AJC IMPACT

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In 2019, antisemitic hate crimes soared to some of the highest levels ever recorded while once again Israeli families huddled in shelters as rockets rained down on their communities. But AJC did not sit idly by. In a year that evoked disturbing flashbacks to darker days, let’s look at how AJC’s efforts helped bring progress in this special year-in-review edition of AJC Impact. These highlights demonstrate AJC’s standing as the global advocate of the Jewish people. Your tax-deductible gift makes everything you will read about here possible. Please donate before December 31, so your gift and impact will be doubled!

To fight antisemitism, we must first define it. For years, AJC has strongly advocated for countries to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism—and we have helped convince many nations to do so. The definition ensures a universal understanding for what constitutes antisemitism, including the denial of Israel’s right to exist. Against considerable well-funded opposition, the French National Assembly adopted the Working Definition this month, heeding President Emmanuel Macron’s earlier call. France joined the growing list of nations that adopted the definition this year alone, including Belgium, Greece, and Hungary. Listen to the Director of AJC Europe discuss France’s decision on our People of the Pod podcast.

In October, on the first anniversary of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack, the deadliest antisemitic act in American history, AJC released the results of a landmark survey of American Jews’ experiences with antisemitism in this country. It was the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind ever conducted. It revealed serious concerns about antisemitism and widespread fear that it is on the rise. The study received extensive coverage in media outlets like CNN, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and others and has already proven instrumental in mobilizing elected officials, law enforcement authorities, and other leaders to combat this scourge. Just this week, AJC met with high-ranking agents of the FBI to brief them on the survey’s findings. View the full survey results.

At Global Forum 2019, AJC unveiled its Community of Conscience, a groundbreaking initiative encouraging all people of goodwill to stand united in rejecting hate and celebrating diversity. The initiative was launched at a landmark event featuring nearly a dozen influential faith, ethnic, and civic leaders, all of whom conveyed support for the community’s core principles of pluralism and nonviolence. AJC offices across the nation have created local Communities of Conscience, working with partners in their areas to fight hatred in all its forms. Following last week’s attack on a kosher market in Jersey City, AJC New Jersey brought together its local Community of Conscience—ethnic and religious leaders of all faiths and backgrounds—to condemn the violence and express solidarity. Watch milestone moments from the Community of Conscience inaugural event in June.

In 2019, AJC continued to bring hundreds of influential American and world leaders to experience Israel firsthand through Project Interchange (PI). Currently, a bipartisan delegation of Secretaries of State from across the U.S. is on the ground and a group of Muslim leaders recently returned. Read more about PI’s work.

In November, AJC launched Translate Hate, an educational resource that enables people of all backgrounds to understand antisemitism so they can help stop it. Translate Hate provides the tools individuals need to identify and expose antisemitic tropes and hate speech. View the illustrated glossary.

This summer, AJC led a diverse coalition of ethnic and faith organizations to prevent a highly problematic ethnic studies curriculum from advancing through the California Department of Education. The curriculum ignored Jews as a minority group, erased the history of antisemitism, and promoted an anti-Israel narrative. It was prepared by a committee that includes individuals openly involved with the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. By uniting this coalition of organizations that also expressed concern over the content, AJC helped successfully shine a spotlight on it leading it to be revised. AJC continues to monitor the situation and engage policymakers to ensure that California puts forward a fair curriculum. Watch AJC Los Angeles Assistant Director Siamak Kordestani speak about the controversy.

Hate crimes are rising, yet our country’s ability to address them is hindered by a lack of accurate information. That’s why the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC), co-convened by AJC, has been rallying strong congressional support for the NO HATE act, new legislation that will provide state and local governments with grants to improve hate crimes reporting. The ability to collect better data will allow law enforcement to respond more effectively. MJAC members have held scores of meetings with lawmakers to build support, and, in September, AJC Director of U.S.-Muslim Relations Ari Gordon, pictured above center, promoted the legislation at a congressional press conference on Capitol Hill. In the House and Senate, NO HATE already has 24 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. Urge your members of Congress to support this bill.

We cannot afford to be bystanders in times like these. It’s up to us to fight antisemitism, take on those who threaten Israel, and protect our cherished values, so we can all live in greater security and peace. If we don’t act now, who will? Make a gift before December 31, and it will be doubled!

When Malaysia’s Prime Minister tried to exclude Israeli athletes from competing in the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships set to be held there, AJC mobilized thousands to contest the decision. Following AJC’s effort, Malaysia was stripped of its role as host and a powerful message was sent: Picking on the world’s sole Jewish state brings consequences. Read more.

One year after AJC’s #ShowUpForShabbat campaign drove hundreds of thousands of individuals to synagogues across the world in the largest-ever expression of solidarity with the Jewish community, AJC again called on people of good faith to flock to Shabbat services one day before the first anniversary of the Pittsburgh attack. On the anniversary itself, October 27, communities throughout the U.S. observed a Day of Action to Combat Antisemitism as part of an AJC initiative to educate Americans about anti-Jewish hatred and the need to counter it. More than 150 elected officials, including numerous governors, mayors, and legislators, issued powerful proclamations vowing to fight this evil. Read more.

AJC’s push for the international community to designate all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization took center stage at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in September. AJC raised the issue in 80 meetings with world leaders and senior government officials. The message was reinforced by a full-page ad in The New York Times and a commercial that aired on news networks throughout the week. Banning Hezbollah’s military wing but failing to do the same to its supposed “political wing,” as several countries—particularly in Europe—have done, enables this Iranian proxy to continue to raise funds and recruit operatives. AJC’s campaign is having an impact. More countries are recognizing reality and ending the charade of bifurcating Hezbollah. View the ads and learn more.

In July, the Brussels-based AJC Transatlantic Institute launched the inter-parliamentary Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) group in the EU Parliament. More than two dozen members of the European Parliament from thirteen countries, representing four of the five major political groups, attended the launch event. This initiative is the first-ever cross-party friendship caucus specifically committed to strengthening the trilateral partnership between the U.S., Israel, and Europe. TFI has already distinguished itself through progress in its first few months. Read TFI’s response to the EU’s recent decision to label goods made in Israel.

Japanese Prime Minister Accepts AJC Award

In November, AJC presented Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo with its Light Unto the Nations Award, the highest institutional honor given to world leaders for their efforts on behalf of the Jewish people. Unique in the Jewish world, AJC has engaged Japan and other Asian countries over the past 30 years through its pioneering Asia Pacific Institute. Read more.

This March, an AJC leadership delegation met with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican. The Pope spoke about AJC’s longstanding relationship with the Church, stressing the historic role the organization played in transforming Catholic-Jewish ties, and he expressed serious concern about the increasing number of attacks against Jews. Learn more about AJC’s visit.

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AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.

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