Press Releases and Statements

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization of the Jewish people, welcomes the launch of the “United Nations Action Plan to Monitor Antisemitism and Enhance a System-wide Response,” an initiative led by Under-Secretary-General Miguel Moratinos, the UN Focal Point for Monitoring Antisemitism and High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. This new Action Plan is the first-ever commitment by UN leadership to take action across the UN system to prevent and combat antisemitism within the organization and around the world.

American Jewish Committee New Jersey Director Rabbi David Levy issued a statement following today’s agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and Rutgers University to settle numerous complaints tied to antisemitic and anti-Zionist activity on its campuses.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) San Francisco today welcomed the announcement of agreements between the Department of Education and UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz, which include training for university employees, public safety officers, and law enforcement “about the university’s policies, procedures, and obligations under Title VI” and measures to ensure these schools better communicate with students who have made Title VI complaints and the student body at large about antisemitism on campus.

AJC Los Angeles today welcomed the announcement of agreements between the Department of Education and UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, which include training for university employees, public safety officers, and law enforcement “about the university’s policies, procedures, and obligations under Title VI” and measures to ensure these schools better communicate with students who have made Title VI complaints and the student body at large about antisemitism on campus.

AJC San Diego today welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the Department of Education and UC San Diego, which includes training of university employees, public safety officers and law enforcement along with measures to ensure these schools better communicate with students who have made Title VI complaints and the student body at large about antisemitism on campus.

Christen Broecker, a leading expert with substantial experience pressing governments and international organizations to more effectively address serious human rights crises around the world and counter religious intolerance and discrimination, has been named Director of American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI).

More than 40 Jewish and non-Jewish elected officials, leaders, and organizations from across the EU joined American Jewish Committee (AJC) in signing a letter urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and other EU Council members to prioritize combating antisemitism. The letter calls for this issue to be central to the agenda during the European Council Meetings on December 19 and highlights the need for a holistic response as a key priority for the incoming European Commission.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), and Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools today expressed “deep concern” about remarks at a recent conference of the National Association of Independent Schools where several speakers used their time to accuse Israel of genocide and used extreme, biased anti-Israel rhetoric, including downplaying the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Philadelphia/Southern NJ today welcomed an agreement between Temple University and the U.S. Department of Education, which outlines how Temple can better address antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents on campus.

Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of Interreligious Affairs for American Jewish Committee, has written a letter to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu expressing concern about the victory in the first round of the Romanian presidential election by Cailin Georgescu.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, is today calling for immediate action from European government ministers in response to surging and increasingly violent antisemitism on the continent. To protect Jews in Europe - and the European way of life - AJC is calling for an emergency high-level meeting of relevant ministers from across Europe and for these officials to implement new enforcement, protection, and justice-related actions in the fight against antisemitism.

American Jewish Committee Seattle Director Regina Sassoon Friedland issued a statement following word that the home of University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce was vandalized and damaged.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the nonpartisan global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, has urged the Lithuanian Social Democrats leader and likely next Prime Minister, Gintautas Paluckas, to reverse his plans to enter into a coalition with the antisemitic Dawn of the River Neman party.

Felice Gaer Baran, an internationally renowned human rights expert who for more than four decades brought life and practical significance to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international commitments to prevent grave human rights abuses around the world, died on November 9, 2024 in New York City, following a lengthy battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 78. At the time of her death, she was the director of the American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI).

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, is horrified by the violent, antisemitic assaults on Israeli and Jewish fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team that took place in Amsterdam. This modern-day pogrom reflects a broader rise in antisemitic violence across Europe since October 7 – fueled not only by an anti-Israel political ideology and extremist interpretations of Islam, but also by the rhetoric and complacency of some European leaders. Symbolically, the attacks were a chilling reminder of Europe’s darkest chapters on the very eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht on November 9.

The world community must not waver in its support of Ukraine in its fight against the brutal and unprovoked invasion by Russia, now in its third year. In his address today to the UN General Assembly, President Zelensky made a compelling case for a just peace. Ukraine deserves nothing less.

American Jewish Committee today welcomed a sweeping report that found the City University of New York (CUNY) is ill-equipped to handle rampant antisemitism at many of its campuses.

Today, American Jewish Committee (AJC), Hillel International, and the American Council on Education (ACE) concluded a landmark two-day College and University Presidents Summit on Campus Antisemitism, held at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center. With more than 75 university presidents and chancellors attending, the Summit marked the largest-ever gathering of college and university presidents to discuss the topic of confronting antisemitism on campus.

With the FBI reporting that hate crimes against Jews increased a staggering 63% year over year, from 1,124 in 2022 to 1,832 in 2023, AJC recognizes that the actual numbers of incidents is likely greater, as hate crimes are widely underreported across the country. Despite Jews only accounting for 2% of the U.S. population, the community was the target of 68% of religiously motivated hate crimes committed in 2023.

Time and again, we have seen what happens when baseless rumors spread about a religious or ethnic group. The Jewish people know all too well that these claims often foment suspicion, hatred and even violence, regardless of them having no basis in truth.