AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020 News and Video

After five days of inspirational speeches and spirited debates, AJC CEO David Harris, whom the late Israeli President Shimon Peres called “the foreign minister of the Jewish people,” closes the historic AJC Virtual Global Forum with a call to action!

A discussion produced in partnership with the prestigious Munich Security Conference, on the current state and future of the critical alliance between the United States and Europe and the ramifications for Israel and the Jewish community, featuring Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, and AJC Europe Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, moderated by Remko Leemhuis, Director of AJC Berlin.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Federal Minister of Defense of Germany, addressed AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker in conversation with AJC Deputy Director of Policy and Diplomatic Affairs Julie Rayman on the fight for racial justice in America. This program is presented by the Leonard Greenberg Forum for Domestic Policy Issues.

Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, and KT McFarland, past Deputy National Security Advisor under President Donald Trump, debate competing perspectives on American foreign policy in the Max Fisher Annual Program at AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

In a historic public dialogue, Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, details his nation’s efforts to promote regional stability and interfaith cooperation.

Prime Minister Rama, in conversation with AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal, highlights Albania’s friendship with the Jewish people and his nation’s efforts to build a strong relationship with Israel.

At AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, discusses the democratic alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean among Greece, Cyprus, the United States, and Israel, and the importance of expanding that vital strategic partnership.

Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, addresses AJC Virtual Global Forum.

Watch Member of Knesset Merav Michaeli and veteran Israeli diplomat Dr. Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, debate this hot-button issue in an AJC Virtual Global Forum session moderated by Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications.

Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel Benjamin Gantz in conversation with Avital Leibovich, Director of AJC Jerusalem, on the challenges and opportunities facing the Jewish State in AJC Virtual Global Forum’s Harriette Levine Memorial Program.

At AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020, free speech advocate Nadine Strossen and prominent jurist Dan Shefet debate the fiercely contested issue of whether hate speech should be limited in a session moderated by Holly Huffnagle, AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism.

Watch Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Chairman of the Centre for Responsible Leadership, address to AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

Watch German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel's address to AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

Watch highlights from German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel's address at AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

Watch U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's address to AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020.

The AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020 opening plenary features German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Chair of the Centre for Responsible Leaders, Bawa Jain, Secretary-General of the World Council of Religious Leaders and Founder/President of the Centre for Responsible Leadership.

The AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020 opening plenary features German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and Chair of the Centre for Responsible Leaders, Bawa Jain, Secretary-General of the World Council of Religious Leaders and Founder/President of the Centre for Responsible Leadership.

U.S. Senator Cory Booker, addressing the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum, declared that “silence is complicity” when fighting for racial equality in the United States and combatting assaults on Blacks and Jews. In the conversation with Julie Rayman, AJC’s Washington-based Deputy Director of Policy and Diplomatic Affairs, Senator Booker discussed longstanding issues that have come to the forefront in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash, in a historic public appearance by a senior Arab government official before a global Jewish organization, today addressed the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum. Gargash and other senior UAE officials have welcomed AJC delegations on regular visits to the Gulf state for more than 20 years. “AJC has been a quite remarkable bridge for the region. The fruit of AJC work has been impressive and substantive,” he said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a wide-ranging, 30-minute conversation with American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris at the AJC Virtual Global Forum, expressed his enduring commitment to the Greek-Israel link and spoke out strongly against antisemitism.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama addressed the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum. AJC delegations have regularly met with the prime minister, twice in Tirana and several times at the global Jewish organization’s New York headquarters and office in Jerusalem.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas today addressed more than 6,500 people attending the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum.

Benjamin Gantz, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister in Israel’s new national unity government, addressed the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum today. In a conversation with Avital Leibovich, Director of AJC Jerusalem, Gantz discussed threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies, U.S.-Israel relations, EU-Israel ties, and his vision for Israel and relations with the Diaspora.

Muslim World League Secretary General Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, addressing the opening plenary of the 2020 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, reaffirmed his commitment to preserving Holocaust memory and advancing Muslim-Jewish cooperation.

Read the text of Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, Secretary General, Muslim World League; Chairman, The Centre for Responsible Leadership's speech during AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020's Opening Plenary

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, addressing the opening plenary of the 2020 AJC Global Forum, reaffirmed the strong U.S.-Israel relationship, condemned rising worldwide antisemitism, and cautioned Iran against threatening Israel and pursing a nuclear weapons program.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, addressing the opening plenary of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Virtual Global Forum, praised the leading global Jewish advocacy organization as a “strong partner” of Germany over many decades.

In the wake of the unprecedented tragedy of the Holocaust, it was anything but obvious that a Jewish group would seek to engage postwar Germany. But that’s exactly what American Jewish Committee (AJC), alone among global Jewish organizations, did.

On the day AJC CEO David Harris had expected to fly to Berlin to host a historic AJC Global Forum 2020, he joined People of the Pod host Seffi Kogen instead to discuss how AJC will offer the same top-notch programming, while leaving the beer and pretzels to viewers at home.

On Sunday, Germany's voters will select a successor for Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel who made Germany's relationship with Israel a pillar of her foreign policy.

He is the most senior Islamic leader to visit the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis makes a return appearance for the premier global Jewish advocacy conference of the year, AJC Virtual Global Forum 2020. Here are four things Jews should know...