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[AJC] Excerpts from AJC's Weekly Update: July 25, 2007


From "Ari Gordon" <gordona@ajc.org>
Date Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:31:08 -0400

Excerpts from AJC's Weekly Update: July 25, 2007

Vatican Clarifies Policy on Latin Mass

AJC welcomed Vatican clarification on the Latin Mass controversy. "We appreciate the statement by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, making it clear that efforts will be made to replace the disturbing Good Friday prayer for Jewish conversion found in the 1962 version of the Latin Tridentine mass," said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of Interreligious Affairs. Read the release at: http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.2818289/apps/nl/content2.asp?content _id=%7bDDD91BD2-0752-4A9D-9289-F89C75A77AA2%7d&notoc=1

World Council of Religious Leaders

Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of Interreligious Affairs, was elected to the executive board of the World Council of Religious Leaders (WCORL), which met in Singapore. Rosen also addressed a dinner of the Singapore Jewish community.

Podcast: Religion in Turkey

Ari Gordon, AJC's assistant director of Interreligious Affairs, discusses participating in the International Summer School of Religion and Public Life (ISSRP), which took place in Istanbul. "Turkey is a phenomenal place to explore religion in public life," says Gordon, who describes the program, its diversity of students from around the globe, and his visit with Turkey's Jewish community. AJC is a partner of the ISSRP. Listen at: http://www.ajcarchives.org/ajchomepage/audio/arigordon071907.mp3

UN Human Rights Council

Felice Gaer, director of AJC's Blaustein Institute, and the directors of ten other U.S.-based human rights organizations, met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to address the UN Human Rights Council's obsession with Israel. Ban assured the group of the issue's personal importance to him. They also discussed Darfur.

Libya Releases Bulgarian Nurses

In a letter to Ambassador Elena Poptodorova, Bulgaria's envoy to the U.S., AJC expressed relief on the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had been imprisoned in Libya for 8 years, and threatened with execution. "It's a welcome moment indeed for everyone concerned with their fate," AJC wrote. AJC had asked the U.S. and other governments to intervene on behalf of the nurses.

Video Blog: Challenges Facing Next American President

FORA, a leading internet site for global policy discussions, invited David Harris as one of two commentators on the most important challenges the next U.S. President will face. The other guest was Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. FORA featured on its site several AJC Annual Meeting sessions. The AJC-FORA relationship is likely to expand in the coming weeks. View Blog at: http://www.fora.tv/thinktank.php

German-Jewish Exchange Program

AJC hosted political leaders from the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The visit to Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. included meetings with U.S. government officials, Jewish leaders, Holocaust survivors, AJC's ACCESS, and experts on transatlantic relations. The 27-year old program is designed to enhance cooperation between German and Jewish American political leaders. The Konrad Adeanuer Foundation is associated with the Christian Democratic Union Party, headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Guy Billauer, AJC's associate director of International Jewish Affairs, staffed the visit.

AJC Lauds U.S. Labor Leaders

AJC praised U.S. labor leaders for their forceful rejection of certain British trade unions' support of a boycott of Israel. "This is an important milestone in the fight against attempts to demonize Israel and Israelis," said AJC. "Our hope is that other unions around the world will follow their example and realize that such bigoted behavior is entirely inconsistent with the trade union movement."

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


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