AJC Dispatch

Spotlight

On this week’s episode of People of the Pod, Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of AJC’s Transatlantic Institute, joined us from Brussels to talk about Jewish life in Belgium. Despite the country’s recent election of its first Jewish prime minister, there has been a troubling nonchalance about a number of antisemitic incidents. And we sat down with Ambassador Matan Vilnai, Israel’s former envoy to China, to discuss Israel's relationship with China and what it means for the future of the Jewish state. Listen now

Must-reads

Jews Who Hide Their Jewishness: ‘I’m Not Taking Any Chances’
The Forward / 2-minute read
They were among the more disquieting findings from AJC’s landmark survey of American Jewish attitudes about antisemitism. Nearly one out of every three American Jews say they have avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying things that might help people identify them as Jewish. And one in four say they avoid certain places, events or situations out of fear for their safety or comfort as a Jews. To find the stories behind those numbers, The Forward asked readers whether they had hidden their Jewishness or avoided Jewish places out of a sense of insecurity. While some said recent threats had actually strengthened their desire to display their Jewishness, more than two dozen described painful steps they had taken to protect themselves and what it’s like to fear for their lives as Jews. AJC tweeted: “This @jdforward piece on responses to AJC’s survey should trouble all Americans.” AJC also went behind the numbers to talk to leaders about their encounters with antisemitism. Read more

A German City Has Declared a ‘Nazi Emergency.’ Now What?
AJC Global Voice / 1-minute read
The eastern German city of Dresden has declared a “Nazi emergency“ to call attention to the rise of far-right wing extremists in local elections and virulent hatred toward Muslims and migrants amid the refugee crisis. Dresden, the capital of Saxony, has become an epicenter for both the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the anti-Muslim Pegida movement, which protests the prospect of Islamic rule. While AfD and Pegida aren’t the same as neo-Nazis, they do form a breeding ground for antisemitism, which is on the rise across Germany. Read more

FBI Arrests White Supremacist in Bomb Plot on Colorado Synagogue
The Washington Post / 2-minute read
A self-proclaimed white supremacist planned to blow up the historic Temple Emanuel synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado and poison congregants there, according to federal authorities. Richard Holzer, 27, had posted a torrent of hate-filled, antisemitic messages on social media, which prompted an undercover agent to contact him on Facebook in late September. Holzer boasted to the agent that he had paid a cook to put arsenic in the water pipes and that he intended to do it again. The FBI arrested Holzer this week after he picked up what he thought were pipe bombs and dynamite from undercover agents. The suspect was wearing a Nazi armband and carrying a copy of Mein Kampf when he came to pick up his package, authorities said. Read AJC’s explainer on how to combat white supremacy. Read more

Good to Know

Iran’s Network of Influence Is Growing in Middle East
BBC.com / 2-minute read
Iran enjoys outsized influence across the Middle East, according to a study just released by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). By way of proxy militias, or non-state alliances that make the Islamic Republic virtually immune from sanctions, Iran exercises control over affairs in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and of course in Lebanon, through its proxy Hezbollah. The 217-page report details how Iran has become a powerful force in the region with its Quds Force, the external operations wing of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). Read AJC’s explainer on the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist group. Join AJC in urging the international community to recognize Hezbollah for what it is – a proxy for Iran and a global terrorist operation. Read more

Bipartisan Group of U.S. Congresswomen Visits to Show No Daylight on Israel
The Times of Israel / 2-minute read
Strengthening the relationship between the U.S. and Israel is one mission on which U.S. Republicans and Democrats in Congress can agree, according to a bipartisan group of congresswomen who visited Israel this week. The delegation met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, and former chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. The delegation’s itinerary also included a tour of the northern border area, where Israeli political and military leaders have sounded an alarm about Iranian-backed aggression against Israel. AJC knows Israel and antisemitism are bipartisan issues. Join AJC and urge your representative to join the House’s Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. Read more

Gaza Again and Again
AJC Global Voice / 2-minute read
Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, more than 15,000 rockets have been fired from the coastal region into the Jewish state. Conflicts erupted in 2008 and 2012 and boiled over in 2014 during a seven-week standoff initiated by the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers. In the past year alone, there have been at least a dozen exchanges of rocket fire between Israeli forces and Hamas operatives. Now, with an interim Israeli government in place until a coalition can be formed, Hamas has resumed its attacks. Why won’t the vicious cycle end? Read more

Tidings

The First Refuseniks: How 18 Georgian Jews Paved Exodus For Soviet Jews (Tablet Magazine)
Jewish Political Voices Project (Moment Magazine)
Time Capsule Opened at Original Tree of Life Synagogue (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

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

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