Charles Kaufman, president of B’nai B’rith International, will discuss the continuing challenge of antisemitism at the May 12 meeting of the Rotary Club of San Marcos. Rotary meets at noon at the San Marcos Academy and visitors are welcome.

B’nai B’rith, founded in 1843, has fought against various forms of antisemitism, from the blood libels of centuries past and pogroms of Europe, to negative narratives about the state of Israel. B’nai B’rith is also a service and humanitarian organization with chapters in more than 50 countries on five continents. It is a major sponsor of nonsectarian, affordable senior housing in the U.S., and has engaged in disaster relief services for 150 years.

In addition to his leadership role at B’nai B’rith, Kaufman is on the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University. His early career was in newspaper journalism, from which he transitioned to owning a public relations firm in Austin. He teaches public relations and advises a student public relations agency at the University. He also co-authored a textbook titled, “Engaging Public Relations.”

Rotary is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonreligious service organization. The San Marcos Club celebrates its 100th Anniversary on Dec. 1, 2021. The club provides scholarships and does a wide range of local service projects, as well as participating in international projects sponsored by Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation.
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For more information about B’nai B’rith: https://www.bnaibrithorg/aboutus.htmland the Rotary Club of San Marcos: https://smtxrotary.com/.

B'nai B'rith International has received significant news coverage since announcing the winners of its 2021 B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage.

​Since its establishment in 1992, the award has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in the Israeli print, broadcast and online media. The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.

See how media outlets noted this year’s announcement:

Ice:
https://www.ice.co.il/media/news/article/818738
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Israel Hayom (English):
https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/05/03/israel-hayom-reporter-dan-lavie-win-bnai-brith-prize/

Israel Hayom (Hebrew):
https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/875589

Kassit:
https://kassit.co.il/agenda/8278

Leading Jewish organizations welcomed the Biden administration’s decision to stick to the US policy of not attending any events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration in September due to their “anti-Israel sentiment.”

A US State Department spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post Monday that the US would not take part in planned Durban anniversary events, saying that it “remains deeply committed to combating antisemitism at home and abroad. Furthermore, the United States stands with Israel and has always shared its concerns over the Durban process’s anti-Israel sentiment — used as a forum for antisemitism and freedom of expression issues.”

Commenting on the decision, B’nai B’rith International said it “salutes the US administration for taking a principled decision, like its predecessors, to deny legitimacy to a UN framework that purports to fight prejudice but is fundamentally marred by it.”

“The 2001 conference was poisoned by manifestations of virulent anti-Zionism and open antisemitism. We urge all countries of goodwill to do similarly — and we will continue to insist that all forms of hate, including those targeting Jews, not be given a platform by foremost international institutions,” B’nai B’rith stated.

The UN is scheduled to hold a special “Durban IV” event on Sept. 22 to mark the 20th anniversary of the World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, from which the US and Israel previously withdrew over objections of anti-Zionism. Israel was singled out from the Durban conference declaration and was depicted as being racist and as committing “crimes against humanity,” “ethnic cleansing,” “apartheid” and “genocide” against the Palestinians.

“Kudos for rejecting hate. The 2001 Durban Conference was an orgy of hate so vile that the US and Israel pulled out in disgust,” Avi Mayer, Managing Director of Global Communications at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), tweeted in response to the US decision. “It was so bad that even the UN’s Mary Robinson, who chaired it, said there was ‘horrible antisemitism present.'”

New York, NY, May 5th, 2021 . . . Dianne Lob, Chair, William Daroff, CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Vice Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:

“We applaud the Biden Administration’s decision to refuse to participate in commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the UN World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa, which openly embraced antisemitism and anti-Israel extremism.

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, a former member of Knesset for Israel’s Blue and White Party, said: “Durban was the ecosystem for declared escalation in the war waged on Israel, weaponizing international law and it’s institutions. The orchestrated, systematic implementation of this strategy threatens not only Israel, but shared values and foundations of democracy and human rights.”

“In declining to participate in celebratory events, the United States is rightfully rejecting the despicable hatred that was leveled against the Jewish State and the Jewish people twenty years ago. We encourage other nations to join the US in continuing to fight racism, bigotry, and antisemitism, while rejecting and not participating in such odious proceedings,” said Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Chair Dianne Lob, CEO William Daroff, and Vice Chair Malcolm Hoenlein, in a statement.

Jerusalem Post journalist Greer Fay Cashman has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, the center announced Sunday.

She is the newspaper’s correspondent at the President’s Residence and writes the "Grapevine" column.

Cashman is a veteran Australian-born journalist whose byline has appeared in the Post for some 45 years. She has written on a wide variety of subjects and says she has been educated by her profession.

The award recognizes excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in Israeli media.

“The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora,” B’nai B’rith said in a press release.

Cashman is a ubiquitous figure at many official events and press conferences. She also attends social events, fashion shows and cultural affairs.

With an encyclopedic knowledge of Israeli history and the multitude of personalities who made it, Cashman has long been the “go-to” staffer for information and perspective on events taking place, as well as for comprehensive biographies of Israel’s famous and obscure figures.

“Greer has an encyclopedic knowledge of Israel and Jewish history and is held in high esteem by her many regular readers, who include the diplomatic community, Diaspora Jewry and leaders of all faiths,” said Steve Linde, editor of The Jerusalem Report. “She has won at least two other prestigious awards: one from the Polish government, which I know meant a lot to her because she was born in Melbourne to a family of Polish Jews, and the Women of Valor Award from the Ambassadors Club of Israel.

​“She is a true woman of valor who has made an invaluable contribution to the Israel-Diaspora relationship through her ongoing coverage of people and events in the news.”

(JTA) — A report by Human Rights Watch says that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has crossed the threshold into apartheid and recommends far-reaching punitive measures, including prosecutions for crimes against humanity.

The leading human rights group’s embrace of the term, seen by Israel and many Jewish groups as a way of accusing Israel of being essentially racist and illegitimate, set off a firestorm of outraged attacks from a number of major U.S. Jewish groups that charged Human Rights Watch with attempting to “delegitimize” Israel. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations called it “a collection of lies and fabrications, bordering on antisemitic.”

Human Rights Watch is an international group that monitors countries’ adherence to international human rights law. It has often been harshly critical of Israeli policy, and in 2019 Israel deported one of the group’s employees.

But this is the first time the group has used the word “apartheid” to describe Israeli policy. The report says Israel systematically discriminates against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as well as against its Arab citizens, some of whom identify as Palestinian. But the report says the apartheid designation applies only to Israel’s policy in the West Bank and Gaza.

“To maintain domination, Israeli authorities systematically discriminate against Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement. “In the occupied territory, the severity of the repression, including the imposition of draconian military rule on Palestinians while affording Jewish Israelis living in a segregated manner in the same territory their full rights under Israel’s rights-respecting civil law, amounts to the systematic oppression required for apartheid.”

Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers are Israeli citizens with the right to vote and freedom of movement. West Bank Palestinians live under varying degrees of Israeli military control and Palestinian local governance, without citizenship or the right to vote in Israel.

Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005, and Israelis particularly reject the notion that Israel still controls the coastal strip. Israel does control most of Gaza’s border and airspace. And the Human Rights Watch report treats the West Bank and Gaza as a single entity despite their different realities.

Within Israel’s recognized borders, Arab Israelis are full Israeli citizens with the right to vote, equality under the law and representation in Israel’s parliament. Community leaders, however, have long complained of systemic discrimination in a range of fields.

Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. and the United States, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a statement that the report “is part of the organization’s ongoing campaign against Israel. He added, “When the authors of the report cynically and falsely use the term apartheid, they nullify the legal and social status of millions of Israeli citizens, including Arab citizens, who are an integral part of the State of Israel.”

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella body for U.S. Jewish groups, called the report released Tuesday “disgraceful” and said it was an attempt to “demonize, delegitimize and apply double standards to the State of Israel.”

The Presidents Conference statement stopped short of calling the report antisemitic, but the “three d’s” cited in the statement is a formula coined by Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet refusenik, to describe when criticism of Israel crosses into antisemitism.

Other major U.S. Jewish groups including the American Jewish Committee and B’nai B’rith International, separately slammed the report. AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, retweeted the Presidents Conference statement and two Republicans in Congress condemned Human Rights Watch. The Anti-Defamation League also called the report “yet another attempt to delegitimize the very concept of a Jewish and democratic state,” though the group added that the report “raises legitimate issues of concern about Israeli policies.”

Human Rights Watch is not the first group to apply the apartheid label to Israel. In January, the Israeli human rights group Btselem concluded that Israel should be considered an apartheid state.

The core of Israeli and mainstream Jewish objections to using the term apartheid is that in its original South African definition, it described a system that explicitly used race to discriminate against, oppress and disenfranchise minorities.

The Presidents Conference said that the “tyranny and dehumanization” of South African apartheid had “no equivalence” with Israel’s “vibrant democracy where all citizens of rights and representation in the national legislature.”

Human Rights Watch argued in its report that the term apartheid has been used since the collapse of South African apartheid to describe inequitable societies that are not explicitly based on racist laws, as South Africa’s was.

The group said Israel met the terms of what it says is this more recent definition in three ways: by maintaining domination over the Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through military occupation, citing statements from Israeli officials who suggest the occupation will continue in perpetuity; through Israeli laws that discriminate against Israel’s Arab minority, including one from 2018 that states Israel is the “nation state of the Jewish people”; and “inhumane acts” including restrictions on the movement and residency rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The report’s recommendations are far-reaching, including prosecutions of Israeli officials for crimes against humanity and restrictions on trade with Israel. It also calls for the international community to “establish through the United Nations an international commission of inquiry to investigate systematic discrimination and repression based on group identity in the [Occupied Palestinian Territories] and Israel.”

NGO Monitor, an Israeli watchdog of human rights groups, says such recommendations suggest a broader and more sinister agenda.

“This publication is not merely a critique of Israeli policy in the West Bank, but an attack on the very foundations of Israel and a rejection of the legitimacy of a Jewish state, regardless of borders,” it said in publishing its own report on the report.

At least two pro-Israel groups on the left said the correct reaction to the report should not be to focus on whether or not apartheid is an appropriate term, but to address the corrosive effects of the occupation described in the report.

“After 40 years of documenting and protesting against the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, we do know a thing or two about it,” said Americans for Peace Now, a constituent of the Presidents Conference. “And we know that the carefully documented facts in the HRW report on the occupation are largely indisputable. We also know too well what the occupation does to Palestinians and Israelis, and how desperately it needs to end.”

The president of J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group, said his organization would not use the apartheid term, but called on other Jewish groups to refrain from “defaming” those who do use it.

“While we do not ourselves use the term ‘apartheid’ to describe the current situation in the occupied territories, we believe it’s deeply wrong and harmful to defame scholars, activists and political leaders who use it themselves,” Jeremy Ben-Ami said.

Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist group that has longed use the term, welcomed the report.
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“It is long past time for the rest of the world to call this what it is,” JVP said on Twitter. “It could not be more clear. It’s apartheid.”

Leading Jewish groups marked the two-year anniversary of the deadly attacks at a Jewish congregation in California, when a white supremacist gunman stormed Passover services with an assault rifle, killing 60-year-old Lori Gilbert Kaye and wounding three others, including the synagogue’s rabbi.

“Today we remember two years since the deadly attack on the Chabad of Poway when a gunman entered the Chabad and started shooting. One person, Lori Gilbert Kaye was killed and three others injured,” said the The Anti-Defamation League in a Twitter post. “Lori’s memory will forever be in our hearts in our mission to #FightHateForGood.”

The World Jewish Congress tweeted, “In memory of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, z”l, who was killed two years ago today in the shooting at the Poway Synagogue in San Diego, on April 27, 2019. It was a Shabbat. Her friends described her as ‘a jewel of our community.'”

The three others wounded in the attack were Noya Dahan, then 8; her uncle Almog Peretz, then 34; and the Chabad’s then-rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, 57 at the time.

Gilbert-Kaye, a mother of one, was hailed as a hero after the attack for throwing her own body in front of the synagogue’s rabbi as shots rang out.

“Two years ago, a far-right domestic terrorist attacked the Chabad of Poway with the intention of killing Jews,” wrote B’nai B’rith International on Twitter. “May her memory be a blessing & inspire us to root out anti-Semitism, extremism & all forms of hate.”

The American Jewish Committee said, “May Lori’s memory be a blessing and inspire us to fight antisemitism wherever it exists.”

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus — who recently jointed the 525-member strong Mayors United Against Antisemitism — posted a photograph from the day of the attack, pledging to “never forget.”

The San Diego Sheriff’s department tweeted, “Two years ago today, a gunman stormed the Chabad of Poway during a crowded service. One person was killed and three others were hurt. @SDSheriff honors the memory of Lori Gilbert-Kaye. Her husband encourages us to do acts of kindness in her memory.”

The gunman, John Timothy Earnest, was apprehended in his car about two miles from the synagogue by a San Diego police officer. He faces the death penalty for charges brought by the state, and separate hate crime charges in a federal trial that was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jewish organizations expressed outrage on Monday over the prominent attendance of Nation of Islam leader and notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan at rapper DMX’s funeral service on Sunday.

Farrakhan delivered an 18-minute eulogy via webcam at DMX’s “Homegoing Celebration,” a close-knit service held at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, NY, following a more public memorial service on Saturday at Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. In his speech, Farrakhan called DMX — whose real name is Earl Simmons — a prophet from God, spoke about his global influence and addressed the rapper’s 15 children, saying, “Your father is not gone. He’s absent, but you can bring him back.”

The service was live streamed on YouTube by BET Networks, which has over 3 million subscribers.

“While we would not normally comment on those chosen to deliver such remarks, it must be acknowledged that Farrakhan is an unrepentant demagogue, responsible for some of the most vile and open expressions of antisemitism, homophobia and bigotry,” B’nai B’rith International told The Algemeiner. “Particularly at a time such as this, we must all remember that tolerating any form of hate is a danger to all communities. Farrakhan must never be legitimized by those in positions of influence in our society.”

Liora Rez, the executive director of StopAntisemitism.org, told The Algemeiner, “We continue to be horrified that an antisemitic and homophobic bigot like Farrakhan continues to be given a platform in the black community. In a time of horrid racial division in this country, problematic and hate filled individuals like Farrakhan do nothing but promote even MORE conflict and discord.”

Entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” investor Daymond John initially praised Farrakhan’s speech on Twitter, and said about the Nation of Islam leader: “his deep understanding of the Bible and respect for other people’s religions was truly inspiring.” However, by Sunday night, John deleted the comments and issued a follow-up statement, after facing criticism over Farrakhan’s history of antisemitic statements.

“In regards to my tweet regarding DMX’s funeral, my comments on Minister Farrakhan were only related to what I just witnessed tonight, unbeknownst to his prior stances,” John tweeted on Sunday night. “As someone who was fortunate enough to have a step dad of the Jewish faith, I do not condone and never would condone any antisemitic prejudice or any remarks of hatred.”

“The prior tweet will be removed to avoid further pain and confusion to anyone who has felt hurt in the past by any negative comments of his,” he added.

Farrakhan has previously called Jewish people “satanic” and compared them to termites, publicly questioned the Holocaust and condemned Judaism as a “dirty religion.” According to an archive shared on the Anti-Defamation League’s website, Farrakhan has been making antisemitic comments for more than 30 years.

A French political leader stirred controversy by evoking ‘’the emotion of the Jewish community’’ rather than using the words ‘’national community’’ when he spoke about the decision of France’s Supreme Court to upheld an earlier ruling that the man who killed Sarah Halimi, a  65-year-old Jewish woman, in her Paris flat in 2017, will not stand trial.

The murderer, Kobili Traore beat up the victim several times and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before throwing her body out of a third-floor window and shouting “I killed the devil”.

The court  said the man, a heavy cannabis smoker,  committed the killing after succumbing to a “delirious fit” and was thus ‘’not criminally responsible’’ for his actions.  This means there will be no trial contrary to the wish of the victim’s family.

In an interview, Julien Bayou, the national secretary of Europe Écologie Les Verts (EELV), France’s Green party,  declared: “I understand the emotion of the Jewish community, but we must keep this principle: ‘We don’t judge fools’ (…) Justice is not revenge.’’

His statement was denounced on social media.  “It is the national community that was moved by the absence of a trial for Sarah Halimi’s murderer! Let’s defend our nation as one and indivisible. This is France, a France that some people never stop dividing and fracturing,” commented Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region.

“There is a very strong emotion among all French people,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal declared on n Europe 1 radio.

Following his controversial statement,  Bayou tried to “clarify his thoughts”. He explained that he had reacted “as a man of law” by elaborating “on the legal reasons” that led the Court of Cassation to take this decision. “But clearly, this verdict shocked us all, obviously,” he said.

“When a Jew is attacked, it is all of France that is attacked. I spoke about the Jewish community in particular because Jews in France are particularly affected by these increasingly barbaric acts,” he said.

Amid outcry over the Supreme Court’s  ruling, French President Emmanuel Macron has urged a change in the law. “Deciding to take narcotics and then ‘going mad’ should, not in my view, remove your criminal responsibility,” he told daily Le Figaro in an interview.

“I would like Justice Minister (Eric Dupond-Moretti) to present a change in the law as soon as possible”, he said. ‘’I want to assure the family, relatives of the victim and all fellow citizens of Jewish faith who were awaiting this trial of my warm support and the determination of the Republic to protect them,” he added.

Jewish groups said the ruling  has made Jews less safe in France. Lawyers for Halimi’s family said they intend to refer the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

‘’This is a revolting, scandalous, offensive and unworthy decision,’’ said Serge Dahan, President of B’nai B’rith Europe, who called ‘’to denounce this judicial and moral defeat in the face of this antisemitic assassination.’’
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A “rally of anger for Sarah Halimi’’ to express anger over the court’s decision is scheduled to take place next Sunday at the Place du Trocadero in Paris. Rallies are also organized in several other cities in France and abroad.

The B'nai B'rith International World Center-Jerusalem received significant coverage of our 20th annual joint Yom HaSHoah ceremony with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) honoring Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

See how the media noted this year’s commemoration: