Check out this week's episode of People of the Pod!
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SPOTLIGHT
This week on People of the Pod [link removed], we sit down with Middle East experts Patrick Clawson, research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Tamara Cofman Wittes, a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, to talk about the rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. We also are joined by Deborah Lauter, executive director of New York City’s new Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, to discuss efforts to curb the recent rash of antisemitic attacks. Then we went around New York City to ask people why they feel #JewishandProud [link removed]. Listen now [link removed]
MUST-READS
A Badge of Honor
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AJC Global Voice / 2-minute read
In AJC’s landmark survey of American Jews last year, nearly a third of the respondents said they conceal their Jewish identity [link removed]. That simply shouldn’t be. To show solidarity with Jews who have been attacked on the streets of New York because they were visibly Jewish, and to stand with all Jews who feel threatened, AJC proclaimed January 6 to be #JewishandProud [link removed] Day. The response was overwhelming. Tens of thousands of Jews and allies from 60 countries wore kippot, donned Stars of David, or wrote eloquently about why they’re #JewishandProud [link removed]. The Forward is encouraging Jews [link removed] to share how they choose to wear their Jewishness on their sleeves every day. Read some of the #JewishandProud [link removed] participants’ beautiful, inspirational, and empowering stories. Read more [link removed]
U.S., Iran Step Back from Brink of War
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The Washington Post / 4-minute read
President Trump says he does not foresee more military action against Iran this week, now that the Islamic Republic “appears to be standing down.” In a press briefing, Trump made clear that no one was harmed by the barrage of missiles aimed at two military bases in Iraq that housed American troops. The missiles seemed intended to send a message, not to end lives. Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated in recent days after Trump ordered a drone strike near the Baghdad airport, killing Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander and a leader of Iran’s terror-supporting activities around the world. Read more [link removed]
Crowd Sings, Chants, Marches Across Brooklyn Bridge to Protest Antisemitism
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The New York Times / 2-minute read
Thousands of people gathered in Lower Manhattan and poured across the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn on Sunday in a show of solidarity for New York’s Jewish community after a spate of antisemitic attacks in the region. The march, organized by five Jewish organizations including AJC, featured signs and chants denouncing hate and fear, condemning antisemitism, and proclaiming the AJC slogan #JewishandProud [link removed]. Speaking to the crowd on Sunday, lawmakers pledged to find more funding for security at religious institutions and to treat those who commit hate crimes with more severe penalties. AJC CEO David Harris also called for a unified response [link removed] : “We need to link arms with all people of goodwill, here in New York, here in America, and around the world, just as we’re doing today, because an assault on any group is an assault on every group. It is an assault on the values that bind us together as Americans.” Read more [link removed]
GOOD TO KNOW
Déjà Vu: Remembering Hyper Cacher Five Years Later
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AJC Global Voice / 2-minute read
Five years ago, this week, Frenchman Amedy Coulibaly stormed the kosher Hyper Cacher supermarket in eastern Paris, murdering four people inside. The attack capped three days of terror across the city of Paris, including the massacre of 17 at the office of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo and the murder of a French policewoman. Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, AJC’s Paris-based Europe Director, looks back on that turning point in January 2015 when many in France came to understand that their destiny was intrinsically linked to that of French Jews and French Jews were once again reminded that their safety was in jeopardy. Read more [link removed]
New York Governor Urged to Dial Back Bail Reform for Antisemitic Attackers
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The New York Times / 2-minute read
New York lawmakers have proposed tweaking a new state law that requires suspects charged with less than class D felonies to be released without cash bail pending court proceedings. Nearly all the recent antisemitic attacks in Brooklyn fall into this category, including the case of Tiffany Harris, a Brooklyn woman who was released without bail after being accused of slapping three Orthodox Jewish women [link removed], then rearrested after authorities say she assaulted another woman a day later. “A fair system of criminal justice would take into account the fears of victims, not just the interests of defendants,” AJC CEO David Harris and AJC New York Michael Schmidt wrote in a letter [link removed] to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “Victims of hate crimes see the victimizers walk out of court with what appears to be impunity, often to return to the neighborhoods they share with the victims.” Read more [link removed]
Chicagoans Protest Antisemitism in Millennium Park
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Chicago Tribune / 1-minute read
AJC Chicago convened a crowd of about a hundred in Chicago’s Millennium Park this week to take a stand against antisemitism, show solidarity with the victims of a recent surge of antisemitic hate crimes, and display their Jewish pride. A new study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino shows antisemitic hate crimes in Chicago are headed for an 18-year high. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted her support [link removed] : “No one should ever have to live in fear because of who they are. That’s why I will fight anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms. I stand with all my friends and neighbors who are #JewishandProud [link removed]." Read more [link removed]
TIDINGS
No Arguments Here: Israelis Are Three-Time World Champion Debaters
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Back From the Dead: Holocaust Survivor Corrects Yad Vashem
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Notorious RBG is Cancer Free
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The articles featured here do not necessarily reflect AJC’s positions.
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