Press Releases

Just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the United Nations he supports a two-state solution, it was regrettable that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reacted to this courageous overture with hostile rhetoric that prevents a meaningful dialogue.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s call, in his address to the UN General Assembly, for the search for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The leading global Jewish advocacy organization offered this statement:

American Jewish Committee (AJC) has honored Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, with the leading global Jewish advocacy organization’s prestigious Jan Karski Award. “This is an award that belongs to very few living people who can match the standards of Jan Karski. You are one of them,” said AJC CEO David Harris, who presented the award to Shaheed at an AJC diplomatic reception on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and who knew Karski well during the last 15 years of his life.

An American Jewish Committee delegation of 80 people from across the United States were joined last evening by Emirati government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, business leaders, and members of the local Jewish community to celebrate the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords and the official opening earlier this year of AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding.

The U.S. Department of Education has announced it will investigate a complaint that accuses the University of Vermont of not doing enough to clamp down on antisemitic activity on campus. AJC criticized the university for not addressing the concerns of Jewish students in a constructive manner.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Lufthansa Group announced today a joint initiative to combat global antisemitism. The new partnership, detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding that the German airline and the leading global Jewish advocacy organization are signing, focuses on Lufthansa utilizing AJC staff experts to train airline employees to identify and respond to antisemitism.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today released “What Do Jews Think About Peace?” (“kayfa yara al-yahud al-salaam”), an informative three-minute video in Arabic that elucidates the high value that Jews and Judaism place on the pursuit of peace. The video also is available in English. What Do Jews Think About Peace? is the ninth episode of AJC’s Arabic language educational web series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), launched in 2020. The new video explains the teachings about peace that are integral to Judaism and have underpinned Israeli society and policy since the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

American Jewish Committee today released a comprehensive Call to Action for America to help key sectors of society better understand antisemitism, so they can better respond to and prevent anti-Jewish hate in their communities.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) launched today its Campus Global Board, an initiative to broaden the leading global Jewish advocacy organization’s engagement with college students around the world.

American Jewish Committee has appointed Aaron Bregman as the leading global Jewish advocacy organization’s first director of High School Affairs.

If the attack on Salman Rushdie is connected to the Iranian "fatwa" calling for his execution, it is one more link in the chain of murder and attempted murder that originates in Tehran under the mullahs.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) honored today Christian Stückl, director of the Oberammergau Passion Play, with its prestigious Isaiah Award for Exemplary Interreligious Leadership. The AJC award, honoring extraordinary achievement in interfaith endeavors, was presented to Stückl by Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC’s Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations. “Throughout his illustrious career as Oberammergau Passion Play director, Christian Stückl has demonstrated the power of one individual to make a tremendous difference," said Marans.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) launched today a new limited podcast series on Jews from Arab countries and Iran. The Forgotten Exodus features interviews with Jews from countries including Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, and Iran. It is the first narrative podcast series devoted exclusively to telling the stories of the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their centuries-old communities in Arab lands and Iran in the mid-twentieth century.

Sara Coodin has been appointed Director of Academic Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC). This new position will enhance and expand the leading global Jewish advocacy organization’s engagement with university administrators regarding the conditions for Jewish students.

Bulgaria honored American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO David Harris today with the Honorary Medal of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, one of the country’s highest awards. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev bestowed the award on Harris for “his exceptional contribution to the advancement of the transatlantic partnership, the strengthening of the relations between Bulgaria and the United States, and in recognition of his role in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.”

The Organization of American States (OAS) and American Jewish Committee (AJC) have co-published a Handbook for the Practical Use of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. The publication offers clear guidance and examples of how the definition is being used by law enforcement, the judiciary, educational institutions, and civil society.

An American Jewish Committee (AJC) leadership mission completed a week of consultations and public programs in Indonesia, a country with which the leading global Jewish advocacy organization has been engaged for two decades. The 17-member delegation included AJC CEO David Harris and professional and lay leadership of AJC’s Asia Pacific Institute (API) and Interreligious Affairs Department. “AJC knows the central importance of Indonesia to the Asia Pacific region and the Muslim world,” said API Director Shira Loewenberg. “We found a growing circle of friends and partners who want to engage with Jews along religious, political, cultural, and human dimensions.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) hailed today’s announcement that Saudi Arabia will permit Israeli commercial flights to traverse the kingdom’s airspace. “In the spirit of the historic Abraham Accords, today’s Saudi announcement is a significant example of normalization that will further advance the promise and reality of Arab-Israeli peace,” said AJC CEO David Harris.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today released “What is Antisemitism?” (“ma hiya mu’adat as-samiya?”), an Arabic-language video that is the latest effort of the leading global Jewish advocacy organization to raise awareness in the Arab world about the varied expressions and violent impact of Jew-hatred. The video also is available in English. What is Antisemitism? is the eighth episode of AJC’s Arabic language educational web series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), launched in 2020.

American Jewish Committee is shocked and deeply saddened by the assassination of Abe Shinzo. We join Japan in mourning his senseless death. The world has lost one of its most distinguished statesmen.