Press Releases and Statements

American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomed a U.S. State Department official’s statement confirming that President Biden “embraces and champions” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today released an Arabic-language video about the infamous antisemitic forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, part of the organization’s popular Arabic video series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”). The film is the fifth in AJC’s Arabic-language video series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), which has been viewed by tens of millions of Arabic-speakers around the world.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Berlin welcomes FC Bayern Munich’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. Today’s announcement coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“The new pop-up treatment is a proactive step by Facebook for truthful Holocaust education. But the priority remains ensuring that Holocaust denial is entirely taken down from Facebook,” said AJC CEO David Harris. Facebook cited AJC as a partner in creating this critical resource.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) announced today the launch of a national effort to combat antisemitism. The two organizations, which have partnered on other projects, are calling on mayors across the country to sign a statement declaring that antisemitism is incompatible with fundamental democratic values.

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.

“Antisemitism fundamentally is not only a Jewish problem; it is a societal one. It is a reflection on the declining health of our society,” Holly Huffnagle, AJC’s U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, told the FBI officials on a video conference briefing. “Education is essential, to clarify what constitutes antisemitism, the various sources of this hatred, and what effective tools are available for law enforcement to fight antisemitism.”

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.

“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, the leading global Jewish advocacy organization, warned today that the continuing rise in hate crimes incidents targeting Jews in the United States is a threat to society that demands urgent national attention. While Jews account for less than 2% of the American population, the new FBI Hate Crimes Statistics report found that more than 60% of religious-based hate crimes in 2019 targeted Jews, an increase of 14% over 2018.

Holly Huffnagle, American Jewish Committee (AJC) U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, briefed members of the Inter-parliamentary Task Force on Online Antisemitism. “The future of combating antisemitism, in many ways, is combating the digitization of the problem. We all need to send the message that antisemitism in any form is unacceptable on or offline,” Huffnagle told the task force.

American Jewish Committee’s first-ever State of Antisemitism in America Report finds anxiety among American Jews and a disturbing lack of awareness among the general public of the severity of antisemitism in the United States.

“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.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Facebook’s decision to remove all Holocaust denial and distortion posts from the social media platform — and to prevent any such posts in the future under the company’s hate speech policy. “Facebook’s decision to ban Holocaust denial and distortion postings is profoundly significant,” said former AJC CEO David Harris.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), in a new position paper on QAnon, is urging government and civil society to strongly respond to the group’s antisemitic pronouncements and conspiracy theories. “In a time of rising antisemitism and growing distrust and division in the United States, the QAnon worldview must be condemned in the strongest terms,” said Holly Huffnagle, AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, who wrote the AJC position paper

American Jewish Committee (AJC) Philadelphia welcomes the NAACP decision to remove Minister Rodney Muhammad as head of the organization’s Philadelphia branch, and replace the entire local leadership.

Nick Cannon, in his first appearance on a Jewish program, AJC Advocacy Anywhere, said today he would be “the sacrificial lamb as a member of the entertainment community” to bring America’s Black and Jewish communities closer together.

Nick Cannon will appear Monday on the popular American Jewish Committee online program, AJC Advocacy Anywhere, for a candid conversation about antisemitism, racism, and Black-Jewish relations. The online series has attracted more than three million viewers worldwide since its inception in March.

The Philadelphia Region of American Jewish Committee today published an open letter to the leadership of the NAACP Pennsylvania State Conference regarding the antisemitic post of Rodney Muhammad, head of the group’s Philadelphia chapter.

The Philadelphia Muslim Jewish Circle of Friends, convened by American Jewish Committee (AJC), issued the following statement regarding an antisemitic Facebook posting by Rodney Muhammad, president of the NAACP’s Philadelphia Chapter.