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AJC welcomes the European Parliament’s resolution backing Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for the elimination of Hamas

AJC’s Transatlantic Friends of Israel Opens Italian Chapter to Strengthen Links Between Italy, Europe, U.S., Canada and the Jewish State

220 Lawmakers from Europe and North America Urge Terror Listing of Iran’s IRGC

The Future of NATO: Transatlantic Security Alliance or European Strategic Autonomy?

In partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the AJC Transatlantic Institute hosted the Ukrainian and Italian envoys to NATO, as well as former Minister of Foreign Affairs Estonian MEP Urmas Paet to address the transatlantic alliance's most pressing challenges. AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal delivered opening remarks.

AJC is Dismayed that the EU Failed to Act against Antisemitic Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks Supported by EU Funds

The AJC Transatlantic Institute is dismayed that the EU failed to condition at least some of its €214 million annual funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA) on ending incitement in its textbooks.

Raisi, the IRGC and Iran’s Future Direction of Travel - Video

As the EU attempts to make sense of the Raisi government and negotiate a new nuclear deal in Vienna, it is vital to understand Iran’s changing domestic land and Tehran’s future direction of travel. Counterpoint host Daniel Schwammenthal is joined by David Lega, a Swedish Member of the European Parliament and the EPP Group Standing and Monitoring Rapporteur on Iran and Kasra Aarabi, Senior Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Can the UN Finally Cease Its Relentless Anti-Israel Bias?

Will EU Member states and other democracies finally end the systemic discrimination against Israel at the UN? In a column for Newsweek, AJC TAI Director Daniel Schwammenthal and TFI Chair Lukas Mandl argue that apart from harming the world’s only Jewish State, the UN’s anti-Israel bias also hurts the organization itself. “The UN's own reputation is greatly damaged in the process—as are the many genuine victims of grave human rights violations around the globe. They are far too often neglected as the UN is busy pursuing its anti-Israel obsession”

Gaza Media Rules

Rule Number 1: Don’t report the facts. In this must-read satire column for New Europe, Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, offers a 10-point reporter’s guide for gullible journalists who are covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and want to demonstrate that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

AJC, Other Jewish Organizations Welcome Suspension of Israeli Judicial Overhaul Legislation

In a joint statement with other American Jewish organizations, AJC welcomed the Israeli government’s suspension of legislative consideration of judicial reform measures, and encouraged “all Knesset factions, coalition and opposition alike, to use this time to build a consensus that includes the broad support of Israeli civil society.”

AJC welcomes the European Parliament’s resolution backing Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for the elimination of Hamas
AJC’s Transatlantic Friends of Israel Opens Italian Chapter to Strengthen Links Between Italy, Europe, U.S., Canada and the Jewish State
220 Lawmakers from Europe and North America Urge Terror Listing of Iran’s IRGC
The Future of NATO: Transatlantic Security Alliance or European Strategic Autonomy?
AJC is Dismayed that the EU Failed to Act against Antisemitic Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks Supported by EU Funds
Raisi, the IRGC and Iran’s Future Direction of Travel - Video
Can the UN Finally Cease Its Relentless Anti-Israel Bias?
Gaza Media Rules
AJC, Other Jewish Organizations Welcome Suspension of Israeli Judicial Overhaul Legislation

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Transatlantic Friends of Israel Statement

7 October 2023

 

We are horrified by the brutal terror war Hamas has launched this morning against Israeli civilians. The Palestinian terrorists have fired 1,000s of rockets and infiltrated Israeli towns, where they reportedly killed and abducted Israeli civilians. We follow with great anguish news about 100s of Israeli casualties.

As members and supporters of the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), we affirm our unwavering and steadfast support for Israel in her hour of need. The Jewish state - our key democratic ally - has, like all sovereign states, not only the right but the duty under international law to defend its citizens against terror and rockets. We call on European leaders to stand with Israel and support without any reservations its right to self-defence.

 

About

The AJC Transatlantic Institute (TAI) is the Brussels-based EU Office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a non-partisan organization founded in 1906. 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. Read on...

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TFI

Transatlantic Friends of Israel

The Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) is a cross-party, inter-parliamentary group committed to strengthening the trilateral partnership between the United States, Israel, Canada, and Europe. We are united in the conviction that Israel, the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, ought to be understood as an integral part of this vital security, political, and economic architecture.

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In Their Words

“The AJC’s Transatlantic Institute was founded during (one of those) bad moments... And we must truly be thankful to the American Jewish Committee... for having invested in our friendship right when we needed it the most.”

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission
06/06/2016

"I would like to express my interest and support for your initiative and work. In times of global tensions, it is indeed crucial to encourage and to share connections between historical partners. What feeds our special link is also common values regarding the respect for human rights, including the freedom of belief and the protection of minorities."

José Manuel Barroso, Former President of the European Commission
23/12/2013

"Congratulations to Mr. Tanner as first Chairman of the AJC Transatlantic Institute. This award [the Ordre de la Couronne] is a small token of our deepest appreciation and admiration for both of you for your personal commitment to the strengthening of the cooperation between the United States and Europe."

Didier Reynders, Foreign Minister of Belgium
19/02/2014

"Among all Jewish organisations, I have found that yours is the most profound...And your organisation was the first one to focus on the globality of our life. I don't now of any other organisation that pays so much attention to what's happening outside of the United States, with respect to and beyond Jewish life, from India to Germany to France and in many other places. You have our real respect and appreciation."

Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister
03/05/2001

"During the 1960 election, when my father’s Catholicism was a great issue in the campaign, the AJC was one of the first to come forward to support the right of his candidacy, and it made a great deal of difference in changing sentiments."

John F. Kennedy, Jr
30/04/1962

“It is no coincidence that I am giving my first speech in the United States as Federal President before the American Jewish Committee. For over fifty years AJC has been among the avant—garde when it comes to American—German relations.”

Johannes Rau, President of Germany
30/05/2000

"Let me acknowledge those who have substantially contributed to the creation of an order of security and peace in Europe, such as the American Jewish Committee."

Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic
16/09/1998

"Your organisation as early as 1911 - when few men and women dared to speak out - launched a campaign in New York State to end the advertisement of discrimination in public accommodations, in recreational resorts and amusement parks. This campaign resulted in the passage in 1913 of a state law which has served as model for many other states, and which has thus ade possible the extension of dignities for Negroes, Porto Ricans and other minorities."

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
20/05/1965

It is an honor to send greetings to the Transatlantic Friends of Israel, a new cross-party parliamentary friendship group dedicated to fostering strong transatlantic ties with Israel. Key foreign policy issues - including stalwart support for our allies in Europe and in Israel - traditionally enjoy bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. It is my hope that the Transatlantic Friends of Israel can work towards achieving the same unwavering support in Europe for the Jewish state.

Marco Rubio (R-FL), Member of the U.S. Senate
10/07/2019

As a long-time believer in the deepening of transatlantic ties and a staunch supporter of Israel, I was delighted to learn about AJC’s new Transatlantic Friends of Israel inter-parliamentary friendship group. With a clear set of common interests and values, this trilateral project could not have come soon enough. As this group continues to grow and expand, I look forward to working together to pursue our agenda of partnership and friendship.

Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY-17), Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
10/07/2019