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Highlights from Sebastian Kurz's Keynote Speech on EU-Israel Relations and Jewish Life in Europe
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Hundreds of Lawmakers Urge European Countries to Back Israel at the UN
In a landmark initiative, 318 lawmakers from both sides of the atlantic and across party lines called on EU member states and fellow democracies to end the systematic discrimination of Israel at the UN. Spearheaded by the AJC-backed Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) and released a day before the start of the UN General Assembly, the legislators call on governments to vote against the excessive number of anti-Israel resolutions, work to reform the UN Human Rights Council and abolish its discriminatory Agenda Item 7, and help discontinue UN committees and programs with specific anti-Israel agendas.
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”
The Deep Roots of the Abraham Accords
The historic Abraham Accords were preceded by years of behind the scenes work trying to bring Israel and Gulf countries closer together. In his JNS column, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Director Jason Isaacson reveals how AJC played a crucial role in these developments by meeting prominent Gulf leaders since the 1990s.
European Parliament Hearing on Palestinian Textbooks that Violate UNESCO Standards
In a recent European Parliament hearing, lawmakers across the aisle condemned the teaching of antisemitism and glorification of terror in Palestinian school books, urging the EU to show zero tolerance for such incitement. The Georg-Eckert Institute, which carried out an EU-commissioned study on the Palestinain textbooks, clarified that those books that contain antisemitism and other forms of incitement clearly violate UNESCO standards. The study’s executive summary had given rise to misinterpretation on this issue.
AJC Applauds Lawmakers’ Call to End Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks
3 September 2021 – Brussels – The AJC Transatlantic Institute applauds the calls by Members of the European Parliament in yesterday’s unprecedented debate on Palestinian Authority textbooks to finally end incitement in Palestinian school material--if necessary by withholding some funding to...
AJC Opens Office in Abu Dhabi
A year ago the UAE normalised relations with Israel. Following this development AJC decided to open its first office in an Arab country--AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding. AJC Abu Dhabi is also AJC’s 13th overseas mission. On the 15th of September AJC Abu Dhabi launched its Twitter account (@AJCintheGulf), reaching out to an impressive audience of already 25.000 followers. Be sure to follow them!
AJC CEO Tells Leading Greek Media: Trajectory in Greek-U.S. Ties “Steadily Upward”
One of Greece’s most prominent newspapers, Kathimerini, interviewed AJC CEO David Harris on the challenges the Eastern Mediterranean countries face, from Turkey’s belligerent behaviour to Islamist threats. Harris hailed the vibrant and strategic trilateral alliance between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, a crucial partnership long supported by AJC, as contributing to peace in the region.
If Europe Is Serious About Fighting Antisemitism, It Must Skip Durban 20
The conference of Durban IV, celebrating the legacy of the 2001 conference that turned into an anti-Israel hate fest, sees more participants drop out, says AJC Europe Managing Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen in New Europe. More recently, Germany joined the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the U.S. in withdrawing from the conference, citing the risk of repeated abuse of antisemitic expressions and the disproportionate and unilateral attention to Israel.
Israel’s Security and Political Challenges Under the New Government
On 12 June 2021, Naftali Bennett, leader of Israel’s New Right party, was sworn in as Prime Minister as part of a rotation agreement with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party. The unprecedented coalition holds only a wafer-thin majority and brings together political parties with vast ideological differences, including for the first time an Arab party. MEP Lukas Mandl, Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem Post Senior Contributing Editor and Diplomatic Correspondent, Daniel Schwammenthal, AJC Transatlantic Institute Director, and Roland Freudenstein, Wilfried Martens Centre Policy Director discussed how the new government will address domestic issues and foreign affairs.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar Has a Problem With Jews
When will Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota face real consequences for her incendiary, antisemitic comments? In this column for Newsweek, AJC CEO David Harris writes that it’s high time. “There should be clear-cut consequences for any member of Congress, of either party, responsible for a growing list of unambiguously bigoted comments.”