Excerpts from the AJC Weekly Update: June 6, 2007
Interreligious Affairs Training
Staff from eight AJC chapters across the U.S. gathered in New York for a seminar organized by AJC's Interreligious Affairs and Community Services Departments, led by Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars. "The seminar provided a forum for some of AJC's interreligious professionals to enhance their knowledge and expertise in the history, sociology and theology relevant to interreligious affairs work," said Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, AJC's U.S. director of Interreligious Affairs. Speakers included Dr. Robert Chazan, professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU; Rev. Charles Henderson, executive director of the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life; Rabbi Daniel Brenner, former director of the Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary; and Sarah Elshazly, chief of the Community and Law Enforcement Cooperative Education Unit, for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
Koran Court Ruling
AJC welcomed a ruling allowing witnesses and jurors at North Carolina courthouses to take their oath on the Koran or any other religious text. The decision follows a legal challenge by a Muslim American who argued that limiting the oath to the Bible favored Christianity over other religions and was unconstitutional. "The court's decision underscores the diversity of our society and helps foster religious liberty and the democratic values of pluralism and nondiscrimination," said Jeffrey Sinensky, AJC's general counsel. READ NEWS RELEASE@ www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=3925481
Project Interchange Hosts Greek Journalists
As part of its extensive programming in Europe, Project Interchange held an educational seminar in Israel for leading Greek newspaper editors and television reporters. The group met with Israeli author A. B. Yehoshua; Rajeb Majadele, Israel's minister of Culture, Science and Sports; and the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. In addition, they attended a concert with Yehuda Poliker, Israel's most popular Greek-Jewish musician, and visited Sderot to examine damage from Qassam rockets and discuss the impact of these attacks with local residents.
Hosting Azerbaijani Officials
Mikayil Jabbarov, deputy minister of Economic Development for Azerbaijan, met with AJC's Orange County Chapter. Jabbarov expressed Azerbaijan's desire to partner with Israel, as well as his nation's deep concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Pictured from left to right: Rabbi Marc Dworkin; Adele Bilewitz; Mikayil Jabbarov; Leah Wyman; Elin Suleymanov, Consul General of Azerbaijan; and Greg Bloom.
VIDEOCAST: Rabbi Andrew Baker on Outreach to World Jewry
"We have an opportunity as American Jews to support Jewish communities around the world," says Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC's director of International Jewish Affairs. "Our overarching concern is how to help these communities feel safe and more secure in a world that is more uncertain." Baker discusses his work with Jewish communities of varying sizes across Europe as he helps them regain Jewish property, combat anti-Semitism, and strengthen ties with their respective governments. This is the fourth in a series of excerpted video interviews with AJC staff experts conducted by Suzanne Lasky-Gerard of Jewish Family Television, with the assistance of Felice Traktman of AJC's Miami Chapter. VIEW INTERVIEW @ www.ajc.org/site/c.ijITI2PHKoG/b.2788537/k.85F5/Film_Andy_Baker.htm
Historic Abba Eban Speech - LISTEN
Addressing the UN Security Council on June 6, 1967, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, one of the 20th century's great orators, articulated Israel's yearning for peace even as it was forced into war. This remarkable recording, which is on AJC's website, was produced by the Jewish Media Fund of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, with major funding from Abigail and Leslie Wexner and the Wexner Foundation. LISTEN @ www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/THE%20SIX-DAY% 20WAR_ABBAEBAN_2.MP3
Letter to Spanish Foreign Minister
AJC, in a letter to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, noted his outspoken condemnation of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's recent call for Israel's destruction. AJC welcomed Moratinos's actions as "an important signal of Spain's refusal to tolerate the incitement to hatred and violence that are now standard fare in the Islamic Republic of Iran."
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