Press Releases and Statements

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today decried the failure of a UN panel to identify the October 7 mass murder of Israelis by Hamas as a terrorist act and protested its “false equivalence” of the Hamas attack and Israel’s self-defensive actions.

Colombia President Gustavo Petro has threatened to cut diplomatic relations with Israel, which had suspended exports of security equipment in response to Petro’s comments last week that accused the Jewish State of war crimes while refusing to condemn the massacre of more than 1,300 Israelis by Hamas.
American Jewish Committee, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, issued this statement in response:

American Jewish Committee, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today was joined by more than 110 Jewish organizations from more than 40 countries in urging the United Nations and all governments to take swift action to secure the immediate and unconditional release of the estimated 200 hostages being held by Hamas after its terror massacre against Israel on October 7.

The New York diplomatic community—including envoys from 60 nations--joined American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, for a solidarity rally today with Israel to condemn the Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of more than 200 people.  

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch today released the following statement in response to confirmation that Hamas slaughtered 40 Israeli babies, further depicting the depravity and inhumanity of Hamas’ terror attack against Israel.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, is urging members of the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) to issue a condemnation of Hamas’s terror attack against Israel following the body’s emergency session Sunday. AJC welcomes statements from individual Member States expressing solidarity with Israel and urges key UN bodies and other multinational institutions to follow suit.

The historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates can be a model for the entire region, said former U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Howard Berman today. Congressman Berman, who was extensively involved in improving relations between Israel and Arab nations during his 30 years in Congress, spoke at the inaugural Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba Lecture sponsored by American Jewish Committee.

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today welcomed the U.S. Government’s announcement that Israel has been admitted to the United States Visa Waiver Program. Israel joins more than 40 other countries in this program that allows for simplified, automated approval for 90-day tourist and business travel to the US.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch today met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Prime Minister’s address to the United Nations General Assembly. Deutch was among a group of American Jewish leaders invited to speak with Netanyahu.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch today decried Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas' address at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, during which he once again perpetuated baseless, hateful attacks against Israel. 

Following Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s address today to the United Nations General Assembly, American Jewish Committee condemned Iran’s record of rampant human rights abuses and support for anti-Israel terror groups, and reiterated its calls for the international community to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons capability. President Raisi’s address comes just over a year after the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested by Iran’s morality police for not properly wearing a hijab, on the heels of the barring of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from sites in Iran, and less than a month before key sanctions are set to expire on the regime’s ballistic missile program.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch today praised President Biden's nomination of Jack Lew to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

American Jewish Committee issued a statement following the renewal of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by the UN Security Council.
"The UN Security Council today renewed UNIFIL’s mandate for another year. But UNIFIL cannot carry out its peacekeeping responsibilities when Hezbollah ignores UN resolutions, strengthens its military presence in southern Lebanon, prevents the Lebanese government from extending its authority over its entire territory, and receives illegal arms from Iran."

The American Anthropological Association, an academic group, has voted to boycott Israeli academic institutions in support of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement. American Jewish Committee issued a statement in response:

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today expressed profound disappointment over the passage of the Reasonableness Standard Law in Israel.

The new law was pushed through unilaterally by the governing coalition amid deepening divisions in Israeli society as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the streets. Of particular concern to AJC, the continued effort to press forward on judicial reform rather than seeking compromise has sown discord within the Israeli Defense Forces at a time of elevated threats to the Jewish homeland and has strained the vital relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. 

AJC CEO Ted Deutch issued this statement following Israeli President Isaac Herzog's address to Congress this morning:

President Herzog’s address to Congress is a potent symbol of the ironclad partnership between the U.S. and Israel and how it has transformed the Middle East. It also underscores the president’s vital role as a bridge builder, one who offers pragmatic and actionable solutions to many of the issues that confront Israel. His voice is one we need to hear more. Israel has no better emissary. I know him personally as someone whose commitment and love for his nation knows no bounds. That passion was on full display today on Capitol Hill.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today expressed concern over the Knesset’s vote to advance a portion of the governing coalition's judicial reform effort, deepening existing divisions instead of resuming the compromise negotiations conducted by President Herzog.

A delegation of U.S. college presidents has arrived in Israel to exchange ideas with their counterparts in the Jewish State and forge partnerships with students and faculty from both nations, as part of a trip sponsored by Project Interchange, an educational institute of American Jewish Committee.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch today issued this statement following the appointment by Secretary of State Antony Blinken of Ambassador Dan Shapiro to be Senior Advisor for Regional Integration: Ambassador Dan Shapiro is an excellent choice to lead America’s efforts to expand the circle of peace in the Middle East, from strengthening the Abraham Accords to working to normalize relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim-majority countries.

American Jewish Committee has released a video, "What Ties Jews to Israel?" (“Ma allathi yarbut al-yahud bi-Isra’il?” in Arabic), the 11th installment in the organization’s Arabic-language educational video series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), which has received more than 45 million views worldwide. The video released today emphasizes that the unique connection between Jews and the land of Israel does not negate those shared by other religions and peoples. The video is also available in English.