Everything You Need to Know About Israel
American Jewish Committee (AJC) works to set the record straight on Israel, calling out fact from fiction and standing up to those seeking to tear down and discriminate against the region’s only democratic nation and world’s only Jewish state.
AJC works every day, in the United States and around the world, to advocate for Israel through global diplomacy, political advocacy, coalition building, and strategic communications.
The resources below include facts and key insights into Israel-related topics, including the U.S.-Israel relationship, the Abraham Accords, Israel-diaspora relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a two state solution, Israeli democracy, the UN’s anti-Israel bias, Israeli Arabs, the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, Hamas, Hezbollah, Gaza, the West Bank, Palestinians, and more.
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Walter Russell Mead: Debunking Myths and Misconceptions About the U.S.-Israel Relationship
Walter Russell Mead, Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute and columnist for The Wall Street Journal, joins us to discuss his latest book, “The Arc of a Covenant: The United States, Israel, and the Fate of the Jewish People," and to delve into what fuels America and Israel’s alliance, debunk myths about the relationship, including antisemitic tropes and memes
Five Things to Know About Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Escalation in Gaza
After several days of terror threats, Israel announced that it has launched Operation Breaking Dawn on Aug. 5 as part of an effort to target the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip, which had been planning a significant terror attack against the Jewish state.
Biden’s Middle East Visit: An Alternative View
President Biden recently made his first visit to the Middle East as president. It included two days in Israel, along with separate meetings with Palestinians in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem and two days in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia leg was politically controversial in the US primarily because of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 as well as criticism of the Saudi role in the war in Yemen. The president’s visit to Israel was a welcome opportunity to show support for a beleaguered ally, but it broke little new ground.
American Jewish Committee Hails Saudi Decision to Open Air Space to Israeli Flights
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.
Building on the Abraham Accords: President Biden’s Trip to the Middle East, and Its Implications for Israeli-Saudi Relations
This week, retired U.S. Ambassador Marc Sievers, Director of American Jewish Committee’s office in Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding, joins us to discuss President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East on a tour that included Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia.
What to Draw From President Biden’s Middle East Visit
U.S. President Joe Biden has called his 1973 meeting with then-Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir “one of the most consequential meetings I've ever had in my life.” Nearly 50 years later, Biden is returning to Israel as America’s head of state for a trip that could be even more consequential.
Israel: A Nation Reborn
Read this powerful essay by AJC CEO David Harris on the history and meaning of Israel’s remarkable journey.
5 Things to Know About Israel’s New Prime Minister Yair Lapid
With the Israeli Knesset voting to dissolve itself and head to its fifth election in just three years, the country will see Yair Lapid, who served as alternate prime minister and foreign minister in the outgoing government, become the Jewish state’s 14th prime minister.
What is the BDS Mapping Project and Why Should All Jews Be Concerned?
A map published online earlier this month by BDS activists claims to list organizations and institutions in the Boston area that they say are responsible for harm against Palestinians. In actuality, the project is targeting and threatening the Jewish community. AJC New England Director Rob Leikind joins us to explain what’s being done to raise awareness and counter the project, and why it’s not just the Jewish community that’s in danger.
Actress Noa Tishby Tackles Tough Questions on Israel
Noa Tishby, who was appointed Israel’s special envoy for combating antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel in April 2022, spoke at AJC Global Forum 2022 in New York City.
AJC Project Interchange Alumni Introduce Winds of Change: The New Middle East
At AJC Gobal Forum 2022, AJC Project Interchange Alumni Shaikh Abdulla Alkhalifa, and Lilia Rizk shared their experiences as some of the first Arab participants on AJC's Project Interchange trips to Israel.
Address from Israel's Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid
In a special video message to AJC Global Forum 2022, Israel’s Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid described the current global struggle between good and evil, with terrorism and violence on one side and freedom and democracy on the other.
Winds of Change: The New Middle East
At AJC Gobal Forum 2022, United Nations Ambassadors from Israel, Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates took to the stage for a historic conversation showcasing the widening circle of peace in the Middle East nearly two years after the Abraham Accords.
1967 Six Day War: Why It Matters
Fifty-five years ago this month, the Six Day War broke out. Without an understanding of what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today — and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world.
Yossi Klein Halevi on the Convergence of Politics and Religion at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
This week, we hear from journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi on the triumph of the Six-Day War, the current wave of terrorist attacks in Israel, the tensions on the Temple Mount, and the trauma that continues to shape Israel’s spiritual and political life.
AJC Delegation Visits Japan to Bolster Strong Ties with American Jewish Community
An American Jewish Committee (AJC) delegation has returned from Japan, where they met with top government leaders and diplomats to reinforce strong ties among Japan and the U.S., Israel, and the American Jewish community.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch on How Support for Israel is Key to the Future of Reform Judaism
As the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch believes Zionism is a core value of Judaism. He sat down with Laura Shaw Frank, AJC's Director of Contemporary Jewish Life, to discuss the danger of waning commitment to Israel among some Reform Jews, a recent delegation to the Poland-Ukraine border, and how being #JewishAndProud is as important to him as breathing.
Millennial Jews Are Choosing Between Israel And Social Acceptance
A new American Jewish Committee (AJC) survey revealed that 53% of US Jews ages 25-40 feel connected to Israel. For those who do not, there are two camps. First are those who have disengaged over disagreements with Israel’s policies. Second are those who fear social ostracization driven by both blatant and casual antisemitism, which is being fueled by anti-Israel sentiments among their peers. Our survey indicates that millennial US Jews may be willing to suppress their Zionism, or even their Jewishness, to remain in good social standing, and we must be cognizant of the long-term toll this will take on this key demographic. No Jew, no person, should have to hide who they are and what they believe.
What to Read: Celebrating Israel through Remembrance, Independence
As Yom HaAtzma’ut, or Israeli Independence Day, and Yom HaZikaron, or Memorial Day approach, AJC offers 10 nonfiction titles that illustrate why Israel observes these two occasions side by side.
American Jewish Committee Surveys of U.S. and Israeli Jewish Millennials
American Jewish Committee surveys of U.S. and Israeli Jewish millennials show that Israel-Diaspora relations remain strong, but also indicate points of divergence regarding what role diaspora Jews should have in influencing Israeli polices, antisemitism in the U.S., and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first-ever parallel surveys of Jews, ages 25-40, were conducted by YouGov in the U.S. and Geocartography in Israel for ACCESS, AJC’s young professional program, and AJC’s Contemporary Jewish Life Department. “Gauging the views of millennials is critical to ensuring strong, enduring ties between the world’s two largest Jewish communities,” said Dana Steiner, Director of AJC ACCESS Global.
