everything” to prevent egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall (Kotel), saying it risks increasing the existing violence against all those who seek to pray differently. Earlier, ADL criticized
certain Israeli elected officials for stating their intention to physically block the Women of the Wall from praying at the Kotel.
ADL said it was grateful that Israeli citizens Natali and Mordy Oknin, tourists visiting Turkey, were released from Turkish custody and allowed to return to Israel.
ADL thanked singer Will.i.am for his unequivocal rejection of BDS’s anti-Israel and anti-peace tactics.
ADL welcomed a UAE-mediated agreement between Israel and Jordan on energy and water, noting the importance of the Abraham Accords in building win-win solutions that benefit all people, including in the fight against climate change.
ADL called out the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah Party for publishing a children’s magazine that advocates anti-Israel violence, seeks to destroy Israel and says Israel thirsts for children's blood.
Aaron Ahlquist, Director of Policy for the Southern Division, moderated a conversation with representatives of the Parents Circle Families Forum, which is comprised of individuals who lost family members during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Aaron also interviewed Herb Keinon of the Jerusalem Post, who provided a 30,000-foot view of the many pressing issues facing Israel. |
David Weinberg, Washington Director for International Affairs, and Tara Maloney, Center on Extremism Analyst, co-authored a blog analyzing the antisemitism and threats to Israel embedded in Al Qaeda’s propaganda video to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
ADL expressed concern about the visit of Iranian Chief Rabbi Yehuda Gerami to the US, saying that his visit was sanctioned by the Iranian regime and therefore raises concerns. ADL also criticized Ami Magazine for their positive profile of Gerami and for claiming that Iran’s Jewish community is thriving.
David Weinberg wrote a blog exposing the existence of 39 large Arabic-language Facebook groups or pages that promote the antisemitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion in their titles, plus other examples of blatant hate speech on the platform across other languages, including anti-Muslim bigotry in English, anti-Armenian bigotry in Turkish, and anti-Baha’i bigotry in Farsi.
David Weinberg represented ADL at a group meeting of Jewish American organizations with the Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry.
In his weekly podcast, Scott Richman, NY/NJ Regional Director, interviewed David Weinberg about the recent joint study ADL co-published with the Tony Blair Institute on Global Change regarding education reform in the Middle East since 9/11. |
In an op-ed in response to the condemnation by the Polish government of an antisemitic rally, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt wrote that the event in Poland reminds us of both the best and worst of that nation's history with Jews, saying: “Let us hope that the early signs are indicative that Polish authorities and Polish society make the right choice and tell the world that Poland will not be complacent about contemporary antisemitism, which contradicts its illustrious past as a welcome home to Jews.”
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In an op-ed marking the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Ken Jacobson, Deputy National Director, wrote about the importance of commemorating the date, saying: “We commemorate Kristallnacht not only to show respect to the Jews murdered and imprisoned and the synagogues destroyed that ghastly night, but also to make the point that confronting hate early on remains a vital approach to prevent its spread. That message is particularly relevant today as antisemitism is resurgent.”
ADL welcomed commitments by the incoming German government to defend Israel’s security, fight antisemitism and promote Jewish life in Germany.
ADL welcomed the guilty verdict in the trial of the antisemitic murder of Mireille Knoll, a French Jew.
Romania’s decision to mandate Holocaust education in secondary schools was welcomed.
ADL criticized a Dutch MP who referred to vaccine refusers as the “the new Jews.”
ADL condemned online violent threats and physical intimidation directed at Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely.
ADL welcomed the UK’s full designation Hamas as a terrorist organization, ending the artificial distinction between its political and military wing.
The EU Court of Justice’s decision to uphold the European Union’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization was welcomed. |
The approval of Brazil as an observer state to International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) organization was welcomed.
ADL welcomed the Colombia’s Police's apology after police dressed in Nazi uniforms as part of a “cultural exchange” with Germany, and thanked President Duque for condemning the incident.
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ADL welcomed Colombia’s President Duque’s comments at Yad Vashem on a visit to Israel, including his rejection of hateful discourse and call for societies to reject extremism and polarization.
ADL met with Fernando Lottenberg, the newly appointed Commissioner for Antisemitism at the Organization of American States.
In an effort to reach and expand ADL’s Spanish speaking audiences in the US and around the world, several ADL op-eds were translated into Spanish and published in Spanish language media sites: |
ADL condemned several antisemitic incidents and trends globally, including: antisemitic actions by a student union body at the University of Toronto in Canada; antisemitic chants and actions by nationalists during an independence day rally in Poland; the defacement of a Holocaust memorial in Spain
; antisemitic chants by West Ham soccer fans in the UK; and Hanukkah menorahs toppled over in two different cities in Ukraine.
ADL criticized the South African government’s pressure campaign against Miss South Africa to not attend the Miss Universe Pageant being held in Israel.
ADL praised the World Squash Federation for canceling a tournament in Malaysia, after the Malaysian government refused to grant Israeli athletes visas.
Following a new US Holocaust Memorial Museum report on the Chinese government’s genocidal campaign against the Uighurs, ADL called on other governments to confront China on the issue and pressure them to cease their atrocities.
Upcoming Events:
On December 12, 2021, ADL will be hosting its annual In Concert Against Hate. It will be a night of music, community and celebration packed with spectacular, can’t-miss performances from acclaimed stars. This entirely virtual event gives you a front-row seat anywhere around the globe. Through storytelling and song, we’ll introduce you to real-life heroes and celebrate their extraordinary acts of courage and compassion in the face of bigotry and hate. Be part of the powerful chorus fighting hate for good and honoring those leading the way.
Register now for an unforgettable night of enduring joy that empowers each of us to show up with courage and fight hate for good.
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