Press Releases and Statements

American Jewish Committee (AJC) was joined Wednesday evening by ambassadors and other diplomats from more than 50 countries, along with U.S. officials and civil society and communal leaders at AJC Washington's 33rd Annual Ambassadors’ Seder. In hearing from both Ambassador of Ukraine Oksana Markarova and freed hostages Keith and Aviva Seigel, the event explored the Passover themes of liberation, freedom, unity, and faith.

Today, American Jewish Committee (AJC) Director of International Jewish Affairs Rabbi Andrew Baker met with Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin during his official visit to Washington to directly address concerns about antisemitism and the demonization of Israel in Ireland, seen as one of the most problematic countries in Europe. AJC, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, has been in close touch with Ireland’s Jewish community as the situation has worsened following Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. ADL Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Ambassador Marina Rosenberg, also participated in the meeting.

As the world marks the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and its sustained campaign of human rights violations and war crimes, American Jewish Committee (AJC) reaffirms unwavering solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is concerned by President Trump’s comments undermining the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggesting that Ukraine bears responsibility for the war that Russia began — in 2014 with the occupation of Crimea and in 2022 with the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

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) CEO Ted Deutch brought a clear message to government officials across Western Europe last week: safety for Jews in Europe must be a priority.

Alongside AJC President Michael Tichnor, AJC Europe Managing Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal, Deputy Director for AJC Europe Julie Decroix, and AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache, Deutch urged government leaders and elected officials in the major capitals of London, Paris, and Amsterdam to take concrete action now to combat antisemitism and safeguard their Jewish communities.

Since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023 – the deadliest day for the Jewish community since the Holocaust – American Jewish Committee (AJC) has mobilized its global architecture, including 25 offices across the United States and 15 international postings, to support Israel in its hour of need. This week, AJC CEO Ted Deutch, Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA) Director Dina Siegel Vann, and BILLA Co-Chairs Margot Carter and Mario Fleck led a delegation to Brazil in support of this mission.

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 (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.

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.

Today, German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a ban on the activities of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) for its illicit activities on behalf of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. American Jewish Committee (AJC), which for years has raised concern over the misuse of this religious center for malign purposes by the Iranian regime, praised the decision as good for all Germans, including the Jewish and Muslim communities.

An American Jewish Committee (AJC) leadership delegation traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina this week to mark 30 years since the terror attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center, which killed 85 people and injured 300 others when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into the six-story building. The 1994 bombing was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists linked to the Iranian regime.

As antisemitic intimidation, harassment, and violence rise on university campuses in the U.S. and Europe, American Jewish Committee (AJC) joined European and American Jewish community leaders and government officials for the third annual European Conference on Antisemitism, to assess the threat to Jewish students and civic order, and urge comprehensive action by campus administrators.

American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Paris office released preliminary findings of its Survey of Antisemitism in France 2024 which showed that younger French people are more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs and French Jews under 25 years old are more likely to be the target of antisemitic incidents. Yet, even with rising antisemitism, the survey also found profound resilience among French Jews who are overwhelmingly embracing their Jewish and Zionist identities, with nearly three-quarters of French Jews saying that the October 7 massacre strengthened their Zionist convictions (73%) and their Jewish identity (71%).

NATO is an indispensable bulwark of peace, security, and prosperity.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today announced that Agnieszka Markiewicz will be returning to her previous post as the Rubin and Frances Partel Director of the AJC Central Europe Office in Warsaw. Markiewicz, a native of Poland, previously held this position from 2017 - 2019.

An American Jewish Committee delegation headed by AJC CEO Ted Deutch met with Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou, who leads a nation that has been a friend of Israel since the birth of the Jewish State. Deutch hailed the longstanding ties between Uruguay and Israel as a model to boost relations with other Latin American countries.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is urging NATO to give Ukraine a “clear path” to becoming a member of the alliance to deter further aggression by Russia and other “bad actors” who seek to destabilize Europe. In a letter prior to the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12, AJC CEO Ted Deutch and AJC President Michael Tichnor described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as posing a threat to democracy and the international order.

American Jewish Committee will work with the European Jewish Congress to help European Jewish communities tackle rising antisemitism and bring more attention to looming threats and foster a more vibrant Jewish life on the Continent.

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou today said both his country and Israel have the “greatness of democracy and freedom” in common and called the ties between the two nations “historic and unbreakable.” In taped remarks delivered at American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Global Forum in Tel Aviv, Lacalle Pou also hailed the “shared history” between the two nations.