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Highlights from Sebastian Kurz's Keynote Speech on EU-Israel Relations and Jewish Life in Europe
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France’s Fight Against Islamist Extremism
The horrific beheading of the French teacher Samuel Paty at the hands of one of his students, a recently radicalized Islamist of Chechen descent, sent shock waves across France and the entire world. In conversation with AJC Europe Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, journalist and former Charlie Hebdo columnist Caroline Fourest discusses France’s fight against extremism, the country’s challenges integrating parts of the Muslim population, and its efforts through public school education to preserve laïcité and Western values, including freedom of speech.
Europe Can’t Fight Antisemitism Without Defining it
Antisemitism can only be overcome if it is correctly identified in all its forms. Writing in The Times of Israel, AJC’s Rabbi Andrew Baker and Holly Huffnagle call on governments worldwide to adopt and implement the Working Definition of Antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The definition, which recognizes anti-Zionism as a form of antisemitism and was endorsed by the EU Council in 2018, is a critical tool to train law enforcement, judges, and educators and should serve as guideline for social media platforms to effectively fight anti-Jewish hate speech online.
Mapping Hezbollah’s Global Terror and Crime Network
AJC hosted Matthew Levitt, Director of the Washington Institute's Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Program, for a one-hour webinar on his recently launched Hezbollah Worldwide Activity Map, the largest database of open-source information about Hezbollah's worldwide illicit activities. Hosted on the Washington Institute’s website, the interactive map highlights the operations of Iran’s proxy in France and in Europe, including Hezbollah’s role in money laundering, drug trafficking, support of other terrorist organizations, and organized crime.
2020 Election Debate: The Jewish Vote
With just days to go before the U.S. presidential election, Halie Soifer, Executive Director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and Matt Brooks, Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, examined trends related to the Jewish vote in 2020. In the debate moderated by AJC’s Jason Isaacson, Soifer and Brooks sparred on their candidates’ positions and track records on issues of importance to American Jews, ranging from rising antisemitism to the future of the U.S.-Israel partnership.
TFI Virtual Meeting with Knesset Member Avi Dichter and Michael Doran (Hudson Institute)
The Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) group held an exclusive briefing entitled “The Central European Case for Banning Hezbollah.“ Moderator Avital Leibovich, AJC Jerusalem Director, discussed with MK Avi Dichter, Member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael Doran from...
The Transatlantic Friends of Israel Meet on Hezbollah
Over 20 legislators from the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) network discussed the Hezbollah threat with leading Knesset Member Avi Dichter, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Michael Doran, and AJC Jerusalem Director Avital Leibovich. In light of Poland’s V4 Group presidency, TFI members Michał Jach, Chair of the Sejm's National Defence Committee, and Michał Kamiński, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Senate, hosted the exclusive virtual gathering in the presence of Israel’s ambassadors to Poland and Czechia.
The Road to Arab-Israel Peace No Longer Runs Through Ramallah
This month’s historic White House signing ceremony for peace agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain showed how conventional wisdom about the Middle East is crumbling before our eyes and a new regional peace doctrine is unfolding. AJC Managing Director of Global Communications Avi Mayer argues in Newsweek that the Abraham Accords are a “wake-up call to Palestinians who have long been led to believe that Arab leaders will sacrifice their own national interests on the altar of Palestinian rejectionism.”
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.”
Hezbollah Has Moved Large Stockpiles of Explosives in Europe
More and more European countries are declaring all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. AJC discussed this trend with Ambassador Nathan Sales, U.S. State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Sajid Javid MP, who as Home Secretary initiated the UK ban on Hezbollah, and Hans-Georg Engelke, German State Secretary at the Interior Ministry. On the AJC program, Ambassador Sales revealed that Hezbollah moved large amounts of ammonium nitrate through Europe, the same explosive compound it used in the 2012 suicide bombing in Bulgaria.
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.