Category: B'nai B'rith Europe - B'nai B'rith International

B'nai B'rith Remembers Anniversary Of 7/7 London Terror Attacks

7/8/2015

This week, we mark the 10 year anniversary of the horrific July 7 London terror attacks.

In the aftermath of the attacks, read the thoughts of then B'nai B'rith International President Joel Kaplan, which appeared in the Fall 2005 Issue of B'nai B'rith Magazine:

Gallery: Rally For Israel At Place Des Nations (Geneva, Switzerland)

7/2/2015

In light of the current wave of unrelenting attacks against Israel's legitimacy, B'nai B'rith International joined B'nai B'rith Europe, local lodges and dozens of other Jewish organization to rally in support of Israel outside of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

B’nai B’rith is highly critical of the report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) “independent, international commission of inquiry” into Israel’s defensive operations against Hamas in Gaza during the summer of 2014. The report inherently lacks credibility and should not be taken as a serious evaluation of the necessary counterterrorism actions of the Israel Defense Forces.

B'nai B'rith International's Israel/Middle East policy includes issues such as fighting terrorism; supporting Israel's right to defend itself; preventing Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons; preserving the unity of Jerusalem; promoting the rights of Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries; and supporting direct negotiations between the parties to the Middle East conflict while affirming the importance of Israel's critical security needs.

Photos below courtesy of Israel In Switzerland:

Media Recap: B'nai B'rith Leaders Meet With Pope Francis At Vatican

6/26/2015

B'nai B'rith International and multinational leaders met with Pope Francis on Thursday at the Vatican.

B'nai B'rith’s was the first international Jewish audience with the pope since the Vatican announced an agreement on church issues with “the State of Palestine,” and the pope separately acknowledged non-recognition of Israel as amounting to anti-Semitism.

Before he was known around the world at Pope Francis, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio hosted B’nai B’rith’s Kristallnacht commemoration in Buenos Aires in 2012.

Learn more about the latest visit from the international media coverage recap, below:

ZENIT (Pope's Official Remarks):

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to greet you during your visit to the Vatican. My predecessors met with delegations of B’nai B’rith International on several occasions, and today I offer you my welcome with renewed respect and affection.

Your organization has enjoyed relations with the Holy See since the promulgation of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate. This document constituted a milestone on the path of mutual knowledge and esteem between Jews and Catholics, based on the great spiritual patrimony that, thanks be to God, we share in common.

Looking back on these fifty years of regular dialogue between the Catholic Church and Judaism, I cannot help but thank the Lord for the great progress that has been made. Many initiatives fostering reciprocal understanding and dialogue have been undertaken; above all a sense of mutual trust and appreciation has developed. There are many areas in which we as Jews and Christians can continue to work together for the good of the peoples of our time. Respect for life and creation, human dignity, justice and solidarity unite us for the development of society and for securing a future rich in hope for generations to come. In a particular way, we are called to pray and work together for peace. Unfortunately, there are many countries and regions of the world that live in situations of conflict – I think in particular of the Holy Land and the Middle East – and that require a courageous commitment to peace, which is not only to be longed for, but sought after and built up patiently and tenaciously by everyone, especially believers.

During these moments together, I wish to recall with heartfelt gratitude all those who have fostered friendship between Jews and Catholics. I particularly want to mention Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II. Saint John saved many Jews during the Second World War, met with them numerous times, and greatly desired a conciliar document on this theme. Regarding Saint John Paul, his various historical gestures remain very much alive in our memories, such as his visit to Auschwitz and to the Great Synagogue of Rome. With the help of God, I wish to walk in their footsteps, encouraged too by the many beautiful encounters and friendships I enjoyed in Buenos Aires.

May the Almighty and Eternal One bless our dialogue abundantly, especially during this year in which we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, so that our friendship may always grow deeper and bear abundant fruit for our communities and the entire human family.

Thank you.

Vatican Radio:

Speaking to representatives of B'nai B'rith International, a Jewish organization that sponsors cultural programs and promotes religious tolerance and international cooperation, the Pope recalled the landmark Vatican II declaration, Nostra Aetate which laid the groundwork for the Catholic Church’s relations with Jews. Founded in 1843, B’nai B’rith, which also provides humanitarian aid and community service in needy areas, has a presence in more than 50 countries across the globe.

B’nai B’rith monitors and combats anti-Semitism and other human rights abuses around the world, and together with its World Center in Jerusalem, advocates on behalf of the State of Israel.

As a founding member of IsraAid, the World Center works with many other Israeli relief organizations to provide humanitarian aid and disaster and emergency assistance to those in need.

B’nai B’rith is also the largest national Jewish sponsor of federally subsidized housing for the elderly in the United States with 42 buildings in 26 communities. Working in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, B'nai B'rith makes rental apartments available for senior citizens with limited incomes.

Reposted On News.VA

Vatican Information Service:

A delegation from B'nai B'rith International (“Children of the Covenant”), a Jewish non-governmental organisation of a philanthropic nature founded in 1843, which opposes anti-Semitism in all its forms and promotes human rights, was received in audience by Pope Francis this morning.

B'nai B'rith established contacts with the Holy See following the promulgation of the conciliar declaration Nostra Aetate which, as the Holy Father mentioned, “constituted a milestone on the path of mutual knowledge and esteem between Jews and Catholics, based on the great spiritual patrimony that, thanks be to God, we share in common."

Vatican Information Service

Catholic World News:

Pope Francis met on June 25 with a delegation from B’nai B’rith International, and expressed his gratitude to predecessors who had advanced friendly ties between Catholics and Jews.

The Pope mentioned especially St. John XXIII, who “save many Jews during the Second World War” and sought a document from the Second Vatican Council on inter-faith relations. That document, Nostra Aetate, was “a milestone on the path of mutual knowledge and esteem between Jews and Catholics, based on the great spiritual patrimony that, thanks be to God, we share in common,” the Pontiff said.

Next Pope Francis cited the work of St. John Paul II, his dramatic gestures toward Jews, and particularly his visits to the death camp at Auschwitz and the synagogue in Rome.

Catholic World News

ANSA En Vatican:

Vatican City, June 25 - Pope Francis on Thursday said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II in pursuing dialogue between Catholics and Jews.

ANSA En Vatican

Prensa Latina:

Pope Francis highlighted today the need for a brave commitment to peace, faced with the conflicts that are affecting the world, especially the Middle East.

In a meeting with the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith, the Supreme Pontiff considered that the community and Christians should collaborate with the purpose of achieving peace in that area, as well as other purposes.

After mentioning other possible areas of collaboration, he highlighted that respect for life and human dignity, justice and solidarity.

Francis added that peace does not come all of a sudden. Instead, it should be built day by day, with patience, tenacity and the participation of all the people.

El Pais: "Vemos Con Alarma Este Brote Antisemita" (Español)

5/28/2015

Introducción de Española:

Director for Latin America of B'nai B'rith denounced the alarming rise of anti-Semitism that is occurring in Western countries.

via El Pais :

English Introduction:

B'nai B'rith International Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn did an extensive interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais on the alarming rise of anti-Semitism that is occurring in Western countries.

While only the major occurrences of violence have made headlines, Kohn warns that the smaller, systemic forms of anti-Semitism are causing many Jews in European countries to emigrate to Israel

Read highlights in Spanish, below::

—¿Y qué dijeron los imanes musulmanes invitados a propósito de estos temas?

—Cuando hablaron los imanes, de Francia o Inglaterra, nos encontramos con un miedo diferente, pero no es un miedo menos vergonzoso para lo que es la democracia que debería tener a esta altura mucho más claro cómo defenderse de las agresiones. Los imanes hablan de una religión de paz, pero ellos no tienen mayoría en sus mezquitas, las mayorías los agreden y ellos también tienen miedo. ¿De quién tienen miedo ellos, de los antisemitas? No, de ellos solo tienen miedo los judíos, tienen miedo de su propia gente que los consideran traidores por su prédica, y bueno, la discriminación contra la mujer que predica el antisemitismo. Con lo cual, cualquier elección que haya hoy en Europa, parlamentaria o presidencial, la miramos como muy trascendente como se la miró a la de Inglaterra hace poco y se va a mirar a la de España y ni que hablar a la de Francia, para ver de qué manera los gobiernos son capaces de enfrentar algo que Europa no debería tener después de lo que Europa vivió no solo en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, antes y por muchos años después con los países del este, del comunismo, y años después con los países de la ex Yugoslavia.

—En estas latitudes, ha habido algunos episodios de antisemitismo, incluso en países muy cercanos. En Argentina en torno a hechos trágicos como la muerte del fiscal Alberto Nisman que dio lugar a diversas reacciones antisemitas, ¿cómo se evaluó esto?

—Nos tocó a nosotros, justamente, hacer la presentación de América Latina sobre una visión general para después ir país por país, y evidentemente no es lo mismo que nosotros podíamos exponer hace diez años. En este momento, lo que ha sucedido en los últimos meses en Argentina prende las alarmas en muchos sentidos. Que un gobierno democrático, como el gobierno argentino, diga por parte de algunos de sus voceros en forma pública y acuse a la comunidad judía o a autoridades de sus instituciones de conspirar contra el Estado argentino es un lenguaje que, evidentemente, si siempre fue peligroso y fue preludio de cosas trágicas, hoy es muy peligroso especialmente cuando estamos hablando de un país que sufrió dos atentados y que nunca pudo poner a los culpables, porque saber quiénes son se sabe pero nunca se pudo llevar a los culpables ante la justicia. Dos atentados, además de muchísimos muertos, el de la AMIA fue además de muchísimos muertos en relación con los atentados gravísimos en el resto del mundo y en un momento en que además de shock porque el fiscal que lleva la causa aparece muerto. Y además se genera una situación conflictiva pública donde aparece el antisemitismo, porque la causa que seguía el fiscal ha ido cayendo en una escalera donde se archivan cosas, donde se cambian veredictos, ya hay un dictamen de que fue suicidio.

—A diferencia de Europa los integrantes de las comunidades no han tenido que migrar hacia Israel para buscar refugio, ¿esa es la diferencia actual de América Latina?

—No se ha llegado a tonos de violencia, es cierto. Lo que sí es alarmante en Latinoamérica es que no todos los gobiernos actúan de la misma manera frente al antisemitismo y eso es muy grave porque deja desprotegida no solo a la comunidad judía sino a toda la sociedad. Cuando en Chile mataron hace dos años a una persona por ser homosexual y la sociedad salió a la calle y el Congreso se dio cuenta de que tenían que hacer una legislación antidiscriminatoria, eso habla de una reacción positiva. Pero cuando se dice que la comunidad judía es "conspiradora", bueno, nos acordamos de los Protocolos de los Sabios de Sión y de lo que pasó después.

Leer Más El Pais

B'nai B'rith Dismayed EU Conference Diluting Focus On Anti-Semitism

4/6/2015

The European Union started Passover on a sour note, announcing that the much-anticipated upcoming conference on combating rising anti-Semitism in Europe will not share equal billing with Islamophobia.

While B'nai B'rith International has been an outspoken global advocate of diversity and worked to combat prejudice and discrimination of all kinds, the concern is that adding other issues to the discussion of anti-Semitism allows government officials to avoid real action.

B'nai B'rith International Director of Legislative Affairs Eric Fusfield spoke on behalf of the organization to the Jerusalem Post, highlights of which can be found below:

Jewish organizations worldwide expressed shock and dismay over the weekend following the announcement that the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency is planning on holding a conference that implies an equivalence between anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

[...]

It will focus on the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment and violence across the continent and the “growing evidence in many European countries, especially in the past two years, of very high rates of anti-Muslim incidents, including acts of verbal and physical violence,” according to the organizers.

Jewish community leaders in Europe and elsewhere told The Jerusalem Post that despite being largely supportive of the FRA’s work, they believed it inappropriate for it to juxtapose hate directed against Muslims with anti-Semitism as if both were one and the same.

“The challenge of combating anti-Semitism would be better served by a stand-alone colloquium fully focused on the problem,” said Eric Fusfield, the legislative affairs director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy.

“Opponents of anti-Semitism have tried for years to promote greater understanding of anti-Semitism as a distinct phenomenon with unique dimensions sometimes requiring unique solutions,” he said.

“It is true that some strategies for combating anti-Semitism may apply to other forms of intolerance as well, but the fact is that, for too long, the tendency of governments and international organizations to conflate anti-Semitism with other social illnesses has served as a means of avoiding the problem rather than addressing it head on, even as the crisis facing Jewish communities has intensified in Europe and elsewhere,” he added.

Photos: Behind The Scenes At B'nai B'rith U.N. Advocacy In Geneva

3/19/2015

Each spring, leadership and volunteers from B'nai B'rith International and B'nai B'rith Europe hold a week of meetings with members of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Follow Us On Instagram:

This year, some two-dozen B’nai B’rith International leaders and supporters, including with three representatives from the national Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), met with senior representatives from more than 40 countries. B'nai B'rith is proud to partner with AEPi through community service, educational programming and advocacy. We work together to encourage brothers to remain involved in the Jewish community after college graduation.

AEPi's David Marias, Civic Engagement Coordinator, recorded highlights of his advocacy experience on Instagram.

Enjoy a slideshow of his images, below:

More Reflections From The B'nai B'rith EU Activism Seminar

3/12/2015

More student participants from last month's EU Activism Seminar have documented their impressions and takeaways from the conference that B'nai B'rith International and B'nai B'rith Europe hosted and co-sponsored.

Read excerpts from their reflections via two postings (here and here) for The College of New Jersey, as well as a Spotify playlist compiled from the seminar participants by the EUJS.

Listen to the Spotify Playlist

I travelled to Brussels, Belgium to attend a seminar at the European Union on activism, lobbying, and key political/social issues in the EU. I was sponsored to go entirely for free to the seminar, which was co-hosted by EUJS (European Union of Jewish Students,) DoJAS (Delegation of Jewish American Students,) and B’nai B’rith International .

[...]

We delved into pressing issues like human rights, terrorism, access to education, and Anti-Semitism. After experiencing such an impressive blend of international culture in Brussels I’m inspired to keep seeking out more diversity both here in Spain and back at TCNJ.

[...]

This made me realize how accessible and real these influential foreign officials can be, given some personal drive and a few connections. In what felt like a matter of minutes I went from TCNJ, to Spain, to Brussels, to speaking in a foreign language with a high-level European government official about an issue I’m passionate about.

EJP: B'nai B'rith Presents To European Parliament On Anti-Semitism

3/4/2015

B'nai B'rith France was a key contributor to the first-of-its-kind European Parliament discussion on anti-Semitism, presenting to the delegation for relations with Israel.

The delegation is headed by Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello, who made his first visit to Israel as a guest of B'nai B'rith International last October.

The delegation discussed the disturbing rise in violence and rhetoric against European Jewish communities since Operation Protective Edge brought defensive conflict to Israel in the summer of 2014.

Read excerpts from an article written in the European Jewish Press, below:

[...]

Other speakers included Stéphane Teicher, Vice- President of B’nai B’rith France and Jane Braden-Golay, President of the European Union of Jewish Students.

"The fact that anti-Semitism becomes ordinary to the eyes of the civil society is a matter of concern," said Teicher, who noted the indifference of the population. "There was no mass reaction in France following grave anti-Semitic developments of protests in Paris during last summer Israeli Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza."

But he sees also matters of hope, citing the "very strong commitment of the French government not to tolerate anti-Semitism and its actions," the fact that the January attacks in Paris against a kosher supermarket and in Copenhagen against a synagogue "clearly showed the clear link between radical Islamism and anti-Semitism."

"Muslim leaders understand that the French Muslim community is under threat too," Teicher added

Read Full Article

Coming Together: DoJAS Reflections From The EU Activism Seminar

2/27/2015

The EU Activism Seminar continues to generate attention, as Alex Jakubowski, Executive Director of the Delegation of Jewish American Students (DOJAS), shared his thoughts on the week-long conference.

DOJAS was one of the co-hosting organizations of the seminar, joining B'nai B'rith International, B'nai B'rith Europe and the European Union of Jewish Students in Brussels. Ten of the 20 college students that participated traveled from North America to meet with a cross-section of European Union policymakers.

Read more about Jakubowski's reflections courtesy of e-Jewish Philanthropy and DOJAS' official press release:

Photo via EUJS

e-Jewish Philanthropy:

For many students, their time abroad is the most transformational of their lives – filled with new experiences and cultural immersion opportunities impossible to realize in the United States.

[...]

The students met with renowned experts, heard from critical decision-makers, and lobbied members of the European Parliament and European Commission on ways to address the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe.

[...]

By the end of the seminar, students came away inspired – not only toward greater involvement in their own communities, but the global Jewish community as well.

It is our duty, as Jews living in uniquely philo-Semitic countries, to actively support our family wherever they are – not urge them to simply pick up and move.

Also In: Jewish Journal

DOJAS Press Release:

Among the many influential and high-level officials with whom students met were Director of the Lombardy Regional Representation to the EU, Gianlorenzo Martini, Member of European Parliament and Chair of the EU Working Group on Anti-Semitism Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Member of the European Parliament Csaba Sogor, The European Commision’s Coordinator for Dialogue with Churches, Religions, Philosophical, and non-Confessional Organizations Katherina von Schnurbein, as well as staff members for various other MEP’s, Commissioners, NGO’s, and lobbyists.

[...]

As students arrive in their host countries for their semester abroad, the seminar’s American participants are looking forward to their new role as leaders in their communities.

“I learned much more than I could have imagined, and I have already begun to share my learnings with friends and family, both within the EU and all over the world,” said Jeremy Levin, who has returned to his host community in Madrid.

B'nai B'rith United Kingdom Congratulates EVP Dan Mariaschin

2/17/2015

On Feb. 5, 2015, B'nai B'rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin was named to The Algemeiner Jewish 100 List for 2014.

B'nai B'rith United Kingdom President Eve Swabe congratulated Mariaschin in a statement posted on the B'nai B'rith UK website, and through personal correspondence.

Read a recap of their correspondence, posted below:

Eve Swabe President of BBUK wrote to Dan:

On behalf our members in BBUK, may I offer you our congratulations on becoming one of the top one hundred people who have positively influenced Jewish life over the past year.

Well done, you deserve the accolade.

Dan Mariaschin responded:

Dear Eve:

Thanks so much for your kind note. It is deeply appreciated.

We very much value the important role BBUK plays in the B'nai B'rith International family, and I look forward to continuing our work together on behalf of our organization, the Jewish community, and Israel.

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