Press Releases and Statements

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Berlin welcomes the joint declaration of five major German corporations to combat antisemitism. Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, and Borussia Dortmund published a statement today endorsing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Germany’s Friends of Yad Vashem joined in the statement, issued on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

AJC Europe welcomes the European Commission’s publication of the Handbook for the Practical Use of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. This new publication offers clear guidance and examples of how the definition is already being used throughout Europe by law enforcement, the judiciary, educational institutions, and civil society.

“We are shocked by the EU Court of Justice decision, which is nothing less than a frontal assault on the basic rights and religious freedoms of Jews and Muslims in Europe. Within living memory of the Holocaust, a European court not only bans a core Jewish ritual but potentially Jewish life altogether in Europe, ” said Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute.

“Bravo to Lord John Mann and all of those involved in this landmark decision,” said AJC CEO David Harris. Mann is the British government’s top advisor on antisemitism and a leading proponent of the IHRA working definition. “The importance of the British Premier League recognizing the most widely used definition of antisemitism cannot be overstated,” said Harris. “Hundreds of millions of people around the world follow closely the Premier League’s teams and players. The impact of today’s decision and its implementation can be extraordinarily helpful in the battle against rising antisemitism.”

American Jewish Committee applauded the Slovenian government for recognizing Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. The government announced today that it “adopted a decision on treating the Hezbollah Group as a criminal and terrorist organization posing a threat to peace and security.”

Next month the United Nations General Assembly will pass a litany of one-sided resolutions against Israel. Europe, for the most part, supported in committee a whopping eleven texts lambasting the Middle East’s lone democracy. Six more resolutions are headed straight to the world body’s plenary.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) lauded Estonia’s announcement today that it will designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

“This is an important step in the global fight against rising antisemitism — and the broader threat it poses to liberal democratic values,” said AJC CEO David Harris, who has long been interested in Albanian affairs.

An initiative launched by academics and AJC Central Europe voicing concern over the nomination of Dr. Przemysław Czarnek MP as Poland’s Minister of Education and Science has brought together universities, NGOs, popular publicists, and religious leaders to send a clear message that experimenting with education is unacceptable. A statement supported by 122 intellectuals was published by Poland’s top online media outlets.

Ambassador Nathan Sales, the U.S. State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, announced today on an American Jewish Committee (AJC Advocacy Anywhere program that Hezbollah weapons caches, including significant stores of ammonium nitrate, have been discovered and destroyed across Europe.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization, saluted today’s signing at the White House of the Abraham Accords, formalizing the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, and between Bahrain and Israel. AJC CEO David Harris and Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson attended the signing ceremony on the White House South Lawn. Isaacson has led AJC engagement with Bahrain, the UAE and other Arab countries in the region for more than 25 years.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the Kingdom of Bahrain for its momentous decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel – capping years of increasingly public contacts and affirmations of shared interest between the countries’ leaders.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), which for more than 25 years has advanced understanding and fostered cooperation between Arab states and the Jewish people, today announced its plans to open an office in the United Arab Emirates.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes today’s historic announcement of a peace deal between United Arab Emirates and Israel, made possible with the active engagement of the United States.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Spain for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.

“We are deeply troubled to learn that the Seimas will entertain a resolution which would dedicate 2021 the Year of Juozas Lukša-Daumantas, an active member of the World War II-era Lithuanian Activist Front,” wrote Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs, and Faina Kukliansky, Chairwoman, Lithuanian Jewish Community, in their letter to Seimas Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis.

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.

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

“Remko Leemhuis has the unique experience, passion, and vision to lead AJC Berlin into a new era that will deepen relations across Germany — a country that could not be more important to the prosperity and health of a democratic Europe, to transatlantic relations, to Israel, and to the Jewish people,” said Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Director of AJC Europe.

AJC Transatlantic Institute applauded the European Parliament for condemning the Palestinian Authority’s failure to act against incitement in textbooks, insisting that educators receiving EU-funds abide by UNESCO standards against hate, and calling on the EU’s executive body to ensure funds promote peace and tolerance in schools.