Westchester (914)948-5585 Westchester@ajc.org
Laura Lewis, Chapter Director
Alex Helfand, Assistant Director
Lori Lander Goodman, Director of Development
Harriet Schleifer, Chapter President
If you would like information on the Westchester Chapter, please email Laura Lewis at lewisl@ajc.org.
Israel…New Perspectives is a multi-year initiative which will promote a positive and balanced identity for Israel in the greater Westchester community. Through a series of events, we hope to increase appreciation of Israel’s beauty through the eyes and ears of art & music, the wonder of science & technology, the power of business leadership, and the heart of humanitarianism.
On May 17th, Israel…New Perspectives was launched at a gala event at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich. Over 350 people from across Westchester and beyond participated in this elegant evening which featured three innovative leaders from Israel as well as a keynote address by David Harris, executive director of American Jewish Committee. Harriet and Marc Suvall were honored with American Jewish Committee, Westchester Chapter’s Jewish Community Service Award. Additionally, each of our featured Israeli speakers was honored with the first ever AJC, Westchester Israel…New Perspectives award for Innovation in Science, Business, and Israeli Society.
To listen to AJC’s Israel…New Perspectives featured Israeli speakers, click on the links below:
Ofra Strauss, Chairwoman of the Strauss-Elite Group
An "Elite" Perspective on Business in Israel
Listen to the presentation >
Dr. David Faiman, Director of the Ben Gurion National Solar Energy Center
Here Comes the Sun: A New Perspective on Solar Energy
Listen to the presentation >
Gidi Grinstein, Founder and Director of the Re’ut Institute
Israeli Society: A Vision for the Future
Listen to the presentation >
The chapter aims to present two to three Israel…New Perspectives events each year which will celebrate Israel’s innovation and creativity. Anyone who is interested in working on the Israel…New Perspective initiative over the next five years, please contact Laura Lewis, American Jewish Committee, Westchester Chapter Executive Director at (914) 948-5585 or LewisL@ajc.org.
Can We Become Energy Independent?
AJC Westchester Discusses Energy Concerns at Annual Meeting
 On June 13th, Dr. Herbert Fox, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Energy, Environment and Economics at New York Institute of Technology, addressed the issue of American energy independence before a large crowd at AJC Westchester Chapter's annual meeting at Westchester Jewish Center in Mamaroneck. Dr. Fox discusssed the current state of renewable energy source exploration and how to harness the power of technology to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.
Listen to Dr. Fox's stimulating presentation: Part I (mp3) and Part II (mp3).
WESTCHESTER CELEBRATES JEWISH FILM 2007
 For the 5th year in a row, the American Jewish Committee, Westchester Chapter, was the major sponsor of Westchester Celebrates Jewish Film 2007, Westchester’s largest Jewish film festival, held from March 8-29, 2007. The festival brought over twenty of the best and most thought-provoking Jewish films from around the world to Westchester. AJC experts engaged in three post screening discussions to address the global historical context of the films being shown.
AJC’s Andrew Baker, frequent interlocutor of European governments, and Hannah Lessing, General Secretary of the Austrian Fund for Victims of National Socialism spoke on March 22nd about the film KZ. KZ is a moving, present-day documentary about the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen’s impact on its tour guides who get up every day and chose to work there; its visitors who are passing through; and the people who permanently reside just outside of its walls.
On March 26th, David Harris, AJC’s executive director, who travels to Israel frequently, and is a noted Israel advocate and Middle East analyst, discussed the film Blues by the Beach, which chronicles Israelis’ response to life in a perpetual state of war, in the aftermath of a suicide bombing at a bar on the Tel Aviv beachfront in April 2003.
On March 28th, Deidre Berger, director of AJC’s Ramer Center in Berlin, discussed Two Or Three Things I Know About Him, a film that chronicles a Nazi officer’s descendants’ reaction to their relative’s horrific crimes. Berger placed the film in the context of post-war Germany and the resurgence of Jewish life there. For more information about Westchester Celebrates Jewish Film 2007, click here for a link to the full program.
We hope you will join us again next year for Westchester Celebrates Jewish Film 2008!
The Carter Book Controversy: Responses From The Experts
On Sunday, January 21, 2007, the American Jewish Committee, Westchester Chapter and Temple Israel of New Rochelle presented The Carter Book Controversy, a lecture by Dr. Kenneth W. Stein, Director of the Institute for the Study of Modern Israel at Emory University. Over 1000 people from across the New York metropolitan area attended the event, where Dr. Stein discussed his long history with the Carter Center at Emory, and carefully articulated the numerous errors and mischaracterizations in Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, President Jimmy Carter's recent book. Dr. Stein's presentation aimed to educate the audience both about the issues surrounding Carter's book, and to motivate the crowd to become better educated about Jewish history and Jews' relationship to the land of Israel. This landmark AJC event is but one example of AJC's ability to respond quickly and effectively to the major issues confronting the Jewish community and the state of Israel today.
For more information about The Carter Book Controversy, we urge you to examine The Carter Book Controversy: Responses From The Experts, a compilation of expert commentaries on President Carter's latest book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, that includes letters and op-ed's from numerous distinguished leaders, including David Harris, Eran Lerman, Kenneth Stein, Alan Dershowitz, and Dennis Ross.
To obtain a copy of The Carter Book Controversy: Responses From the Experts, please e-mail westchester@ajc.org.
Who We Are
Counting over 1,000 member families and supporters, our Chapter's mission, consistent with AJC's national agenda, is to serve as a voice of conscience and activism on behalf of Israel's security and the well-being of Jewish communities at home and abroad through building strong intergroup relations and reinforcing democratic principles. Ensuring that tolerance and pluralism are well-woven into the fabric of our community's life by supporting the civil and human rights of all residents of the county, and combating bigotry in all of its manifestations underpins all our activities. At the core of all our associations and activities within and beyond the Jewish world is a dedication, both visionary and pragmatic, to the welfare of the Jewish people and our traditions of social activism and justice.
In order to act on these commitments, we:
- build partnerships and coalitions across the spectrum of racial, religious, and ethnic groups in the county to serve mutual concerns;
- develop programs to educate and inform our members, the Jewish community, and the general public;
- distribute AJC's materials and research publications to inform and promote our issues; and
- advocate publicly for our positions at local, state, and national levels.
If you care about the welfare of the Jewish community and Israel, become a member of the Westchester Chapter of AJC by contacting our office (see telephone number above.) In addition, Executive Director, Laura Lewis, regularly sends out emails containing pertinent information on the situation in the Middle East. If you would like to receive the latest facts on the ground and analyses of events, please email her at lewisl@ajc.org and you will be added to her listserv. Regrettably, she cannot always respond to your comments and questions.
Ways to Become Involved in AJC-Westchester
DIPLOMATIC OUTREACH engages Westchester Chapter members in advocating for Israel's security and status at the UN and promoting American values of democracy and pluralism in order to safeguard Jews around the world. The Chapter, situated in close proximity to New York City's consulates and U.N. missions, extends a diplomatic hand to a number of countries to improve bilateral and multilateral relationships with Israel, and to increase understanding on issues of concern to the Jewish community.
DOMESTIC POLICY COMMITTEE advocates for human rights, civil liberties, and education, and promotes public policies that help strengthen American democracy and pluralism, such as immigration reform, the separation of Church and State, public education and eradicating hate crimes. The Westchester Chapter has formed a coalition with other ethnic communities and civil rights groups in Westchester to lobby legislators in Albany to reform the New York State Division of Human Rights.
INTERFAITH OUTREACH COMMITTEE brings Jewish lay leaders and clergy into dialogue with leaders of other religions in order to stem the tide of anti-Semitism and religious hatred of any kind; gain a better understanding each other's differences; identify shared values and goals; advocate for socially responsible investment rather than divestment from Israel; and serve as a counterbalance to the striking level of violence committed today in the name of religion and the increasing convergence of religion and politics.
The Committee facilitates meetings and programs of the Westchester Interreligious Clergy Network, composed of local religious leaders of different faiths, to identify areas of mutual interest and concern.
The Committee sponsors a Catholic-Jewish lecture series, "Shared Roots, Divergent Paths," at Iona College, as well as the Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast, an annual gathering of over 120 religious, ethnic, and political leaders.
INTERETHNIC OUTREACH COMMITTEE engages in active dialogue with representatives of various ethnic communities as a way of eradicating anti-Semitism, building trust through developing meaningful relationships, and identifying issues of common concern based on AJC's domestic policy agenda. The Committee works with African Americans on an initiative to prevent ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of the Sudan and has formed the Latino-Jewish Alliance with the fastest growing minority group in the country.
ISRAEL ACTION COMMITTEE counters anti-Israel propaganda by reaching out to our community with educational programs on Israel in order to spur awareness and fostering dialogue between Israeli organizations and the Westchester community when such dialogue can be directly helpful to Israel. The Committee mails its annual student resource guide to the Middle East to students about to leave for college campuses all over the country. Voices of Reason Not Hate Will Facilitate Peace has generated tremendous demand. The Committee also monitors the local media and coordinates responses to biased reporting through letters to the editor and editorial board.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH raises awareness in Westchester for the issues that are confronting our community locally, domestically, and internationally. This Committee encourages individuals and other institutions to work with AJC on issues of Jewish concern. It develops the community's appreciation for the need to be actively engaged in supporting Israel's right to exist within safe and secure borders while promoting democracy and pluralism, intergroup relations, and domestic policy issues as the best means to guarantee our security and well-being.
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE members understand that the daily threat of terrorism, numerous divestment resolutions, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the enormous challenges to Israel's continued existence as a Jewish state means that AJC's mission is more important than ever. We depend almost entirely on the community's financial support in order to carry out our crucial work. Committee activities include a kickoff fundraiser for our Jewish Film Festival, community service award dinners, industry dinners, and other Chapter programming events.
WESTCHESTER CELEBRATES JEWISH FILM is our annual Jewish film festival at the Jacob Burns Film Center. AJC programs are designed to inform County residents about our work and advocacy initiatives on behalf of Israel and Jewish communities around the world. In the past, we have been joined by filmmakers, diplomats, and opinion shapers, who discussed the topics raised in selected movies. This year we plan to kick off the festival with a gala fundraiser.
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