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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:  B'nai B'rith International was one of a handful of Jewish organizations to meet with the U.S. State Department for four hours, expressing concerns about rising anti-Semitism around the globe. According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, Secretary of State John Kerry and three of his undersecretaries participated in the meetings. Read highlights from the article, below: Jewish leaders converged on the State Department to discuss rising anti-Semitism across the globe, which is of “deep concern” to the Obama administration, US officials said this week.
Meeting with the group for four hours on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry shared in worries over “the prevalence and pervasiveness of anti-Semitic threats and attacks,” the State Department said. US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ira Forman led the discussions, attended only briefly by the secretary. Several other senior State Department officials participated the meeting. Jewish representatives included leaders from the Jewish Federations of North America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, B’nai B’rith, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and European Jewish communities. [...] On Iran, the secretary was firm in stating that negotiations over that country’s nuclear program would not be extended past it’s November 24 deadline. “I think he wanted us to communicate the message to Israel,” the source stated. “I think the message was quite serious: That he is frustrated about what is happening. They [the administration] feel they invested a lot in it [peace negotiations].”  via CCIU.org B'nai B'rith Uruguay hosted Senator José Amorin from the Colorado Party and approximately 250 attendees to discuss "Israel, Latin America and Uruguay" in light of the recent conflict. Amorin, a supporter of Israel, criticized Uruguayan President José Mujica for his declaration that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Read a recap of the event in an article by La Red 21. Read an excerpt in Spanish, below: El legislador realizó una conferencia en la sede de la B’Nai B’rith sobre: “Uruguay, Israel, América Latina y el Terrorismo”.
“Estamos acá para apoyar lo que siempre hemos apoyado, conceptos como la libertad y los valores”, sentenció. Reflexionó: “En el enfrentamiento entre el Estado de Israel y el terrorismo está en juego un sistema de valores y quienes creemos que la libertad y la democracia son valores supremos no podemos y no debemos estar del lado del terrorismo sino condenarlo con todas nuestras fuerzas”. Amorín señaló que en Uruguay, “la posición por parte del gobierno es muy negativa” a través de manifestaciones y “actitudes infelices e inapropiadas”. Recordó que “el presidente José Mujica dijo que los bombardeos de Israel son un genocidio, expresión que es notoriamente falsa y que además ofende y provoca a la colectividad judía en nuestro país”, aseguró.  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.”  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.  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".  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.
 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. |
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