Excerpts from AJC Weekly Update: September 5, 2007
AJC Holds High-level Talks in Italy
An AJC leadership delegation concluded a three-day visit to Rome. Meeting with Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, and other leading political figures, the AJC group discussed the Iranian nuclear threat; prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace; developments in Lebanon a year after the Hezbollah war against Israel; and Italy's current membership on the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council. David Harris led the delegation which included, among others, Harold Tanner, AJC honorary president and immediate past chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
AJC at EUJS Summer University
David Harris, for the fifth time, addressed the annual Summer University of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), an AJC international partner. The gathering attracts hundreds of young Jews from across Europe, as well as Israel and other countries. Harris presented awards to Olga Israel, the outgoing Chairperson of EUJS, and Arielle Herzog, the outgoing Development and Programming Director, for their visionary leadership. Harris was named one of four honorary members of EUJS.
San Diego Festival Reverses Ban on Israeli Films
The San Diego Women Film Foundation and Festival issued an apology about banning Israeli films. The apology came after AJC's San Diego and Orange County Chapters protested the exclusion of Israeli films from the annual festival, which opens October 4. "We are pleased that the Film Foundation recognized the festival director's errant behavior and has moved expeditiously to correct the injustice of excluding Israeli filmmakers," said Tad Seth Parzen, president of AJC's San Diego Chapter. The Film Foundation's apology was posted on its website, www.sdwff.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