Press Releases and Statements

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.

Ben and Jerry’s franchisees in the United States are calling on the company to “re-examine and withdraw” its decision to stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank and its threat to discontinue operations in Israel. American Jewish Committee Chief Legal Officer Marc D. Stern praised the franchisees for their honesty and passion in directly communicating their concerns.

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) 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.

“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.”

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds the Cambridge City Council’s rejection tonight of a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel and Hewlett Packard (HP).

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.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is disappointed by today’s United States Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit decision in Arkansas Times v. Waldrip.

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.”

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.

“This law is about trade not politics, and it has the potential to create jobs and economic growth for Missourians, Palestinians and Israelis,” said American Jewish Committee (AJC) St. Louis Director Nancy Lisker. “We are grateful for the leadership of Governor Parson and for the dogged determination of its lead sponsors, Senator Dr. Bob Onder and Representative Holly Rehder, for championing this important legislation.”

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.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauds the Missouri Legislature for overwhelmingly passing today SB 739, the "Anti-Discrimination Against Israel Act."

American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization, praised Germany’s decision today to ban Hezbollah’s activities on the country’s soil, determining that the organization in its entirety is engaged in terrorist activity. The government’s action will ban all activity, prohibit public display of all symbols, and confiscate all assets of Hezbollah in Germany.

“The world body’s endless hypocrisy and double standards toward Israel are staggering,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “Of all the situations in the world in which territory is disputed, the UN chooses only to focus on Israel. Why? We call on Secretary General Guterres to denounce this outrageous assault on the Jewish state.

AJC commends South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for signing an executive order prohibiting state offices from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.

A bipartisan delegation of Secretaries of State from across the United States are visiting Israel with the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Project Interchange. The program features in-depth discussions on cybersecurity policies and practices at the state, local, and federal level as it relates to business services, election administration, and records management.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is urging the United States Court of Appeals to uphold a Texas law that bars the state from engaging the services of contractors involved in boycotts of Israeli products and services.