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Highlights from Sebastian Kurz's Keynote Speech on EU-Israel Relations and Jewish Life in Europe
Analysis
France’s Hezbollah Problem
With Lebanon’s future at stake, France holds the key to making a difference. Writing in the French weekly Le Point, AJC’s Simone Rodan-Benzaquen and Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache write from Paris that President Macron’s efforts will fail unless the government finally gets real on Hezbollah: “By considering Hezbollah as a legitimate interlocutor in the process — engaging its representatives in Lebanon — France is perpetuating the problems. Unless Macron addresses the issue of Hezbollah, nothing will change.”
Black-Jewish Unity
AJC and the National Urban League wrote a new chapter in the history of Black-Jewish relations in the United States. #BlackJewishUnity week featured groundbreaking online events viewed over 100,000 times and - as part of the campaign - AJC President Harriet P. Schleifer and National Urban League head Marc H. Morial published an op-ed in USA Today, America’s largest circulation paper: “Blacks and Jews can draw from a long history spanning many decades to tackle today’s monumental challenges. Once again, we stand shoulder to shoulder as Lewis did in 1965 with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”
An Israeli Success Story
Over the past few weeks alone, Israel’s global diplomatic position has dramatically changed. AJC CEO David Harris reflects in The Times of Israel on the positive trend that began already years ago. Whether it’s the Start-Up Nation’s vast knowledge industry and innovative power or the fact that Israel, an arid country, has become a water exporter – country after country is seeking deeper ties with Jerusalem, including states in the Arab world.
UAE-Israel Peace: Europe Must Put Aside its Outdated Thinking
The recent news of a U.S.-brokered historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates was electrifying. Moderate Arab states have much to gain from partnering with the Jewish state--from Jerusalem’s expertise in cyber-security and technology to counter-terrorism. AJC CEO David Harris reflects in Europe’s largest circulation newspaper BILD on the accord’s implications for the EU’s Middle East policy and urges Brussels to embrace the new regional dynamics reflected in the UAE-Israel deal.
To America, From a Worried European Friend
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal argues that America is today what it has always been: a flawed society, like all others, but also a unique force for good in the world. If the country convinces itself that it’s inherently and irredeemably racist, it can’t possibly continue to believe that it has any right to lead the free world. As they watch America’s self-immolation, leaders in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran surely can’t believe their luck.
It's Time for the EU to List Hezbollah as a Terror Organization
On 17 July, the eve of the anniversaries of Hezbollah's deadly bomb attacks in Argentina (1994) and in Bulgaria (2012), TFI Secretary General Daniel Schwammenthal and TFI Chair MEP Lukas Mandl co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek entitled "It's Time for the E.U. to List Hezbollah as a Terror Organization."
The Central European Case for an EU Hezbollah Ban
There is new momentum in Europe on tackling Hezbollah. After Germany banned the terror group in April, the Austrian parliament unanimously urged the EU to end the artificial distinction between the organization’s ‘military’ and ‘political’ wing. Writing in Poland’s major news outlet ONET, the Acting Director of AJC’s Warsaw-based office, Sebastian Rejak, argues that Central European countries could collectively tip the balance in the EU Council in favor of a total Hezbollah ban.
Happy Birthday Israel!
The Jewish state celebrated its 72nd birthday this week. AJC CEO David Harris writes in this powerful essay about the history and meaning of Israel’s miraculous journey. The establishment of the state in 1948 was the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and safe haven for Jews from around the world. Forced to fight wars and terrorism from day one, Israel’s wholehearted embrace of democracy, its impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are all the more remarkable.
A Rabbi in Riyadh
Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s Jerusalem-based Director of Interreligious Affairs, was the first Jewish faith-leader to be hosted by Saudi King Salman. Rabbi Rosen reflects in Tablet Magazine on his experience in Riyadh with a multifaith delegation of the King Abdullah International Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue who met to discuss deepening interreligious dialogue and understanding. The historic visit bodes well for the future of Jewish-Muslim ties.
UNRWA is an Obstacle to Peace
Foreign policy pundits were quick to declare U.S. President Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan dead on arrival. Whatever its shortcomings, the roadmap shines a much-needed light on the self-perpetuating Palestinian refugee problem embodied in UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Writing in New Europe, AJC Transatlantic Institute Deputy Director Michael Sieveking argues that Europe can play an important role in reforming the troubled body.