Excerpts from the Weekly Update March 21
President Clinton Thanks AJC for Efforts on New Carter Book
Former President Bill Clinton, in a handwritten letter to AJC Executive Director David Harris, voiced appreciation for his efforts to expose the inaccuracies in President Jimmy Carter=92s book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Thanks so much for your articles about President Carter's book. I don't know where his information (or conclusions) came from" said = Clinton. "I'm grateful."
Christian-Jewish Leaders Celebrate at Beit Moses
Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs, hosted a dinner with top Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Jewish leaders, together with AJC leaders, at Beit Moses, AJC=92s office in Jerusalem. In addition to the welcome from AJC President E. Robert Goodkind, the gathering was addressed by Cardinal Jorge Mejia from the Vatican; Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of Haifa; and Metropolitan Emmanuel of France who leads dialogue with the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
Florida Chapters Host Ayaan Hirsi Ali
AJC's Florida Chapters are receiving extensive media coverage for hosting Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born former Dutch legislator and author of Infidel. Ali received AJC's Moral Courage Award last year. "Ayaan Hirsi Ali has literally put her life on the line for her beliefs," says AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. She is appearing at several public events in Boca, Miami and Sarasota.
Egyptian Institute of Diplomatic Studies Hosts AJC
Jason Isaacson, AJC's director of government and international affairs, visited the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's Institute of Diplomatic Studies in Cairo to lecture diplomatic cadets on citizen activism and U.S. policy-making, as well as Jewish community perspectives on the search for Middle East peace. While in Cairo, Isaacson also held private meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, presidential advisor Osama El Baz, the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors, and Egyptian Jewish community leader Carmen Weinstein.
AJC Executive Committee Visits Turkey
Leaders from AJC's Executive Committee traveled to Turkey to meet with leading Turkish officials, the U.S. and Israeli Ambassadors, and members of the Turkish Jewish community. While in Istanbul and Ankara, the group met with Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister (and deputy prime minister) and Saban Disli, deputy chairman of international relations for the AK party, a leading Turkish political party.
AJC Leaders Visit Morocco
An AJC leadership delegation met in Casablanca with several senior Moroccan officials, including Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa; former Moroccan Ambassador to the U.N., Omar Hilal; and Minister of Agriculture Mohand Laenser. The delegation also discussed with Ahmed Abbadi, director general of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Morocco=92s fight against extremist Islam within its borders. The group attended Shabbat services at the David HaMelech Synagogue, and spent Shabbat with Serge Berdugo, president of the Council of Jewish Communities in Morocco, an AJC international partner.
Danish Leaders Greet AJC
AJC=92s Executive Committee delegation, led by David Harris, traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark to meet with top Danish political officials, as well as senior representatives from the U.S. and Israeli embassies and the Jewish community. The group exchanged ideas on challenges facing the international community and conveyed its impressions from AJC's meetings in the Middle East. AJC last visited Copenhagen in January 2006 to express solidarity with the government after Danish embassies were bombed in the Middle East, following the now-famous cartoon episode.
Israeli Arab Leader Visits AJC
Mohammad Darawshe, director of external relations for the Abraham Fund Initiatives, visited AJC headquarters to discuss Jewish-Arab coexistence and current trends in the Israeli Arab community. Darawshe, who lives in Iksal in the Galilee, regularly meets with AJC=92s Israel staff and Project Interchange missions.
Rhodes Scholars Visit Israel with Project Interchange
A group of Rhodes Scholars visited Israel on a Project Interchange educational seminar. The group discussed U.S.-Israel relations, the role of the Israeli military in civil society, human rights and Palestinian society. The participants visited the Weizmann Institute to discuss the Israeli hi-tech industry, and toured Sapir College and Hebrew University. The delegation was accompanied by Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC's associate director of Contemporary Jewish Life. The trip for Rhode Scholars is an ongoing program of Project Interchange.
Celebrating Venezuela's Jewish Community
An AJC leadership delegation will show its solidarity with Venezuelan Jewry by attending the 40th anniversary celebration of the Confederacin de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela (CAIV), the umbrella organization = for Venezuelan Jewry, this weekend in Caracas. Cristina Kirchner, first lady of Argentina, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the event. During the visit, AJC's Latino and Latin American Affairs Institute will host the second in a series of working sessions for heads of Latin American Jewish communities. In November 2006, AJC gathered in Miami the heads of 10 Jewish communities across Latin America. CAIV is an AJC partner organization.
AJC Report: Iran in Latin America
A newly updated AJC report, Iran's Presence in Latin America: Trade, Energy and Terror, examines Iran's expanding relations with Latin American nations. "Latin American countries are playing with fire," said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latin America and Latino Institute, and author of the report. "They are allowing Tehran a foothold for terrorism in the Western Hemisphere." Read the report at www.ajc.org
Executive Director's Blog Critiques New York Times Column on Israel
David Harris's latest blog entry on the Jerusalem Post website, NY Times columnist's blind spot on Israel, addresses Nicholas Kristof's most recent column on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. http://blogcentral.jpost.com/index.php?cat_id=3D7&blog_id=3D64&blog_post_ id=3D954
Africa Institute Briefs Long Island Students on Darfur
AJC's Africa Institute provided an overview on Darfur to an audience of 400 high-school students. The event, aimed at informing students and alerting them of advocacy opportunities, included the participation of Congressmen Steve Israel and Gary Ackerman, as well as Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. It was organized by AJC's Long Island Chapter, Hofstra University and the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
UN Watch Confronts Sudan on Darfur Genocide
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, confronted Sudan and its allies at the UN Human Rights Council's debate on Darfur. Addressing a packed hall of ambassadors, journalists and human rights delegates, Neuer's address demanded the world body endorse a new report documenting the ongoing atrocities in Darfur.
New York Chapter Hosts Diplomatic Seder
Representatives from the governments of China, Egypt, Israel, Venezuela and Qatar were among those who joined AJC lay leaders, staff and ACCESS members at the AJC New York Chapter 17th Annual Diplomatic Seder. Over 200 people, including top diplomats from more than 50 countries, participated in the model seder. The seder was led by Rabbis Marcelo Bronstein and Rachel Cowan, with musical accompaniment by Cantor Ari Priven, at Congregation B=92nai Jeshurun on Manhattan=92s Upper West Side.
AJC Radio Message: Celebrate Europe's 50th Anniversary
David Harris, in his national radio commentary, salutes the founders of the European Union on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary and hopes their example may "prove contagious for other parts of the world, including the Middle East, so desperately in need of a similar model of peaceful co-existence." Harris delivers weekly messages on the CBS radio network, airing during the Osgood File. All AJC radio commentaries since 2001 are available at www.ajc.org.
Ari M. Gordon Assistant Director Department of Interreligious Affairs American Jewish Committee 165 E56th St. New York, NY 10022 (212) 891-6768 (212) 751-4000 x266 www.ajc.org www.engagingamerica.org