Press Releases and Statements

AJC CEO Ted Deutch’s Statement and Call to Action After Hamas’ Murder of Six Hostages

American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) today issued an open letter to media organizations, calling on them to “do better and report on all developments with clarity and accuracy” following inadequate coverage of the July 27 Hezbollah rocket attack on a Druze village in northern Israel that murdered 12 kids and teens.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes today’s announcement that 16 journalists, human rights defenders, and others who Russia wrongly detained have been released and allowed to leave Russia as a result of a multi-country agreement. Among those released today is American reporter Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who spent 16 months in detention on fabricated charges of espionage before being convicted in a sham trial last month and sentenced to 16 years in prison. AJC has called for his release since Russian authorities arrested him on March 29, 2023.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) strongly criticized the non-binding advisory opinion released today by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The opinion was issued at the request of the UN General Assembly. The ICJ advisory opinion is not only factually and legally problematic; it jeopardizes the prospects for peace and could remove the basis for the existence of the Palestinian Authority.

Yesterday’s passing of a symbolic resolution opposing Palestinian statehood in the Israeli Knesset – with more than a third of the body absent – reflects the Israeli people’s understandable fear and deep skepticism of a Palestinian state in the aftermath of October 7, the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and over 250 taken hostage, 120 of whom remain in Hamas captivity. Israelis are rightly concerned that Hamas or another terrorist movement could at some point take over the Palestinian Authority, and that the realities of October 7 could repeat. The resolution should not be misinterpreted as the Israeli people’s rejection of peace with their Palestinian neighbors. It must be understood in the context of this moment.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is deeply concerned by The Lancet's publication of a letter, "Counting the Dead in Gaza: difficult but essential," which makes the unsubstantiated and outrageous claim, “in the coming months and years…it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”

In response to a June 23 vote at the Washington State Democratic Party convention to approve resolutions calling for an Israeli ceasefire in the war against Hamas and for the U.S. to end aid to Israel, American Jewish Committee Seattle Director Regina Sassoon Friedland issued this statement: "The Washington State Democratic Party must remember that resolutions like those passed can serve as a dog whistle to those who demonize Jews in Washington and around the world."

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today categorically rejected an appalling report by an independent UN panel that baselessly asserts Israel’s defensive military campaign in Gaza against the perpetrators of the October 7 terror attacks violates international law and turns a blind eye to Hamas’ continued flouting of that law and disregard for civilian lives.

After more than 30 years of active engagement in the Arab world, American Jewish Committee (AJC) today announced the establishment of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East, an initiative that will bolster the organization’s decades of work to build trust, understanding, and interconnectedness throughout the Middle East.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today established an award to honor Ofir Libshtein, a beloved kibbutz leader and Israeli advocate for stronger ties with the Jewish Diaspora community, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

The majority of American Jews are not running from, but rather embracing their Jewish identity and support for Israel. That is one of the key overarching takeaways from American Jewish Committee's (AJC) 2024 Survey of American Jewish Opinion. Despite – or perhaps due to– record levels of antisemitic hate in the U.S., the survey found deepening connections between American Jews, their Jewish identity, and the State of Israel.

Today’s International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) order on provisional measures is outrageous. It does nothing more than promote South Africa’s slanderous and dangerous narrative that Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians in its military operation in Gaza, masked in the language of international law.

The decision by Norway, Ireland, and Spain to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state sends a troubling signal in the aftermath of October 7 – that violence, murder, torture, rape, and kidnapping are effective tactics to achieve a political goal.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is appalled by the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is deeply disappointed by the adoption today of a UN General Assembly resolution granting the purported Palestinian state additional rights and privileges within the UN system. This unwise resolution violates existing Israeli-Palestinian agreements and further complicates efforts to resume the peace process.

A bipartisan group of U.S. mayors just returned from Israel after spending last week in the country as part of a joint American Jewish Committee (AJC) Project Interchange – U.S. Conference of Mayors delegation. The delegation concluded on Friday, April 12, before Iran’s attack on Israel on Saturday, April 13.

Six months ago, Hamas brutally attacked Israel, murdering 1,200 women, men, children, and babies, many suffering the most heinous atrocities, and taking 254 people hostage. Israel’s war of self-defense continues for two clear reasons: 134 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, and Israel has yet to fully eliminate the threats posed by Hamas’ military capabilities.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) leadership this week traveled to Israel on the organization’s third such mission in solidarity with the people of Israel in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 terror attack.

Israel’s fight against Hamas is part of a larger battle that affects us all. Hamas is supported by Iran and is protected in international fora by Russia and China. Today, Russia and China defended Hamas’ interests at the UN Security Council. Those demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire willfully ignore that it is Hamas terrorists who stand in the way of an end to the war.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) appreciates U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s continual and passionate defense of Israel and the Jewish people, but we do not believe it is appropriate for U.S. officials to try to dictate the electoral future of any ally. Israel is a sovereign democracy in the midst of a war of self-defense against a terrorist organization bent on massacring Jews and destroying Israel. The Israeli people will decide their own political path.