Excerpts from the Weekly Update - April 18, 2007
Vatican Changes Stance on Yad Vashem Visit
AJC welcomed a Vatican decision to end its boycott of the Holocaust memorial service at Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. Archbishop Antonio Franco, the Vatican representative to Israel, attended. "We praise Archbishop Franco's decision and hope that such differences can continue to be resolved through respectful dialogue," said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs. READ NEWS RELEASE @ www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=3762905
REGISTER NOW - AJC ANNUAL MEETING - TWO WEEKS AWAY!
World leaders and representatives of Jewish communities from around the globe are joining AJC members for the culmination of our Centennial. Will you be there? Join us for the 101st Annual Meeting, May 1-4, as well as the 14th International Leadership Conference, May 4-6. Annual Dinner speakers include Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the Argentine First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Panelists during the Annual Meeting will explore the current threats facing Israel and world Jewry, as well as looking ahead to AJC's second century of making a difference on behalf of Jews -- and human dignity -- worldwide. View the agenda. On Sunday, May 6, please plan to march with the AJC float in the Salute to Israel Parade in New York. When registering for the Annual Meeting, please add a $10 donation to AJC's Carbon Offsetting initiative, part of AJC's "Green" project.
AJC Groups Visit Poland, Join in March of the Living
Two AJC delegations visited Poland earlier this week. A senior leadership delegation, which came to Warsaw after meetings in Moscow and Geneva, met with Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga and other top Polish officials to discuss issues related to the Middle East, the European Union and transatlantic relations. The group, mainly members of AJC's Women's Campaign Board, also met with Israeli Ambassador David Peleg and senior American diplomats. The second delegation, comprised of young AJC leaders from the U.S., Europe and Australia, also met with Polish, American and Israeli officials, visited the Belzec Memorial and Museum, a joint project of AJC and the Polish government, and participated in the annual March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Honoring Polish Fighter of Anti-Semitism
AJC presented an award to Zuzanna Radzik, a young Polish woman who campaigned successfully to shut down a bookstore in a Warsaw Catholic church that was selling anti-Semitic literature. With the help of the new parish priest, the store was closed in December. "By her principled actions, Ms. Radzik serves as a telling example of how an individual, outraged and offended by the distribution of racist material, can make a difference," said David Harris, who presented the award in Warsaw. Harris discusses Radzik's courageous efforts in his commentary on the CBS radio network.
New Blog Entries on ajcwire
Deidre Berger, director of AJC's Berlin Office; Eran Lerman, director of AJC's Israel/Middle East Office; and Ken Stern, AJC' expert on anti-Semitism and extremism, have joined the roster of AJC experts blogging at ajcwire. Berger explores the changing perceptions of Germans toward Israel. Lerman describes the heartening, and surprising, messages of Israeli officials at the annual Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem. And Stern discusses innovative ways to combat a neo-Nazi rally in Cincinnati. Join the discussion at www.ajcblog.org.
Commending MSNBC for Imus Firing
AJC praised MSNBC for firing Don Imus, and urged CBS to take similar action, which it did the following day. "It is irresponsible and immoral for a media star like Don Imus to use his radio and TV platform to denigrate young women of color and to propagate ugly stereotypes," said Ann Schaffer, director of AJC's Belfer Center for American Pluralism.
Former German Foreign Minister Addresses AJC Princeton Society
AJC's Princeton Society hosted an off-the-record dinner and discussion on German-Jewish relations with former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and AJC President E. Robert Goodkind, a Princeton alumnus. The discussion focused on Middle East issues, including Iran, Israel and the Palestinian unity government. The event was attended by members of the AJC Princeton Society, one of five AJC campus societies, and leaders of AJC's Central New Jersey Chapter.
Mexican Ambassador Briefs AJC
A large group from AJC's Washington D.C. Chapter was briefed by Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's new ambassador to the U.S. Sarukhan discussed his previous work with AJC as Mexican consul general in New York. The event was sponsored by AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute.
Brief Supports Workplace Religious Freedom
In an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, AJC argued that employers should be required to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees. The case involves a Seventh-Day Adventist who was fired from his job as a UPS driver for his traditional Sabbath observance. "We are devoted to ensuring that no employee should be forced to choose between obedience to his or her faith and keeping a job," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel.
New York Chapter Testifies on Immigration Reform
Diane Steinman, director of AJC's New York Chapter, testified at a New York City Council hearing on immigration reform. "Comprehensive immigration reform is the only approach that can lead both to increased security and a fair and humane immigration policy," said Steinman, who reviewed the STRIVE Act currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mideast Briefing: Understanding the Debate on the Saudi Initiative
"A complex diplomatic fan dance is in progress in the Middle East-not because anyone expects a breakthrough toward peace anytime soon (the political leaders on both sides are too beleaguered and weak at this time to reach an agreement, let alone implement it); but because the present period is perceived by Israelis and Arabs alike as a crucial preliminary stage in which decisive parameters can perhaps be set, in advance of any future negotiations," writes Eran Lerman, director of AJC's Israel/Middle East Office. Lerman offers several options facing Israel in dealing with the Saudi peace initiative, which, after the recent Arab League Summit in Riyadh, is now the "Arab Initiative."
Supreme Court Ruling on Partial-Birth Abortion Law
AJC expressed disappointment in today's U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. This legislation makes it illegal for doctors to perform partial birth abortions and does not provide for an exception for the health of the woman. "It is unfortunate that the Court has allowed politicians, not the woman, her family and physician, to make the difficult decision regarding the termination of a pregnancy," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel. READ NEWS RELEASE @ www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=3768943
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