Press Releases and Statements

After the launch of the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) inter-parliamentary group in the EU Parliament in July 2019, the first national chapter opened on October 13 in the Austrian parliament, under the leadership of Chair MP Martin Engelberg and the support of lawmakers from the Greens, the Social-Democrats and NEOS, the liberal party.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today honored the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with the organization’s Human Dignity Award. The AJC honor recognizes Bartholomew’s singular care for humanity and the environment, exceptional commitment to interreligious coexistence, and indispensable advancement of Orthodox-Jewish relations.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes the introduction today of a resolution in the U.S. Senate urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terror organization. The bipartisan resolution was introduced by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

In an unprecedented transatlantic initiative, 313 cross-party lawmakers from Europe, North America, and Israel urged EU countries and democracies worldwide to help end the discrimination against Israel at the United Nations. Spearheaded by AJC’s Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), the interparliamentary statement comes ahead of tomorrow’s opening of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Humera Khan and Adnan Ansari partnered with AJC to launch the Tackle! Upstander Training program, designed to help leaders in American cities develop local prevention frameworks to protect their communities from threats motivated by extremism or bigotry.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the Biden Administration for nominating today Rashad Hussain as United States Ambassador at-Large for International Religious Freedom. He will be the first Muslim to serve in this position. “Rashad Hussain is an impressive advocate of freedom of religion or belief in challenging diplomatic contexts,” said AJC CEO David Harris.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomes the introduction today of a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terror organization. “We encourage swift passage of this important bipartisan resolution pressing the EU to do the right thing and correct the fiction of a bifurcated Hezbollah it endorsed nearly a decade ago,” said AJC CEO David. “Mistakenly believing it can tame Hezbollah’s behavior, a proposition unsupported by evidence, the EU has created ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings within Hezbollah, when, in reality, it is a single, unified terrorist entity."

American Jewish Committee (AJC) condemns the United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod resolution entitled, “Declaration for a Just Peace Between Palestine and Israel,” adopted today by a vote of 462 to 78. The measure demonizes Israel, fails to offer a credible path to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and undermines advances in Christian-Jewish relations.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) congratulates incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid on successfully forming a new government in Israel. “The new Israeli government reflects the country’s diversity and is determined to pursue peace, security, and prosperity,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “AJC looks forward to working with the new coalition, as we have consistently done with every Israeli government since 1948, and we wish the leadership every success.”

Project Interchange (PI), American Jewish Committee’s signature educational institute introducing Israel to leaders from the United States and countries around the world, plans to host delegations of policymakers and opinion influencers from countries that signed the Abraham Accords last year. The new initiative, announced today to a worldwide audience attending the 2021 AJC Virtual Global Forum is intended to support the growing foundation of peaceful cooperation in the region. The first educational seminar in Israel for Arab Gulf leaders will take place in November, and a second group will come in January 2022.

Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, the highly acclaimed book by Rabbi Dr. Reuven Firestone of Hebrew Union College, first published by American Jewish Committee (AJC) in 2001, will be updated and distributed in multiple languages prevalent in Muslim-majority countries around the world. "We see a growing desire across the Muslim world for in-depth knowledge about Judaism and the Jewish people,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “The Children of Abraham translation project will make an authentic Jewish voice widely accessible to hundreds of millions of Muslims.”

“Every trip to Israel is a reminder of the remarkable qualities of this nation,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “This solidarity visit, like so many others AJC has sponsored since 1991, when Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israeli cities, underscores the courage, resilience, ingenuity, and determination of Israelis to defend their country — in this case against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist group. Each trip is also a reminder of how misrepresented and mischaracterized Israel is by many in the media and some countries who seek to demonize this thriving democracy and the lone Jewish-majority country on earth.”

As sirens blared across the country and civilians sought shelter, American Jewish Committee (AJC) called on the U.S. and other governments to condemn the rocket barrage directed against Israeli cities and towns today from Hamas-ruled Gaza – the latest unprovoked violence unleashed against the Jewish state.

The first in a series of short videos to foster awareness of Jewish and Muslim contributions to American society was released today by the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC). The videos and other stories of Muslim-Jewish cooperation will be promoted on MJAC’s new Facebook (@MJACAdvocacy) and Twitter (@Muslim_Jewish) pages, also unveiled today.

The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) praises the passage of the Jabara-Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act 94-1, as an amendment to the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in the U.S. Senate.

The American Jewish Committee deeply regrets the decision of the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber, adopted by two in favor to one against, that the Court’s territorial jurisdiction extends to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. We welcome the State Department’s expression of “serious concerns” about the Court’s attempted over-reach.

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.”

“Cardinal-designate Gregory is a dear friend of AJC and the Jewish people and a leading voice in advancing both Catholic-Jewish and Black-Jewish relations. Our shared endeavors are blessed by Archbishop Gregory’s ascent to the College of Cardinals,” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations.

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.

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.