KAIT 8 in Memphis, Tenn., ran a story on our donation to the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas to help feed residents struggling in the wake of flooding. These funds will provide 4,000 meals for those who have been impacted by this devastating disaster.   

B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Committee Chairman Harold Steinberg presented the check to the food bank and was interviewed in the story. 

Scroll down to read the piece and click to watch it at kait8.com.

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - Help is still pouring in for victims of the spring flooding in Region 8 earlier this year.Friday morning, members of the Memphis branch of B’nai B’rith International donated a $1000 check to the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas to help provide food to families impacted by the damaging floods that devastated parts of Region 8.

Mary Beasley, development officer of the Food Bank of NEA, said the donation will provide 4,000 meals and they’ll work with local agencies in Randolph, Lawrence, and Clay counties to distribute the food.

‘It’s really great,” Beasley said. “We got to talk to the representatives a lot and learn about what they do with disaster relief and to think that they’re helping some of these smaller communities is just really unbelievable. I know in the past, they’ve helped the flood victims of New Orleans and the tornado victims of Vilonia. So, we’re just thankful they’re coming to Northeast Arkansas and helping all these people out.”

Harold Steinberg, chairman of the B’Nai B’rith Disaster Relief Committee is a Region 8 native and grew up in Wynne.
“Being originally from Wynne, Arkansas, which is serviced by this facility, I was particularly interested,” Steinberg said. “I made a suggestion to our committee that we make an allocation to this food bank.”

Barbara Hellman, a member of B’Nai B’rith, also had a special connection to Region 8.
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“This particular area is important to me on a personal level because my husband had business interests in the area and most of his employees were the wives of many farmers or someone in their community,” Hellman said. “With the flooding, we thought this could be a great way to help and for me personally to give back to the community that was so good to him.”

The Jerusalem Post picked up our statement on the U.S. Department of State’s imbalanced narrative in its latest Country Reports on Terrorism, pushing a pro-Palestinian bias that severely mischaracterizes the reality in the region.

​Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on jpost.com.

B'nai Brith International criticizes the State Department for its characterization of the causes of Palestinian terrorism.

B'nai B'rith International faulted the Trump administration for adopting the “Palestinian narrative” in the State Department’s annual report on terrorism.

In the report released this week, the State Department listed as “continued drivers of violence” a “lack of hope in achieving Palestinian statehood, Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the perception that the Israeli government was changing the status quo on the Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount, and IDF tactics that the Palestinians considered overly aggressive.”

“It is astonishing that State is parroting the false Palestinian narrative,” B’nai B’rith said in its statement Thursday. “If it were not released by the State Department, it would be easy to mistake the inflammatory and accusatory language as coming directly from the Palestinians.”

While such an assessment would be uncontroversial coming from a think tank or even Israeli security officials, it is unusual in a State Department statement, particularly under President Donald Trump, who has been outspoken in condemning Palestinian incitement.

B’nai B’rith noted that Trump and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley have repeatedly blamed terrorism on Palestinian incitement and payments by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinians who have carried attacks out on Israelis.

“Israel is not driving the violence committed by the Palestinians,” the statement said. “It’s Palestinian leadership — Fatah and Hamas — that incites violence against Israelis on a daily basis.”

The State Department report said that Palestinian leaders had addressed incitement.

“The PA has taken significant steps during President Abbas’ tenure (2005 to date) to ensure that official institutions in the West Bank under its control do not create or disseminate content that incites violence,” it said. “While some PA leaders have made provocative and inflammatory comments, the PA has made progress in reducing official rhetoric that could be considered incitement to violence.”

The report otherwise described Israel as a “committed counterterrorism partner” and detailed the threats that Israel continues to face, particularly from Iran-backed groups.

“Israeli security officials and politicians remained concerned about the terrorist threat posed to Israel from Hezbollah and Iran, highlighting that Iran, primarily through the efforts of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, continued to fund and supply Hezbollah,” the Lebanon-based militia, the report said. “Israeli experts believed that Iran has transferred to Hezbollah advanced weapons systems such as anti-aircraft and anti-ship cruise missile systems, and was continuing to transfer long-range rockets into Lebanon.”

The Times of Israel wrote about our deep concern following the U.S. Department of State’s new annual Country Reports on Terrorism, where it blames Israel for Palestinian violence against Israelis.

Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on timesofisrael.com.

Annual US Report On Terrorism Claims Various Israeli Policies Spur Palestinian Extremism, While PA Has Taken ‘Significant Steps’ To Mitigate Terror

WASHINGTON — A new US State Department report says a myriad of Israeli policies — such as continued settlement building and aggressive military operations in the West Bank — are driving Palestinian terrorism, while the Palestinian Authority is making substantial efforts to halt such violence.

The report, an annual assessment of worldwide terrorism published this month, detailed a number Palestinian attacks against Israelis in 2016, including through rockets launched from Gaza, gunmen opening fire on civilians in Tel Aviv and numerous stabbing attacks.

“Israel again faced terrorist threats from Palestinian terrorists from Gaza and the West Bank,” said the report, titled Country Reports on Terrorism 2016. “Since 2015, a series of lone-offender attacks by Palestinians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank has increased tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.”

But it also said that Israel was, in part, spurring these attacks through actions that create a “lack of hope” for Palestinians and motivates them to carry out acts of terror.

“Continued drivers of violence included a lack of hope in achieving Palestinian statehood, Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the perception that the Israeli government was changing the status quo on the Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount, and IDF tactics that the Palestinians considered overly aggressive,” the report said.

That kind of diagnosis is unusual for US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been reluctant to criticize Israel, let alone suggest it is partly responsible for Palestinian terror.

Trump has, however, spoken out against settlements as problematic toward reaching an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. He told the Sheldon Adelson-owned Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom in February that settlements “don’t help the process … every time you take land for settlements, there is less land left.”
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And at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House the next day, he said he wanted Israel to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.”

The State Department’s report also gave PA President Mahmoud Abbas high credit for alleviating tensions in the West Bank, cooperating with Israeli security forces and tamping down on incitement. It did not cast blame on Palestinian leadership for terror attacks.

The PA, it said, “has taken significant steps during President Abbas’ tenure (2005 to date) to ensure that official institutions in the West Bank under its control do not create or disseminate content that incites violence.”

“While some PA leaders have made provocative and inflammatory comments, the PA has made progress in reducing official rhetoric that could be considered incitement to violence,” the report continued. “Explicit calls for violence against Israelis, direct exhortations against Jews, and categorical denials by the PA of the possibility of peace with Israel are rare and the leadership does not generally tolerate it.”

That description flies in the face of Capitol Hill Republicans who have been urging the administration to take a harder stance on Palestinian incitement, particularly its practice of providing social welfare payments to the families of terrorists who kill Israelis.

Working its way through the Senate now is the Taylor Force Act, which would cut US funding to the Palestinians over salaries paid to terrorists and their families. On Wednesday, the White House took its first public position on the bill, saying it supports its objective but stopped short of full-out endorsing it.

“While the administration agrees with the high-level goals of the Taylor Force Act, it is currently in Congress’s hands and we will continue to closely monitor the specifics of the legislation,” a senior administration official told The Times of Israel.

Trump himself confronted the Palestinian leader over this practice during their meetings in Washington and Bethlehem. In the latter meeting, he supposedly yelled at Abbas. “You tricked me in DC! You talked there about your commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me your involvement in incitement,” he reportedly said.

(Trump was referring to remarks Abbas made standing alongside him in Washington two weeks earlier. “We are raising our youth on a culture of peace,” he said.)

The day before that exchange, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed Trump in Jerusalem a video montage of Abbas, in which he made comments that encouraged violence against Israel, according to The Washington Post.

In the State Department report, Abbas was recognized for ensuring West Bank religious leaders do not urge or support terrorism.

“The PA maintains control over the content of Friday sermons delivered in approximately 1,800 West Bank mosques to ensure that they do not endorse incitement to violence,” it said. “Weekly, the PA Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs distributes approved themes and prohibits incitement to violence.”

At least one Jewish organization criticized the Department’s assessment of the situation. B’nai Brith International said it was “deeply concerned at the pro-Palestinian bias” it saw reflected in the document.


“Israel is not driving the violence committed by the Palestinians. It’s Palestinian leadership — Fatah and Hamas — that incites violence against Israelis on a daily basis,” it said in a statement Thursday. “The Palestinian leadership even compensates terrorists and their families with cash as a reward for carrying out an attack on Israelis.”
The group urged the State Department to correct what it described as an “imbalanced narrative.”

JNS.org covered the issue of metal detectors at the Temple Mount and we were included in a roundup of responses by U.S. Jewish groups to the evolving story.

Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on JNS.org.

Before Israel decided Monday to remove recently installed metal detectors that were meant to intercept terrorists on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, there was a broad consensus among American Jewish leaders in support of the security measure.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations “supports taking the necessary and appropriate steps to assure security for all and to protect the sanctity of these holy sites,” the umbrella group’s executive vice chairman and CEO, Malcolm Hoenlein, told JNS.org before the metal detectors were removed.

Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, said, “If the authorities responsible for security feel certain measures are necessary to meet their responsibility to protect those who visit for prayer or as respectful visitors, it is no different than security considerations at the Vatican, at the [U.S.] Capitol or any other significant location where public access is permitted under applicable law.”

“In a world where security measures are being enhanced in major gathering places, it’s only surprising that the Temple Mount didn’t have such measures until now,” American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris told JNS.org. “The terror attack last week, in which two Israelis were killed, is a tragic reminder of why metal detectors are needed for the safety of all visitors and personnel.”

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) and B’nai B’rith International took similar positions. 

“It is not the presence of metal detectors that leads to violence, rather the unrelenting incitement to violence on the part of the Palestinian Authority that does not cease,” said Betty Ehrenberg, the WJC’s executive director for North America. “In the interest of protecting the safety and security of all visitors to the Temple Mount and in keeping the peace at the holy site, the metal detectors need to remain in place, as they are at the Western Wall and in many sensitive and holy places around the world, including Mecca and the Vatican.”

B’nai B’rith International said in a statement provided to JNS.org that the Israeli government “cannot look the other way in the face of acts of violence, especially in light of the killings of its police officers. Metal detectors are one way, used globally, to keep the public safe. There may be other methods, as well, but doing nothing is not an option.”

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism did not take a position on the issue, but several prominent Conservative rabbis spoke out in favor of the metal detectors.

Writing from Israel, Rabbi Neil Cooper of Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El, near Philadelphia, pointed out that not only do many Israeli malls and restaurants have metal detectors, but in addition, “When one enters the Western Wall Plaza, one is required to pass through metal detectors. It is expected, anticipated and reasonable.” Cooper said he was surprised to learn that metal detectors have not been used on the Temple Mount until now. 

“It should be welcomed by everyone who abhors violence and will impede those desiring to harm others,” he said.

Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice president emeritus of Conservative Judaism’s Rabbinical Assembly, noted, “Most of us in the United States go through metal detectors daily in order to enter public buildings and most Israelis go through metal detectors to even enter a shopping mall, so if needed to help security on the Temple Mount, there should be no discussion.”

Among dovish groups, Dr. Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum (IPF), told JNS.org, “IPF’s position is that metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount are a commonsense and relatively unobtrusive way to protect the safety of both Jews and Muslims on the Temple Mount and its environs, and that erecting them does not alter the site’s status quo.” 

Americans for Peace Now agreed that “security measures are obviously necessary at this spot,” although the organization added that it “reserves judgment on the specifics of the security tools utilized in Jerusalem’s Holy Basin.”

JTA News wrote about our deep concern following the U.S. Department of State’s new annual Country Reports on Terrorism, where it blames Israel for Palestinian violence against Israelis.

Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on JTA.org.

WASHINGTON (JTA) — B’nai B’rith International faulted the Trump administration for adopting the “Palestinian narrative” in the State Department’s annual report on terrorism.

In the report released this week, the State Department listed as “continued drivers of violence” a “lack of hope in achieving Palestinian statehood, Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the perception that the Israeli government was changing the status quo on the Haram Al Sharif/Temple Mount, and IDF tactics that the Palestinians considered overly aggressive.”

“It is astonishing that State is parroting the false Palestinian narrative,” B’nai B’rith said in its statement Thursday. “If it were not released by the State Department, it would be easy to mistake the inflammatory and accusatory language as coming directly from the Palestinians.”

While such an assessment would be uncontroversial coming from a think tank or even Israeli security officials, it is unusual in a State Department statement, particularly under President Donald Trump, who has been outspoken in condemning Palestinian incitement.

B’nai B’rith noted that Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley have repeatedly blamed terrorism on Palestinian incitement and payments by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinians who have carried attacks out on Israelis.

“Israel is not driving the violence committed by the Palestinians,” the statement said. “It’s Palestinian leadership — Fatah and Hamas — that incites violence against Israelis on a daily basis.”

The State Department report said that Palestinian leaders had addressed incitement.

“The PA has taken significant steps during President Abbas’ tenure (2005 to date) to ensure that official institutions in the West Bank under its control do not create or disseminate content that incites violence,” it said. “While some PA leaders have made provocative and inflammatory comments, the PA has made progress in reducing official rhetoric that could be considered incitement to violence.”

The report otherwise described Israel as a “committed counterterrorism partner” and detailed the threats that Israel continues to face, particularly from Iran-backed groups.
​
“Israeli security officials and politicians remained concerned about the terrorist threat posed to Israel from Hezbollah and Iran, highlighting that Iran, primarily through the efforts of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, continued to fund and supply Hezbollah,” the Lebanon-based militia, the report said. “Israeli experts believed that Iran has transferred to Hezbollah advanced weapons systems such as anti-aircraft and anti-ship cruise missile systems, and was continuing to transfer long-range rockets into Lebanon.”

Check out this great Q&A between CEO Dan Mariaschin and Azeri.Today on the recent B’nai B’rith delegation visit to Azerbaijan. Mariaschin discusses the purpose of the delegation, his meeting with the prime minister, Azerbaijan-Israel relations and more.

Scroll down to read the piece or click to read it on Azer.Today. 

 You can also click here to read it in Russian.

Azeri.Today's exclusive interview with Daniel S. Mariaschin, general director of one of the most famous international public organizations B’nai B’rith.

- Mr. Mariaschin, in late June B’nai B’rith President Gary Saltzman and you visited Azerbaijan and met with Prime Minister Artur Rasizada. What was the purpose of your delegation's visit to Azerbaijan?

- We visited Baku to engage officials of the government in discussions about regional issues and to discuss bi-lateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States and Azerbaijan and Israel. As an American-based organization with members in many countries, including Israel, we have a strong interest in promoting good relations with Azerbaijan, which not only is strategically located, but also has a rich, two-millennia history of Jewish life.

- What did you agree on with the Azerbaijani side? In which directions does B’nai B’rith plan to develop relations with Azerbaijan?

- We all agree that stability, in an era of chaos in the Middle East and beyond, is a vital objective shared by both sides. International terrorism is a threat to us all, and all of us need to cooperate closely to defeat it. Beyond that, we’ll be looking for ways to promote people-to-people contact by following up with other missions to Azerbaijan. We had an excellent opportunity on this trip to meet and engage with the Jewish community, and it would be beneficial for more people from our community to have the same experience.

- Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with Israel. How do you assess the Azerbaijani-Israeli relations today?

- We, too, attach great importance to the relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel. There are so many areas of cooperation which exist now, and more than could be opened in the future. That one can fly between Tel Aviv and Baku so easily is an excellent example of a portal that is being utilized for tourism and trade—two important pillars of good bi-lateral relations. The opening of an Azerbaijani embassy in Israel would surely help to take relations to an even higher level.

- The international organization B’nai B’rith pays much attention to combating the manifestation of anti-Semitism. Is the level of anti-Semitism decreasing or growing in the world?

- Since our founding in 1843—going on 175 years ago—B’nai B’rith has been in the forefront of combating anti-Semitism globally. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a serious spike in anti-Semitic incidents. Europe has been one locus for this, but not the only one. To fight this effectively, we look to friends of the Jewish people and of Israel, like Azerbaijan, to confront manifestations of anti-Semitism at the United Nations, on the internet and in our own midst.

- As you know, Armenia occupied Azerbaijani territories - Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 surrounding regions. A few days ago, Armenians shelled Azerbaijani civilian objects, which resulted in the death of innocent people, including a 2-year-old girl. How do you see the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and how much is the US interested in settling this conflict?
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- Violence is unacceptable and never justified. We hope the conflict can be resolved peacefully through negotiations between the two governments and that perhaps the new administration in the U.S. could play a constructive role in this, with an eye to a successful outcome. Azerbaijan is a country of tremendous strategic value and one that plays an important part in the Jewish world. The region has great potential and would only benefit from a peaceful resolution of this conflict.

We invited U.S. Congressman Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) to tour B’nai B’rith Apartments in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to meet with residents and discuss the critical importance of housing for adults with limited means.
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The Times Leader has coverage of the tour and Rep. Cartwright’s “Coffee with a Congressman.” Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on timesleader.com.

WILKES-BARRE — Everything from health care and the economy to voter fraud and potential election interference by Russia came up during a “Coffee with your Congressman” event Tuesday hosted by U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright.

For Linda Troia of Exeter, the relationship between President Donald Trump and the Russian leadership has her more than concerned.

“It’s very scary to me,” Troia said. “There are several issues there. What’s not to be concerned about? We have to rein the Orange Man in.”

The “Orange Man,” of course, was a reference to Trump and his skin tone.

Troia said she has respect for the office of the presidency, but she can’t believe the stories that come out every day about Trump, his family, the administration and, again, the Russians.

‘The American people have to be unified,” Troia said. “This current situation is frightening.”

Cartwright, D-Moosic, told a group gathered in the community room at B’nai B’rith Apartments that hearing from them “is my job.”

“This is why the Founding Fathers established the House of Representatives, mandating that its members run for re-election every two years. They wanted us to be close with the people. That’s why it’s called the People’s House,” said Cartwright.

Noting he serves on the House Appropriations Committee, the lawmaker also heard about providing federal dollars to boost the local economy.

“This is all information well worth hearing,” he said. “This tells me what’s important to the people and my job is to work hard in Congress to get things done to help my constituents.”

Martha Hart, who lives in the B’nai B’rith Apartments, said Medicaid is her number one concern. She intended to tell Cartwright to do all he can to save the program. Hart also is concerned about the possibility of losing her housing assistance. She wants Cartwright to bring her concerns to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“If I lose my help with housing and Medicare, I’m done,” Hart said.

Bob Fox of West Pittston was there to talk about funding for health care services that are designed to keep people out of nursing homes. He said if federal dollars are taken away, many more people will have to leave their homes to go into nursing facilities.

“Believe me, I will fight for every federal dollar I can get my hands on for all these programs,” Cartwright said. “Especially economic development. People are desperate for new, better-paying jobs.”

Peter Gagliardi of Wilkes-Barre wants to see what can be done to tone down all the political rhetoric that permeates the news every day.

“President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill did it in the eighties, why can’t it be done now?” Gagliardi asked.

John Gyory of Exeter wanted to talk to Cartwright about climate solutions.

“The Republicans don’t seem to believe in global warming,” Gyory said. “We have to get the conversation going again. We can’t walk away from it while the rest of the world gets more and more concerned.”

$1.5M grant

While in Wilkes-Barre, Cartwright announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $1,537,154 to the Rural Health Corporation of Northeastern PA.

Health Center Program grants support a variety of community-based and public and private nonprofits that serve medically under-served and vulnerable populations.
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“This funding will continue to provide families and individuals with the preventive care and treatment they need to live healthy lives,” Cartwright said. “Community health centers remain a crucial part of our system to provide everyone with access to affordable, quality care.”

More coverage via Eyewitness News WBRE WYOU of Congressman Matt Cartwright's (D-Pa.) visit to B’nai B’rith Apartments in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., that included a tour and "Coffee with a Congressman" – A program that gave residents a chance to interact with and ask questions of their representative.

Scroll down to read the story and click here to watch the video on pahomepage.com.

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) -- A NEPA congressman is bucking a growing trend. He is meeting with his constituents to hear and address their concerns.

"Congressman, we depend so much on the funding that we need for social services," said one man who wasn't the only person to voice concerns first hand to Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-17th District) at a casual town hall type meeting Tuesday morning called "Coffee with the Congressman:. Dozens had a lot to say at the public event held at B'Nai Brith Apartments in Wilkes-Barre. Sharon Biehner talked to the Lackawanna County Democrat about funding for Alzheimer's Research. "He was very informative to me. And he gave me a lot of hope," said Sharon Biehner of Wilkes-Barre.

Howard Grossman, the former Executive Director of the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, also had the congressman's ear. "We talked about economic development and some of the things like manufacturing."

Rep. Cartwright said, "People are concerned about the economy. They're concerned about health care. What's going to happen with, you know, the ACA in Washington. What's going to happen with medicaid expansion."

Congressman Cartwright is doing what the group "Town Hall Project" says more than 180 other congressmen and women aren't... actually holding a town hall meeting as the August recess approaches. Ms. Biehner said, "We voted for them. That's why they're there. So he took the time to come and listen and that, to me, was very important." Mr. Grossman added, "It's certainly important for congressmen to get out in the field which Congressman Cartwright has been doing and I think he deserves a lot of credit for that."

Rep. Cartwright explained it's simply part of the job even though scores of his peers are balking. "If you're not a people person, you don't like mixing with people, you don't like listening to them, you better find some other line of work," he said.
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Rep. Cartwright says he's already hosted six town hall meetings so far this year.

World Jewish Congress wrote up a recap of our Jewish Rescuers Citation ceremony in New York City, in which we honored Jewish rescuers and their families for their valiant efforts saving other Jews from murder at the hands of the Nazis.

Scroll down to read the story or click to read it on WorldJewishCongress.org.

NEW YORK - B’nai B’rith International and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews During the Holocaust (JRJ) on Monday presented citations to a number of Jewish individuals to honor their valiant efforts to save the lives of others. 
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“Thousands of Jews were saved by other Jews across Europe during the Holocaust. Many of these rescuers, rather than flee to ensure their own safety, chose to help other Jews escape,” noted B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin.

“It is critical that the effort of Jewish rescuers is remembered and we commit ourselves to sharing these stories that remind us all of the unique role these Jewish rescuers played in our history. There are so many individual stories. It falls on us to make sure these stories are told to personalize what happened.”

Among those honored was Dr. Hadassah Bimko-Rosensaft, whose posthumous Jewish Rescuer's Citation was presented to her son, World Jewish Congress General Counsel and Holocaust survivor advocate Menachem Rosensaft.

“Bnai Brith should be commended for this particular initiative, among so many others,” Rosensaft said in accepting the citation on behalf of his mother. “How overdue the recognition of Jewish rescuers is. The fact that they have been ignored is a stain on the work of remembrance that has been performed by the various Holocaust institutions…. The Jews in the ghettos and the camps and the forests who risked their lives to help others deserve no less recognition [than righteous gentiles].”

After Dr. Bimko-Rosensaft’s first husband and 5.5-year-old son were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau, she went on to save the lives of women inmates at that camp and later, as a doctor at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, kept 149 children alive, scouring the camp for young people in need of the food and medicine she managed to scavenge. Following the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, Dr. Bimko-Rosensaft was appointed head of the camp’s medical service by the American military and worked to save as many of the ill and malnourished prisoners as possible.

At gatherings of survivors over the course of next half century, said Menachem Rosensaft, his mother was told over and over: “You don’t remember me but you saved my life.”

Another honored rescuer was Ben Zion Kalb, who saved about 1,000 fellow Polish Jews, mainly infants, youngsters and teenagers, via a land route and a smuggling operation into Slovakia and whose son Mark told attendees at yesterday’s ceremony that the Jewish “rescuers themselves deserved something better than to be forgotten, having shown extraordinary courage.”

The Jewish Rescuer’s Citation was established in 2011 to pay honor and respect to Jewish rescue of other Jews during the Shoah. To date, more than 170 Jewish heroes have been honored for their daring rescue activities in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Lithuania, Poland and Holland.

CEO Dan Mariaschin was interviewed by Jewish Broadcasting Service's Teisha Bader on two resolutions passed the by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee, rejecting Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, and blatantly disregarding Jewish history and reality by naming Hebron’s Old City and the Cave of the Patriarchs to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

Mariaschin and Bader go in-depth on the topics. Watch the full  interview below.