AJC President Leads Asia Diplomatic Mission

[Ari Gordon <gordona@ajc.org>]

>AJC President Leads Asia Diplomatic Mission

June 1, 2011 - New York - An AJC senior leadership delegation has completed a 
ten-day diplomatic mission to Japan, South Korea and China. The mission, 
coordinated by AJC's Asia Pacific Institute, was the latest in a series of 
high-level visits to the region in recent years.

"Asia's growing economic power and political influence makes these great 
nations enormously important to advancing our priorities as a global advocacy 
organization," said AJC President Robert Elman.

An extensive schedule in each of the three countries engaged the AJC delegation 
in conversations with key government officials, leading policy experts, and 
journalists as well as with diplomatic representatives and, in Beijing, Hong 
Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, with local Jewish community leaders. The delegation 
also met with U.S. and Israeli officials in each country.

"Our conversations focused on Israel's unceasing quest for peace and security, 
Iran's drive to acquire nuclear weapons capability, bilateral relations between 
Japan, South Korea, China and the U.S., and regional challenges, notably North 
Korea," sad Elman. "We were able to deepen understanding of American Jewish 
global concerns, and at the same we gained a greater appreciation for the 
countries we visited."

Over the course of six days in China the AJC delegation discussed with key 
Chinese officials in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong a range of issues 
regarding the Middle East, including the uprisings across the Arab world, 
prospects for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace, and Iran's nuclear weapons 
program.

Elman co-chaired a dynamic symposium on American Perspective in the Middle 
East, attended by representatives of China's leading universities and think 
tanks. This gathering and another symposium on Sino-U.S. Relations were 
co-sponsored by AJC and the China Association for International Friendly 
Contact.

Earlier in Seoul, AJC reiterated its support for the Free Trade Agreement 
pending in the U.S. Congress, in meetings at the Foreign Ministry. 
Korean-Israel relations were explored in conversations with Korea National 
Assembly members who created the Korea-Israel Parliamentary Friendship 
Association. 

The AJC group also met with editors at JongAng Ilbo, one of the largest Korean 
daily newspapers. Elman praised Korea for supporting the sanctions regime 
against Iran's nuclear program.

The mission began in Tokyo, where the AJC delegation conveyed to Japanese 
Foreign Ministry officials condolences for the lives lost and empathies for the 
survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. AJC presented a $50,000 
donation to the Nippon Foundation for humanitarian relief.

In addition to meetings with government officials, the AJC delegation met with 
editors at The Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's leading newspapers.

"We had fruitful discussions on how Japan, the U.S. and Israel could work 
together to advance peace and security in the Middle East," said Gary Jacobs, 
chair of AJC's Asia Pacific Institute.

>Ari M. Gordon
>Special Advisor 
>Interreligious and Intergroup Relations
>American Jewish Committee
>165 E56th Street
>New York, NY 10022
>(212) 891-6717