 While a truce may have halted the conflict in Gaza, the cultural conflict continues in much of the world, as Jewish communities have been subject to increased anti-Semitism since the war began. In Australia, several threatening incidences toward Jewish children, particularly a bomb threat at a Jewish school, has the continent's 110,000-member Jewish population on edge. The story was covered in Haaretz, quoting Dr. Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission. A sampling of the story can be found below: [...]
Prof. Danny Ben-Moshe, another Melbourne-based academic who analyzes anti-Semitism, agreed there had been a shift within Australian Jewry but stopped short of describing it as “seismic.” “The collective well-being of Australian Jewry has been adversely affected,” Ben-Moshe told Haaretz. “Jews are neither as free nor as safe as they were prior to this war.” [...] More than 200 Jewish pupils were evacuated for several hours while the bomb squad sent a remote-controlled robot to an abandoned car outside the school after community security officials had called police. [...] In the wake of the incident on Jewish pupils on a school bus in Sydney, Dr. Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, wrote earlier this month: “There are alarming developments and chilling signs that are making the Jewish community here less comfortable, less confident and very worried that the flames of anti-Semitism are burning more furiously at home.”  B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David J. Michaels penned an op-ed that appeared in the New York Times on Aug. 27. The piece urged the United Nations to place Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish year, on the list of officially recognized holidays. A committee will convene on the matter next month. Read the op-ed in its entirety, below: THE emblem of the United Nations shows the planet brought together in the embrace of two olive branches. Its charter affirms the “equal rights” of “nations large and small.” But in the “family of nations,” some members are more equal than others. No example of this inequity is starker than that of Israel.
The State of Israel was created, in the Jewish ancestral homeland, as a result of a United Nations resolution. Its 1948 proclamation of independence refers to the United Nations seven times. Israel tries to contribute to international peace in every area in which it can help, from disaster relief to medical innovation to agricultural technology. Jewish hope in the organization — created in the aftermath of the Holocaust — can be discerned in the words from Isaiah inscribed beside the Sharansky Steps, which face the United Nations headquarters in New York City: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” But over time, Israel has been a target for exceptional mistreatment at the United Nations. A pluralistic democracy facing extremists sworn to its destruction, Israel is routinely condemned by the body’s Human Rights Council, more than any other member state. Israel’s assailants at the United Nations often assert that they respect Jews and Judaism — and reserve their shrill disdain only for Israeli policies and Zionism. But the demonization of Israel calls their motives into question. The United Nations is headquartered in the United States, the country with the most Jews outside Israel, and in New York City, which has the single largest Jewish population in the Diaspora. Judaism, of course, is an ancient, biblical religion — a precursor of the two dominant world faiths — and Jewish communities can be found in at least 120 member states. In 1997, the General Assembly added two Muslim holidays (Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr) to the official calendar of the United Nations headquarters. Two of the 10 holidays are Christian (Good Friday and Christmas) and the other six are American federal holidays. None is Jewish. Important United Nations events — even, sometimes, meetings related to Israel — have repeatedly been scheduled on major Jewish holidays, forcing Jewish diplomats and representatives of civil society to choose between their professional duties and their faith and families. Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish year, unites Jews of all nationalities, political orientations and degrees of observance. The Day of Atonement, as it is known — traditionally spent in fasting, prayer and introspection — represents the universal aspiration to self-improvement and to making amends. Last month, 32 nations — including Argentina, Canada, Israel, Nigeria and the United States — declared their support for adding Yom Kippur (Oct. 3-4 this year) to the United Nations calendar. Next month, a committee will take up the matter. In 1999, Secretary General Kofi Annan acknowledged that, to observers, “it has sometimes seemed as if the United Nations serves all the world’s peoples but one: the Jews.” In 2006, his successor, Ban Ki-moon, told our organization, B’nai B’rith, that the United Nations should always be “a place where Jews and the State of Israel can feel at home.” Recently, Mr. Ban felt compelled to condemn an “upsurge in anti-Semitic attacks.” One way to combat bigotry is by demonstrating respect. The Yom Kippur proposal is a nonpolitical one — unrelated to Israel’s recent hostilities with Hamas — and a test of inclusiveness. All 193 United Nations members, including the 56 in the Muslim bloc, should support it.  Low-income seniors living at B'nai B'rith's Homecrest House in Silver Spring, Md. will benefit from a new grant designed to provide the elderly with part time jobs to build their resumes and maintain independence. The grant, from Senior Service America to The Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington, is good for $768,784 and will fund programs for more than 40 nonprofits and government agencies. Read more about the grant, courtesy of an article in Gazette.net: [...]
The money will be used to help provide older workers in Montgomery and Frederick counties with temporary part-time jobs to help them expand their resumes. The grant will fund a program that has been operating for 40 years, said David Gamse, CEO of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington. Older people face longer periods of unemployment, and age discrimination is “alive and well and living in Montgomery and Frederick counties,” he said. [...] To be eligible, participants must be at least 55 years old and earn less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level. The program has a long waiting list, with about 300 people for the 30 to 60 new slots that open up each year, said Rivka Yerushalmi, director of senior employment services for the council. The average wait is a few years, she said, but there are priorities for people such as veterans, people with disabilities, those who are 75 years of age or older, and people who have received eviction notices, she said. Many of the people in the program may have poor language skills or don’t know how to communicate effectively in the modern workplace, but many are well-educated and speak multiple languages, Gamse said. Everyone in the program is trying very hard to get off government support programs and wants to be independent, he said. Between 2006 and 2012, the program moved 118 participants into unsubsidized full- and part-time jobs. “The bottom line here is that we want these folks out of the program and into regular jobs,” Gamse said. Letter To The Editor: 'For United Nations Leader on Human Rights, Finish Line Looks Blurry'8/26/2014  B’nai B’rith sent the following letter to the editor to the New York Times on Aug. 14. Read it in its entirety, below: The lumping together of "Israel, Sri Lanka and Syria" is precisely what is perverse about the record of High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and the Human Rights Council.
Israel is condemned by the council more than all other countries. Syria, though, has killed more Arabs in three years than Israel has in sixty-six. Ms. Pillay has never criticized the council’s repressive members for a permanent agenda item singling out Israel alone for harsh scrutiny. Irresponsibly, she suggests equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas, a terrorist movement. She emphasizes Israel's "occupation," ignoring the 2005 Gaza withdrawal and Hamas’s rejection of Israel’s existence within any borders. She also rushed to claim disproportionate Palestinian civilian casualties when most Gazans recently killed appear to have been males of fighting age. Ms. Pillay awaits Israeli countermeasures to incessant violence before sounding any alarm. Her valuing of certain lives above others was made explicit when she said she opposed Palestinian attacks but "most especially" Israeli responses. Discrimination has no place in the pursuit of human rights. Daniel S. Mariaschin, Executive Vice President David J. Michaels, Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs B'nai B'rith International  On the latest edition of Radio JAI, Eduardo Kohn, B'nai B'rith director of Latin American Affairs, discusses several important issues facing the continent's Jewish population. Topics include: the Gaza conflict has been used as an excuse for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views to propagate in Latin America and Europe; and anti-Israel stances in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Cuba and Uruguay make life difficult for the native Jewish populations. Listen to the full podcast below: "¿Qué le pasa a Latinoamérica que no se da cuenta que una vez que los demonios salen afuera es muy difícil volver atrás?", advirtió el dirigente comunitario, quien además reiteró que "el objetivo de Hamas es exterminar a los judíos donde sea que se encuentren".
Sin embargo, Kohn se mostró esperanzado, ya que "todavía hay muchos gobernantes y académicos que no quieren el terrorismo" y elogió al expresidente uruguayo, Julio María Sanguinetti, quien en las últimas semanas defendió al Estado de Israel y condenó el terrorismo de Hamas.  With time running out for survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi-era atrocities in Europe, the French government is taking steps to return some 2,000 pieces of art stolen 70 years ago. According to Washington Jewish Week, officials from the French National Assembly visited B'nai B'rith International headquarters in Washington to discuss ways to restore looted artifacts to their rightful owners. This is critical dialogue and marks a policy shift for France, which has been criticized for its reluctance to return the art. Read the highlights from the wide-ranging article, below:  [...]
The French officials met with representatives of B’nai B’rith International in the District and visited New York State’s Department of Finance, two very different organizations that share the same expertise sought by the French lawmakers: restoring stolen Nazi art to its rightful owners. [...] Returning the art to its rightful owners is no easy task, said Eric Fusfield, director of legislative affairs for B’nai B’rith International. “Most survivors are deceased now. We’re really talking about descendants now and most don’t have documentation. They have anecdotes and might not be able to name a specific work. That’s part of the challenge.” [...] But with B’nai B’rith, the group talked about specifics, according to Gerard Leval, the organization’s general counsel, who took part in the meeting. “It was good to hear people who sincerely want to do the right thing,” he said. “Almost nothing during the Holocaust was random [including the theft of art]. We said, ‘Go to your documents – when it was taken, from whom it was taken, and from where it was taken.’ ” The B’nai B’rith group suggested that the French advertise in publications with Jewish readers in the United States and Argentina, Leval said. They also pointed out that with anti-Semitism and xenophobia flaring up in France, the government could score propaganda points by showing that it “was doing its very best in areas where it can help the Jewish population,” he added. Fusfield isn’t ready to declare victory yet. He recalled the March ceremony in Paris where the French culture minister returned three looted works to the grandchildren of the original owners. The restitution coincided with the French premiere of the George Clooney movieMonuments Men, about GIs working to recover looted art. “So that’s three,” Fusfield said. “Hollande has open the doors and that’s great,” Soltes said. “But there is other stuff, French decorative arts – tables, chairs, Louis XIV, XV, XVI owned by Jewish families. The French have stonewalled on them. You can see how interestingly self-contradictory this whole effort can be.”
El Pais: Estado, Sociedad Civil Y Empresas Tras Fin Común Casi el 80% de los jóvenes integrados al programa Seguir Adelante, surgido en la B´Nai B´Rith, terminó sus estudios liceales. Secundaria y el INJU apoyan desde el Estado; interviene la ACJ y apoyan varias empresas. [...] "El programa consta de actividades bisemanales, y encuentros grupales, talleres que incentivan la pertenencia; partimos de una hipótesis que ahora podemos difundir: esos grupos son un factor importante para que los muchachos vean en la educación algo que los hará salir adelante", sostuvo a El País Carlos Kierszembaum. [...] Uno de los principales problemas de la educación en Uruguay lo constituye el abandono de los jóvenes en la educación media, principalmente en los sectores más carenciados. Un estudio de Unicef trasunta que solo el 11% termina el nivel secundario. "De 100 uruguayos que inician la escuela, solo 39 terminan bachillerato", por lo cual los niveles de desigualdad educativa en Uruguay son de los más altos de América Latina, de acuerdo a lo difundido en un informe del sociólogo Gustavo de Armas. De los jóvenes que participaron del programa Seguir Adelante, un 77% egresaron, y un 13% optó por no continuar. El 10% restante no cumplió con lo acordado y abandonó. Un 80% de los egresados son los primeros en su familia que finalizaron Secundaria. Un 70% de los egresados realiza hoy estudios universitarios y trabaja, un 23% solo estudia, y un 7% solo se ocupa de trabajar. CCIU: Estrategias Educativas Para Cambiar El Futuro En el marco del Programa Salir Adelante el miércoles 13 de agosto se realizó, en la sede de B´nai B´rith, una mesa redonda sobre la educación en Uruguay
Una sala colmada por autoridades nacionales, de la educación, empresarios y miembros de B'nai B'rith Uruguay participó de un debate muy ilustrativo sobre las realidades de la educación en Uruguay y las posibilidades positivas que abren programas de excelencia como SALIR ADELANTE.  Michael Rudman is a Jewish-American theater director with three Broadway plays and a Tony award on his résumé. Having worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, Rudman is a titan of show business. But that was not always the case. In an in-depth profile on TheJC.com, Rudman discusses his upbringing, where he attributes his early confidence to his experience in B'nai B'rith. Read the highlights below: [...]
Born in Dallas, Rudman was brought up in a Jewish family but not in a religious environment. He remembers going to synagogue on the High Holy-Days but did not observe any of the other festivals. He did not have a barmitzvah but he did attend B'nai B'rith meetings as a teenager - an experience he says was crucial in his future development as a director. "It was terribly important to me. For one thing, it enabled me to control a room. I would say it was as important to me as school." His life took a more Jewish turn after he started a relationship with actress Felicity Kendall in the 1980s. When they married, she converted to Judaism and took the whole thing very seriously. In fact, Rudman says that it was down to her that their son Jacob had a barmitzvah. "Felicity was very keen on it and when Felicity is keen on something, it tends to happen."  image via El Pais The anti-Semitic messaging continues in Uruguay, as 'Death to Jews' graffiti mars walls in Montevideo, and some in the Uruguayan government endorse strong anti-Israel rhetoric. B'nai B'rith International Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn shared his thoughts on the deteriorating situation with newspaper El Pais, urging the government to cease inciting anti-Semitic attitudes. Read an excerpt of the article, below, in Spanish: [...]
"Yo las pintadas que he visto en Uruguay no he visto que digan algo contra Israel o Palestina, pero las pintadas dicen fuera judíos y muerte a judíos; nos pusieron una acá en la entrada de la institución. Entonces me parece que estamos en un terreno peligroso y en ese caso todos los estados deberían tener mucho cuidado con el lenguaje que usan porque si no podría entenderse como una justificación a alguna barbaridad o una incitación para alguna cosa. No me gusta caminar por Montevideo y encontrarme con carteles que dicen muerte a los judíos. La ruta Interbalnearia tenía 5 kilómetros la semana pasada con esos carteles y eso es responsabilidad del Estado. El Estado debería cuando hace una declaración pensar que en derecho internacional es mucho más práctico los sustantivos que los adjetivos", criticó Kohn en entrevista con radio Oriental. "Yo no me acuerdo que el Mercosur se haya reunido antes del 2009 o antes del 2012 o antes de ahora, porque antes de las guerras se tiraron 500 misiles contra los civiles israelíes y no me acuerdo que el Mercosur ni concretamente nuestro país haya hecho ninguna declaración sobre que la población civil israelí estaba corriendo a los refugios constantemente, 15 segunditos para correr, de que los civiles estaban en peligro", ahondó Kohn en su crítica a la postura oficial. Y agregó: "Si uno califica crimen de guerra, y si es un estado y si es una cancillería por lo menos debería ajustarse a lo que dice el derecho internacional; no se debe jugar con lo que dice el derecho internacional". B'nai B'rith Housing unveiled plans for a new subsidized senior living facility at a town meeting in Andover, Mass. The proposal was for 133 units to be installed in two phases, with construction beginning in early 2015, pending approval. For more information, read an excerpt of the article that appeared in Andover Eagle-Tribune.
 Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro It was a troubling week for the Jewish population in Uruguay, as the country's foreign minister, Luis Almagro, likened Gaza to a concentration camp, then appeared in public wearing the Palestinian flag as a scarf. This comes one week after anti-Semitic graffiti began to appear on buildings and dumpsters in the capital city of Montevideo. Eduardo Kohn, director of Latin American affairs at B'nai B'rith International, decried Almagro's words and actions, calling on the Uruguayan government to label Hamas as a terrorist organization and work to improve relations with Israel. His words appeared in an article by El Observador. Highlights from the story can be found below: El director de la B'Nai B'rith América Latina, Eduardo Kohn, aseguró que "es llamativa" la actitud del canciller Luis Almagro al utilizar una bufanda con la bandera palestina, en un momento en donde las relaciones entre Israel y Uruguay están tensas.
"Justo esto sucede en una semana en el que el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores ha dicho que Gaza es un gran campo de concentración; campo de concentración es Treblinka, Autzwitch. No es campo de concentración un lugar en donde hay misiles en cantidades industriales, donde hay hospitales, casas, shoppings, carreteras, caminos, autos, gente viviendo. Eso es muy ofensivo, porque todos los que han pasado por campos de concentración deben sentir, como ciudadanos uruguayos que son, deben sentir que los han ofendido en una forma muy fuerte. Además, el gobierno de Uruguay ha hablado de la palabra 'genocidio' y todos sabemos lo que eso ha provocado," dijo Kohn al ser consultado por El Observador. "Esta misma semana el ministro dijo por segunda vez de que las organizaciones judías (...) tenían que criticar la guerra y las acciones de Israel en Gaza. No es bueno que se le diga a ciudadanos uruguayos que salgan hablando en contra de Israel. Con Israel tenemos todo el afecto y sentimos como judíos que es el único país judío que hay en el mundo. Nosotros salir, como uruguayos, a emplazar o decirle algo a un gobierno que fue elegido por los ciudadanos de Israel, nos parece un emplazamiento que sólo trae confusión y puede traer otro tipo de reacciones, como grafitis y frases agresivas que estamos viendo en Montevideo." Según Kohn, "las opiniones por este conflicto, es público y notorio, que han sido confrontacionales entre Uruguay e Israel. Pero Israel sólo quiere tener paz, tranquilidad y la mejor relación con todos los países. En el caso de Uruguay mucho más, porque fue central en la creación del Estado de Israel."  With full-time representation at United Nations agencies around the world, B’nai B’rith is able to present its concerns at every level of the United Nations. B'nai B'rith International leaders met with U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the U.N.'s role in the Israel-Gaza conflict. B'nai B'rith was joined by several other American Jewish advocacy organizations, and the meeting was covered by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Read an excerpt of the article below: Leaders of several Jewish organizations met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to express concerns about recent actions and comments made by U.N. officials.
[...] According to participants in the meeting, the organizational leaders raised several issues, including the recently announced U.N. Human Rights Council investigation into Israel’s conduct in the fighting in Gaza, which the communal leaders argued had been framed in a biased fashion against Israel, and the appointment of Canadian legal academic William Schabas to the probe given his past criticisms of Israel and its leaders. The Jewish leaders also objected to critical statements made about Israel by officials with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency and expressed concern about UNRWA facilities in Gaza being used to store rockets. They also objected to Moon’s recent statement accusing Israeli of committing a “criminal act” in shelling a U.N. school. [...] “The secretary-general reiterated that he fully understands Israel’s legitimate security concerns but also stressed the need to show restraint in their actions in Gaza so as to avoid civilian casualties,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, according to a report by The Associated Press.  On the latest edition of Radio JAI, Eduardo Kohn, B'nai B'rith director of Latin American Affairs, discusses several important issues facing the continent's Jewish population. Topics include: a detailed critique of the U.N. Human Rights Council's biased committee on Gaza, a look at the rising anti-Semitism in Latin America and a warning against the UNASUR presidential meeting with PLO spokesman Riad Al Maliki, who has already demanded a release "condemning Israel for war crimes." Listen to the full podcast below: Eduardo Kohn, director ejecutivo de la Bnai Brith para Latinoamérica, criticó con dureza a la ONU, organismo que decidió impulsar la apertura de una comisión investigadora para juzgar a Israel, pero que no hizo nada similar con los 200.000 muertos en Siria, los decapitados de Irak o los presos de Cuba.
 The position for United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is likely to be filled by Rabbi David Saperstein, in a move that was praised by B'nai B'rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin. Saperstein, one of the most influential rabbis in the United States, currently serves as the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. If he is approved, he will fill a position that has sat vacant for almost a year. Jewish and Israel news, JNS.org, wrote an article on the nomination, including extensive quotes from Mariaschin. Read an excerpt of the article below: [...]
Daniel Mariaschin, executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International, called the nomination an “outstanding choice” and noted the decades during which he has witnessed Saperstein’s work on religious freedom. “I think David got nominated to this position because of his experience, his expertise, his caring, his sensitivity to these issues, and his being able to speak out,” Mariaschin said. “The commendatory part of this here is that someone who was so deserving and who can do so much good, has been nominated for the position. "David is very well connected internationally and his reputation, his writings, his speaking—all of those things are known in so much of the world in which we operate and we’re going to operate, so I think that’s a big plus.” [...] B’nai B’rith’s Mariaschin said a new religious freedom ambassador “is going to be welcomed in a lot of places, and in those places where religious freedom is being abridged, they should know that they’re going to have in our [ambassador] someone who is keeping a very close eye on what they’re doing.” In particular, Mariaschin noted the proliferation of violence against Christians at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria terrorist group, as well as religious persecution in Africa, South Asia, and Iran. “There are many [instances of religious persecution], it’s almost as if you don’t know where to start, and unfortunately the list is long and it is growing longer,” he said.  While the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has been extended, the war on Israel continues in the court of public opinion. The UN Human Rights Council and American Studies Association each filed one-sided reports condemning Israel's actions in Gaza. B'nai B'rith International was featured for a pair of declarations against those reports on Wednesday's episode of Shalom TV News Update. Watch the segment, beginning at the 2:45 mark:  B'nai B'rith International has been an outspoken critic of the bias against Israel from the international community during Operation Protective Edge. In response to recent outrageous accusations of "genocide" and "Hitler-like fascism" made by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, B'nai B'rith International Director of UN and Intercommunal Affairs, David J. Michaels, signed a public statement denouncing the charges. The History News Network covered the story, based on a statement organized by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. Read an excerpt of the article below: More than 400 Jewish leaders, rabbis, and Holocaust and genocide scholars have signed a public statement denouncing accusations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
The statement was organized by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, based in Washington, D.C. It follows a July 9 claim by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, that Israel is "committing genocide," an August 1 assertion by Fatah foreign affairs spokesman Nabil Sha'ath that the situation in Gaza is "a Holocaust," and an August 1 accusation by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan that Israel is guilty of "Hitler-like fascism." "The Holocaust was the deliberate, systematic mass murder of six million innocent Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators," the statement by the 400 leaders notes. "By contrast, Israel is acting in legitimate self-defense against Hamas terrorism. Israel has no interest in harming innocent civilians, and indeed has done its utmost to avoid civilian casualties, whereas Hamas deliberately targets Israeli civilians. Any comparison between Israel and the Nazis outrageously distorts Israel's actions and trivializes the enormity and nature of the Holocaust." The signatories include: * Prominent figures in the American Jewish leadership, including David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee; Michael Siegal and Jerry Silverman, the chair and president, respectively, of the Jewish Federations of North America; David J. Michaels, Director of UN and Intercommunal Affairs for B'nai B'rith International; Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg and Prof. Walter Reich, past chairman and past executive director, respectively, of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and leaders of the American Society for Yad Vashem, the Simon Wiesenthal Center; the National Council of Young Israel; the Religious Zionists of America; and the Wexner Foundation.  Eduardo Kohn, B'nai B'rith International's Director of Latin American Affairs, spoke with several Uruguayan news outlets, condemning "latent anti-Semitic" graffiti found on buildings and dumpsters in Montevideo. Kohn blames comments made by the country's president and foreign minister regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict for having incited a wave of anti-Jewish sentiment in the general population. Here is a review of what publications in the country are writing:
El Observador: Un “Germen Latente” Que Crece En Las Redes“En Uruguay hay antisemitas como los hay en todo el mundo, pero decir que hay antisemitismo, como movimientos organizados, no solo es aventurado, sino que no es exacto”, dijo el director de la B’nai B’rith, Eduardo Kohn, quien elogió las leyes uruguayas que condenan toda manifestación de discriminación.
Kohn explicó que las pintadas en contra del pueblo judío no son nada nuevo, pero sí la cantidad y el tenor con que se han manifestado en los últimos días, coincidente con el conflicto entre Israel y Hamas en la franja de Gaza. “En otros períodos de guerra, incluso con Hamas, han existido episodios antisemitas, pero no una andanada, como la que está ocurriendo en estos últimos 20 días”, agregó. [...] “En Uruguay hay antisemitas como los hay en todo el mundo, pero decir que hay antisemitismo, como movimientos organizados, no solo es aventurado, sino que no es exacto”, dijo el director de la B’nai B’rith, Eduardo Kohn, quien elogió las leyes uruguayas que condenan toda manifestación de discriminación. Kohn explicó que las pintadas en contra del pueblo judío no son nada nuevo, pero sí la cantidad y el tenor con que se han manifestado en los últimos días, coincidente con el conflicto entre Israel y Hamas en la franja de Gaza. “En otros períodos de guerra, incluso con Hamas, han existido episodios antisemitas, pero no una andanada, como la que está ocurriendo en estos últimos 20 días”, agregó.  On the latest edition of Radio JAI, Eduardo Kohn, B'nai B'rith director of Latin American Affairs, discusses several important issues facing the continent's Jewish population. Topics include: the anti-Semitic messaging of the Venezuelan government in criticizing Israel, and a condemnation of the Uruguayan president and foreign minister accusing Israel of "genocide," inspiring vigilante anti-Semitism. Listen to the full podcast, below: El director ejecutivo de la organización B'nai Brith Latinoamérica, Eduardo Kohn, se refirió en su columna semanal en Radio Jai a las repercusiones en Latinoamérica luego del operativo Margen Protector mientras rige el cese del fuego de 72 horas.
Además criticó las convocatorias del presidente venezolano a manifestarse contra Israel y en apoyo al pueblo palestino y condenó las expresiones del mandatario uruguayo José “Pepe” Mujica contra el Estado judío. “Los que odian a Israel quieren que sea el país de la guerra. Los gobiernos han instalado el antisemitismo de Estado”, denunció.
Fifty-six of the U.N.’s members belong to the Muslim bloc and 21 to the Arab League; nine of 12 major oil-exporting states are among these. Accordingly, Israel, a democracy facing terrorists sworn to its eradication, is routinely condemned more than all other countries combined. Israel alone is excluded from its regional group at the U.N.
Only the Palestinian nationalist movement enjoys a U.N. day of solidarity, a separate refugee agency operating under politicized terms, a human rights “special rapporteur,” a General Assembly non-member seat, and multiple bodies dedicated to promoting its political narrative and goals. Last month’s Human Rights Council session on Gaza neglected in its adopted resolution to even mention Hamas. Those prompting the session included an array of serial rights violators, none of which have ever been the subject of a special session. No such sessions are ever convened before Israel reacts to years of grave violence. Despite having made peace with every willing neighbor, Israel is subjected to scrutiny at the council under an agenda item separate from one addressing all other countries. No matter that more people have been killed in three years in Syria than in some 70 years of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Here, partiality is a fact, not an allegation. Daniel S. Mariaschin, Executive Vice President AND David J. Michaels, Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs
 Fox News Latino, a subsidiary of Fox News focusing on news in the Latin American community, covered B'nai B'rith International's statement from earlier this week deriding the outrageous comments made by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the Gaza conflict. In condemning Maduro's reckless incitement of anti-Semitism, B'nai B'rith also reinforced its commitment to the Venezuelan Jewish community. Read an excerpt of the Fox News Latino article below: A major Jewish rights group has called out Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for what they allege is inciting fear and violence against Jews in the South American nation in the midst of a bloody war in the Gaza Strip.
B’nai B’rith International asked Maduro and other Venezuelan officials to cease making inflammatory remarks against Israel, including ones that accused Israel of “a war of extermination against the Palestinian people,” and reportedly comparing Israel’s incursion into the Gaza Strip to the Nazis at Auschwitz concentration camp. While Maduro is a strong supporter of a Palestinian state, B’nai B’rith claims that the Venezuelan leader has gone too far and his remarks have sparked anti-Semitic graffiti in Caracas, attacks against Jews on social media and a Jewish newspaper’s website being hacked. “The comparison of Gaza to Auschwitz alone is a dangerous trope and an outrageous falsehood. When Maduro combines these explosive comments with his own state-media machine and a dangerous political agenda, it creates an alarming situation for the Jewish community in Venezuela,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said in a statement. “B’nai B’rith expresses its solidarity with the Venezuelan Jewish community. We will continue to call attention to and monitor the hate-filled environment that Maduro is intent on fostering.” B’nai B’rith also criticized the Maduro government for ignoring the Israeli soldiers and civilians killed by rockets fried by the pro-Palestinian group Hamas and added that Maduro is perpetuating hatred against Jews in Venezuela. “B’nai B’rith, and the Jewish community as a whole, has always been concerned with the Venezuelan government’s incendiary statements and actions against Israel. But in recent weeks we’ve seen Maduro promoting a whole new level of hatred,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “The climate he has created is dangerous to the Jews in his country and wholly out of line with a government’s duty to protect its citizens.”
 On the latest edition of Radio JAI, Eduardo Kohn, B'nai B'rith director of Latin American Affairs, discusses several important issues facing the continent's Jewish population. Topics include: disappointment in the unacceptable Mercosur report blaming Israel for “excessive use of force;” praise for Paraguay, which did not sign the report; and condemning the recall of ambassadors to Israel made by Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and El Salvador. Listen to the full podcast below: El director ejecutivo de la Bnai Brith Latinoamérica, Eduardo Kohn, criticó el comunicado que firmaron cuatro de los 6 países integrantes del Mercosur (Uruguay,Brasil, Argentina y Venezuela), que “condenaba enérgicamente el uso desproporcionado de la fuerza por parte del ejército de Israel en Gaza”.
El titular de la Bnai Brith acusó a los países que retiraron a sus embajadores de Israel de incentivar el antisemitismo en la región y que señaló que el Mercosur no se ocupa de verdaderas matanzas como la de Ucrania y Siria. Por último remarcó la postura de Paraguay, quien se opuso a firmar el comunicado: "Paraguay fue contundente y dijo: 'estamos por el dialogo, no por el pogrom'".  via Israel Defense Forces As Israel's Operation Protective Edge enters its fifth week in Gaza, non-governmental organizations around the globe continue to chime in with statements. As noted in an article in the New York Jewish Week, Christians have been split on the issue--often passionately--creating further discussion in the religious community. B'nai B'rith International is quoted heavily in the article, condemning the letter drafted by several Christian denominations intended to sway the United States' support for Israel. Read the highlights from the article below: [...]
A total of 32 Christian clergy attended the press conference, along with several rabbis, including Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. The press conference came after several other Christian denominations sent a letter to the White House and members of Congress calling for an “investigation” into the security assistance Israel receives from the United States. Among the groups signing the letter were the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Pax Christi and the United Methodist Church. These same groups made a similar request in 2012 that was rebuffed. B’nai B’rith International issued a statement decrying the letters and saying the letters make plain the fundamental misapprehensions of its signatories, who see the “underlying causes” of the conflict as Israeli “occupation” and the “siege” of Gaza, as well as the failure to reach a two-state solution. “Are the denominations who signed this letter aware that Israel completely withdrew from Gaza nine years ago?” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “It even uprooted every single Jewish settlement community there, yet was rewarded with relentless terrorist attacks.” B’nai B’rith also rejected the letters’ calls for Israel to lift “the Gaza siege.” “This, however, is clearly not the solution to ending recurring bloodshed because unconditionally ending blockade measures would allow the further, unfettered mobility of armaments and Palestinian terrorists,” the statement said. “Why would these denominations pin the cause of the conflict on Israel, America’s key democratic ally, yet ignore those complicit in the atrocities carried out by Palestinian terrorists?” asked B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel Mariaschin in the statement. “Repeatedly over the past week, rockets have been uncovered at UN schools in Gaza and cross-border infiltration tunnels were revealed to have been constructed with imported materials, not to mention the indiscriminate firing of rockets putting innocent civilians constantly at risk. Those civilians also include a Christian community that, unlike elsewhere in the region, is free and continuously growing.” |
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May 2022
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