Press Releases and Statements

AJC Los Angeles is grateful for the work of the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice, and other law enforcement agencies that led to today’s arrest of four people and the thwarting of a plot to bomb multiple locations in the Los Angeles area. This coordinated effort is one that should be modeled across the nation.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, welcomes today's unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization. The ruling upholds a 2019 law that allows American victims of Palestinian terrorists to file civil lawsuits against terrorist organizations in American courts. In partnership with 13 other Jewish organizations, AJC submitted a brief to the court in February urging the Court to rule as it did today.

For years and with impunity, the Iranian regime has egregiously violated international agreements restricting its nuclear program. Today’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors vote to censure the Islamic Republic of Iran for its failure to comply with inspections and lack of cooperation with the agency is a welcome step to hold the regime accountable.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today welcomed the House of Representatives’ unanimous passage of H.Res.599, a resolution urging the European Union (EU) to declare all of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Like Hamas, Hezbollah is backed by Iran – financially and materially.

American Jewish Committee, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today urged California Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond to ensure public funds will not support an ethnic studies organization or its affiliates that attempt to justify or promote violence and terrorism.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch issued a statement today following the Aug. 26 racially motivated shooting rampage in Jacksonville, FL, which left three people dead.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch today observed the 29th anniversary of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and vowed the global Jewish community would not rest until those responsible are brought to justice.

On the anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, American Jewish Committee (AJC) is urging Congress to pass legislation designating the Wagner Group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). A private military company with ties to Russian white supremacist and neo-Nazi far-right extremists, the Wagner Group has a long record of committing atrocities against civilians in Ukraine and in African countries.

220 lawmakers from Europe, the United States, and Canada urged Western democracies to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, as terrorist organizations. The legislators’ call for action against the regime’s state terrorism comes only days before EU foreign ministers are set to deliberate further measures against Tehran on Monday. Spearheaded by the AJC-backed Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), the interparliamentary statement was released amid the regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters

A federal court ruled that an anti-BDS law that required companies doing business with the state of Arkansas to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel was constitutional.

American Jewish Committee praised New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s decision to pull pension fund investments out of Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream maker announced in July that it would cease selling its products in the West Bank. “Comptroller DiNapoli has demonstrated that boycotting Israel has consequences,” said Marc Stern, AJC Chief Legal Officer. “Unilever’s failure to undo Ben & Jerry’s misguided decision to stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank contravenes state government laws across the United States.”

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds the preliminary determination by the New Jersey Department of Treasury’s Division of Investment that Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company, Unilever, have engaged in a boycott of Israel. Under New Jersey’s 2016 law on Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS), state pension funds must divest from investments in any business that engages in boycotts of Israel.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization, applauds the Burlington City Council’s decision to withdraw a non-binding resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. The resolution will be sent back to the Council’s Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee for further discussion.

Ben and Jerry’s franchisees in the United States are calling on the company to “re-examine and withdraw” its decision to stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank and its threat to discontinue operations in Israel. American Jewish Committee Chief Legal Officer Marc D. Stern praised the franchisees for their honesty and passion in directly communicating their concerns.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds the Cambridge City Council’s rejection tonight of a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel and Hewlett Packard (HP).

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is disappointed by today’s United States Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit decision in Arkansas Times v. Waldrip.

“This law is about trade not politics, and it has the potential to create jobs and economic growth for Missourians, Palestinians and Israelis,” said American Jewish Committee (AJC) St. Louis Director Nancy Lisker. “We are grateful for the leadership of Governor Parson and for the dogged determination of its lead sponsors, Senator Dr. Bob Onder and Representative Holly Rehder, for championing this important legislation.”

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds the Missouri Legislature for overwhelmingly passing today SB 739, the "Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act."

“The world body’s endless hypocrisy and double standards toward Israel are staggering,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “Of all the situations in the world in which territory is disputed, the UN chooses only to focus on Israel. Why? We call on Secretary General Guterres to denounce this outrageous assault on the Jewish state.

AJC commends South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for signing an executive order prohibiting state offices from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.