AJC Dispatch

12.3.19 is #GivingTuesday

This is a defining moment. It’s up to us to fight rising antisemitism and hate, take on those who challenge Israel’s legitimacy, and safeguard our democratic values. AJC is leading the way. This #GivingTuesday, join us. Starting now, your gift to AJC will be doubled.

Spotlight

On this week’s episode of People of the Pod, U.S. Congresswoman Nita Lowey joins us to discuss her decision to retire after 32 years on Capitol Hill. We also talk to Ilan Orzy, director of advocacy for Hillel Ontario, and Zev Hurwitz, AJC Director of Campus Affairs to compare the challenges facing Jewish students on American and Canadian college campuses. And finally, we hit the streets of Manhattan with AJC’s new glossary of antisemitic terms, Translate Hate, to give New Yorkers a pop quiz. Listen now

Must-reads

America's Table
AJC.org
AJC originally created its Thanksgiving reader, America’s Table, to help the country heal after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This year, AJC brings the newest version of America’s Table under AJC’s Community of Conscience, adding the community’s nine principles along with questions for discussion and quotes by well-known American leaders. Download here

UK Chief Rabbi Warns of Labour Victory
The Times / 1-minute read
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has declared Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn “unfit for high office,” given his mishandling of antisemitism allegations within his own party. In an extraordinary political commentary published in The Times, Mirvis warned that the “very soul of our nation is at stake” in next month’s general election, adding that “a new poison” has infected Labour “sanctioned from the very top.” Other faith leaders, including Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, echoed the rabbi’s concerns. Welby tweeted: “That the chief rabbi should be compelled to make such an unprecedented statement at this time ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews.” Meanwhile in a BBC interview, Corbyn repeatedly declined to apologize to the Jewish community, adding later that he already had. Read more

Palestinians Respond to U.S. Settlement Declaration with ‘Day of Rage’
Haaretz / 2-minute read
Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Tuesday in protest of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s declaration that Israeli settlements do not violate international law. Dozens were reportedly injured, mostly from smoke inhalation and rubber bullets, during clashes with IDF soldiers in several parts of the West Bank. Meanwhile, in the U.S., 106 Democrats in Congress have signed a letter asking Pompeo to reverse the decision. Read more

Africa’s Top University Nixes BDS Effort
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
Africa’s leading university, the University of Cape Town, has rescinded a motion made last spring to boycott “any formal relationships with Israeli academic institutions operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as other Israeli academic institutions” that enable human rights violations in the West Bank. After the university’s senate investigated the ramifications and impact of a boycott, a group of academics submitted a new motion to reverse the decision. AJC tweeted: “A major win for academic freedom. ... Well done, @UCT_news” Read more

Good to Know

Ukraine Monument to Sholem Aleichem Defaced
The Forward / 1-minute read
Ukrainian police are investigating a case of antisemitic vandalism after a monument to Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem was painted with red swastikas. A criminal investigation was opened by police in Kiev after they received a report of unknown individuals defacing a statue of the author whose fictional character Tevye the Dairyman inspired the beloved musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” AJC tweeted: “DISGUSTING: The monument to a celebrated Yiddish author and playwright was the target of antisemitism today in Ukraine.” Read more

Rome Streets Named for Antisemites Now Renamed for Jewish Scholars
The Jerusalem Post / 2-minute read
Two streets in Rome that were named after Italian scientists who signed the antisemitic Manifesto della Razza (Racial Manifesto) in 1938 have been renamed to honor two female Jewish scholars, zoologist Enrica Calabresi and physicist Nella Mortara. A third street has been dedicated to Mario Carrara, one of the very few scholars who refused to pledge loyalty to dictator Benito Mussolini. The Manifesto, which was endorsed by prominent Italian scholars, became the ideological and pseudo-scientific basis for anti-Jewish laws passed by Mussolini’s fascist regime a few weeks later. AJC tweeted: “Bravo to Rome and its Mayor @virginiaraggi for taking action and declaring ‘We must learn history to understand who we have been and what we want to be.’” Read more

Designer Pulls Ensemble Resembling Concentration Camp Uniform
Huffington Post / 1-minute read
A $1,840 black-and-white striped ensemble, designed by the Spanish fashion house Loewe, has been removed from the stores’ racks after viral social media posts compared it to the uniforms worn by prisoners at Nazi concentration camps. The Spanish designer apologized for the button-down shirt and matching pants that was part of its William De Morgan capsule collection, inspired by the 19th century British ceramicist and intended to “capture a freedom of imagination.” The fashion house said in a statement: “It was absolutely never our intention, and we apologize to anyone who might feel we were insensitive to sacred memories.” Read more

Tidings

Lebanese Magnate Buys, Gives Hitler Souvenirs to Israeli Foundation (The Yeshiva World)
Tradition: The Birth of a Board Game (Tablet)
Jewish Father Meets Muslim Defender on London Tube (JTA)

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

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