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B'nai B'rith Disgusted With Ohio State Marching Band's Holocaust Song

8/3/2015

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In 2014, an investigation was opened into the Ohio State Marching Band's culture after a songbook with highly controversial lyrics was made public. 

An initial report discovered the book that had been a long held secret with songs centering on bestiality, rape and homophobia. 

A follow-up investigation revealed “Goodbye Kramer,” a song mocking the Holocaust, set to the tune of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" was added to the band’s repulsive repertoire in 2012. 
B'nai B'rith International condemned the song and commended the university for seeking to overhaul the band's culture. The organization's statement was featured in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, excerpts of which can be found below:
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The song, titled “Goodbye Kramer,” appeared in a book of parodies updated in 2012 and circulated privately by members of the university’s marching band, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The lyrics, to be sung to the tune of the 1981 Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin’,” include references to Nazi soldiers “searching for people livin’ in their neighbor’s attic” and a “small town Jew … who took the cattle train to you know where.”

B’nai B’rith International, a Jewish human rights and advocacy group, condemned the song’s authors and praised the university’s response.

“It is never acceptable to trivialize Holocaust imagery,” B’nai B’rith said in a statement Thursday. “To do so in a jovial tone and completely for the sake of offending is even more abhorrent.”
Continue Reading
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JTA: Will Vatican’s 'Palestine' Reference Impact Jewish-Catholic Ties?

5/21/2015

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B'nai B'rith International joined a chorus of Jewish organizations that voiced displeasure at a recent Vatican's move on the recognition of a  "State of Palestine.”

In follow-up analysis, B'nai B'rith Director of United Nations Affairs David Michaels examined the history of the terminology, noting that the Vatican has made prior references to the "State of Palestine," and concluding that the move, while disappointing, is unlikely to affect Israelis or Palestinians.


Read media coverage from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on B'nai B'rith's statement on the Vatican:

A May 13 announcement on an agreement regarding the functioning of the church in areas under Palestinian control raised eyebrows in its reference to the “State of Palestine.”

The upset was compounded by confusion over whether Pope Francis, in a meeting over the weekend with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, praised him as an “angel of peace” or urged him to attain that vaunted status. On Tuesday, a Vatican spokesman said it was “very clear” that the pope was “encouraging a commitment to peace.”

But the Vatican’s shift from terming its Palestinian partner as the Palestine Liberation Organization — the designation Israel accepts — to calling it Palestine comports with a shift in Europe toward accommodating Palestinian statehood aspirations, the Jewish officials said.

[...]

Daniel Mariaschin, the director of B’nai B’rith International, said the recognition of Palestine raised concerns, but they must be seen in the context of an increased willingness in Europe to recognize Palestinian statehood and not of Jewish-Catholic relations.

He likened it to the French and British parliaments recent nonbinding recognition of Palestine and Sweden’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood.

“It’s important, I won’t dismiss it, but it shouldn't be seen outside that broader context,” Mariaschin said. “It raises the expectations of Palestinians to un-meetable levels and frustrates the Israelis who say we can’t get a fair deal in the international community.”

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Throwback Thursday: Partition Predicted At B’nai B’rith Parley (1941)

4/2/2015

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On March 30, 1941, more than 4,000 delegates gathered at the first luncheon of B'nai B'rith's 16th Annual National Convention in Chicago to hear Dr. Chaim Weizmann, a long-time B'nai B'rith member, predict a two-state solution in the Middle East.

At the time, Weizmann was president of the Zionist Organization, and would be elected Israel's first president in 1949 (and serve until his death in 1952). 


The effect of his speech went further than headlines, inspiring a commitment of $100,000 from the B'nai B'rith delegates to create a second B'nai B'rith colony in what is now Israel. 

The new colony was subsequently named for then B'nai B'rith President Henry Monsky and adjoined the first B'nai B'rith colony established in 1936. The colony was intended for former members of B'nai B'rith, their children and victims of the Nazi persecution. 
In addition to this historically significant prediction at the 1941 convention, Weizmann also appears in the B'nai B'rith history books alongside B'nai B'rith member Eddie Jacobson. 

Jacobson, a long-time business partner and friend of President Harry Truman, arranged a secret meeting between Weizmann and Truman that is said to have turned the president's opinion in favor of the partition plan and recognize the state of Israel.

Read coverage of his 1941 speech via the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's archive:

March 31, 1941

B’nai B’rith’s triennial national convention today heard Dr. Chaim Weizmann predict a Palestine Jewish commonwealth side by side with an Arab federation after the war and Vice-President Henry A. Wallace stress the importance of equality for all races and religions in the Western Hemisphere.

Addressing a luncheon session at the Drake Hotel, Dr. Weizmann asserted that “the floating and homeless five millions of Jews” could not survive without Palestine. “We have before us the greatest problem of salvaging the lives of Jews in the entire history of Jewish dispersion,” he said.

Speaking of the “difficult Arab problem,” the world Zionist leader asserted: “A solution to that problem must be found in order to achieve our objective. The Jews and the Arabs must live side by side as neighbors and cousins.

“After the victory of the democracies there must come a federation of the great Arab countries. This confederation will extend from the Euphrates to Libya. The democracies too, will realize the historic connection between the Jews and Palestine and that we are entitled to develop an autonomous Palestine, free from shackles, where we can bring these millions of our suffering people so that they can build a country that can fructify and revitalize the whole Middle East. It is possible to have a Jewish commonwealth side by side with this Arab federation.”

“The 500,000 Jews in Palestine who are ready to lay down their lives represent a great arsenal of human freedom as we stand sentinel at the entrance to the Suez Canal,” he declared. “Every man, woman and child in Palestine would rather die than to yield that frontier which is one of the most strategic approaches to the Western Hemisphere.”

Stressing the necessity of “unity of purpose as we prepare against the time when we shall have a word to say in the settlement of our destiny,” Dr. Weizmann urged that Jews be united “on two great purposes–on the restoration of the Jewish rights of which we are brutally deprived outside of Palestine and on the affirmation of a right to build our homeland, unshackled and unfettered, in Palestine.” Dr. Weizmann was introduced by Dr. Solomon Goldman.

Vice-President Wallace addressed 4,000 delegates and guests of the convention at the “inspirational session” at the Civic Opera House this evening. His speech was broadcast over a CBS network and rebroadcast in Spanish to Latin American countries. The subject was “Democracy and the Dignity of Man.”

[...]

“The cost of Nazi terrorism in terms of suffering to Europe is great beyond measurement,” he asserted, “but we in the New World owe a great debt of gratitude to the Nazis for forcing us to make clear our thinking about the meaning of democracy and the part which racial and religious groups must contribute if democracy is to be worthy of its name.

“B’nai B’rith, I know, has caught this vision and will work for it whole heartedly in all of the hemisphere. The New World is a chosen land, not for the Jew or the German or the Anglo-Saxon of the Spaniard or any other one people. The New World is a chosen land in which all of us, tolerantly living together, can allow the dignity of man to be expressed, free from the compulsions of the Old World, but with that sense of duty which is necessary to preserve that which is precious beyond life itself–an efficient yet tolerant constitutional democracy, free from the Gestapo and a greedy ruling class.”

[...]

A message was read from President Roosevelt, who praised B’nai B’rith’s splendid work in the fields of charity and philanthropy” and said “its activities in advancing education and promoting true Americanism are likewise widely known and appreciated.”
JTA Archive
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Tweets By ‘Daily Show’ Pick Trevor Noah Concern B’nai B’rith

4/1/2015

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B'nai B'rith International expressed concerns over Comedy Central's selection of comedian Trevor Noah to replace the departing Jon Stewart as host of the very popular political satire program, The Daily Show.

Over the last several years, Noah has tweeted multiple anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and misogynistic messages, and has based  his stand-up material on cheap racial stereotypes.  


In a statement released on Tuesday (picked up by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, JNS.org and other outlets), the organization acknowledged the difference between the humor of stand-up comedy and the platform of The Daily Show. 
B'nai B'rith expressed optimism that Noah would be responsible and sensitive in his new role. Read highlights from the news coverage below:

JTA:

Two Jewish groups expressed their concerns over past social media posts by Trevor Noah, the choice to succeed Jon Stewart as host of “The Daily Show.”

Since his appointment was announced Monday by Comedy Central, Noah has come under fire for past tweets about Jews and Israel, including one from 2010 that read “South Africans know how to recycle like Israel knows how to be peaceful.”

“B’nai B’rith is concerned about the long history of anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and misogynistic tweets by the new choice to host the popular comedy program, The Daily Show,” the organization said in a statement issued Tuesday. “We recognize that the platform The Daily Show provides its host is different from the stand-up comedy circuit, and we are hopeful that Noah will use this new and larger role responsibly on complex, sensitive issues.

“Entertainment cannot justify promoting hate and misinformation — and no group, including Israelis and Jews, should be considered fair game for bigotry.”

Noah, 31, who has over 2 million Twitter followers, was a surprise selection for “The Daily Show” post, as is he relatively unknown in the United States. He is a star in South Africa, where he has filmed four standup specials.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Reposted: Jerusalem Post
Reposted: Times Of Israel
Reposted: NY Jewish Week
Reposted: J-Weekly

JNS.org

South African comedian Trevor Noah, the newly announced successor to Jon Stewart as host of the satirical television program"The Daily Show," has come under the microscope for past social media posts that disparaged Jews, Israel, and women.

Stewart, who is Jewish, came under fire in pro-Israel circles last summer for what critics considered to be pro-Hamas bias in his segments on the war in Gaza. On Tuesday, Jewish organizations issued statements that addressed the controversy surrounding Noah's tweets.

"Trevor Noah, tapped to replace retiring Daily Show host Jon Stewart, has repeatedly tweeted comments that are deeply offensive and highly stereotypical, and his anti-Israel comments even border on incitement. Why does he tweet about Jews so much?" B’nai B’rith International said in a statement.

"Though Jon Stewart has always been quick to note that The Daily Show is meant to provide entertainment more than actual news, political comedy in our culture is often a substitute for news," B’nai B’rith added. "Studies have shown that a large number of Americans, particularly young Americans, get their news from such programs. The line between satire and hate can be very fine. As a result, the role of the host on this popular program carries significant responsibility."
JNS.org
Reposted: Breaking Israel News
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JTA: B'nai B'rith Blasts Virginia State Bar For Canceling Israel Seminar

4/1/2015

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Five weeks ago, Virginia legislators unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the friendship between the United States and Israel. 

But on Friday, the Virginia State Bar made the decision to cancel its upcoming seminar in Jerusalem, citing anti-Israel BDS rhetoric as the deciding factor.

B'nai B'rith International was quick to rebuke the state bar in a statement released on Monday. JBS (formerly ShalomTV) carried the statement as part of their coverage in Tuesday's News Update (2:45 mark). 

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (and other outlets) highlighted B'nai B'rith's remarks, an excerpt of which can be found below:

JTA: 

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and B’nai B’rith International condemned the Virginia State Bar for canceling its legal seminar in Jerusalem.

[...]

“In the face of this information, we felt it necessary and appropriate to forego this trip,” they wrote. “This was not a political decision and is not a ‘boycott.’ We are an inclusive organization and do not discriminate against any religion.”

B’nai B’rith called the decision “highly regrettable” and urged the agency to reconsider, adding that the “situation plays into the hands of the malicious Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.”

“Israel’s entry and exit procedures, while certainly strict, are entirely necessary in light of the country’s onerous security predicament,” B’nai B’rith also wrote.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Reposted: Connecticut Jewish Ledger
Reposted: St. Louis Jewish Light
Reposted: J-Weekly

Richmond Times-Dispatch:

The Virginia State Bar is experiencing a teachable moment about Middle East politics.

The bar’s decision to cancel a planned November trip to Israel as part of its mission to further legal education of its members has provided the state agency with several painful lessons about planning a trip to the turbulent region.

[...]

The spectacle is particularly dismaying to Tommy P. Baer, a Henrico County immigration attorney who served as president of B’nai B’rith International. “For this to happen almost needlessly, it’s just very unfortunate,” he said Tuesday.

While Baer said he “would like to believe” the bar’s explanation, he is concerned that the body that registers, supports, and polices all attorneys licensed to practice law in Virginia would “wittingly or unwittingly play into the hands” of a movement that seeks punitive economic measures against Israel at a tense time in the country’s relationship with the United States.

“The bar has placed itself in that position,” he said.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Throwback Thursday: Jewish Immigrants Prospering In Mexico (1923)

3/26/2015

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Ninety-two years ago, The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in Texas conducted a social experiment with Jewish immigrants that had landed in Mexico with the intention of crossing the border into the United States.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency vault revisits the experiment, which inspired many of the immigrants to put down roots south of the border. As of 2010, more than 67,000 Jews call Mexico home.

Read excerpts from the JTA Vault article, below:


Large numbers of Jews who entered Mexico with intention of crossing into the States from there are now prospering in Mexico and entirely contend to remain there. A report to this affect has been received by the Independent Order B’nai Brith from Rabbi Martin Zielonka of EL Paso who conducted an investigation for the Order.

In the last two years more than 800 of these Jewish immigrants have landed in Mexico, Rabbi Zielonka hears. “The only problem seems to be that all the young men want to get married and from all conversations with them they want wives of their own nationality, “writes Ed. Saunders of El Paso who has met the young men.

[...]

“The work of the B’nai Brith should convince the most sceptical that Mexico offers opportunity to immigrants willing to work, to suffer some privation and to settle in a strange environment. The opportunities are especially good for those whose relatives can give them a sufficient fund to start their business.”
Full Article
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Argentina: Former B'nai B'rith Honoree Takes Over AMIA Case

2/6/2015

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Picturehttp://www.derecho.uba.ar/
Following the tragic and mysterious death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman in January, just hours before he was scheduled to deliver his findings on the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, a new name has been introduced to the case.

Daniel Rafecas, a respected human rights and Holocaust expert and former B'nai B'rith Argentina honoree, has assigned the next step of the investigation, according to articles by Arutz Sheva (English), Agence France-Presse (Spanish) and 
Agence France-Presse (Portuguese).

Separate investigation continues into the circumstances of Nisman's death, details of which are included in the full coverage below:


Arutz Sheva (English):


A respected Holocaust expert was named Wednesday to take over as judge in the politically explosive case of a 1994 Jewish center bombing that has shaken Argentina since the lead prosecutor's mysterious death, AFP reports.

[...]

Rafecas, a human rights expert, has authored studies on the Holocaust that earned him awards from three Argentine Jewish groups: B'nai B'rith Argentina, the Argentine Hebrew Society and the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum Foundation.

He is also known for trying military officers for abuses committed during the South American country's 1976-1983 dictatorship.

This Story Reprinted On:

Rappler
i24News
China Post
Full Article

Agence France-Presse (Spanish):

El juez Daniel Rafecas, experto en derechos humanos y en el Holocausto, tomará la causa del supuesto encubrimiento de la presidenta Cristina Kirchner a exgobernantes iraníes por un atentado antijudío en 1994, denuncia elevada por el fiscal Alberto Nisman, quien apareció muerto misteriosamente el 18 de enero.

[...]

El caso dividió al país entre quienes piensan que Nisman fue una víctima del gobierno y los que denuncian un complot internacional para desacreditar a Kirchner impulsado por poderosos exagentes de los servicios de inteligencia echados de sus puestos el 17 de diciembre pasado.

Rafecas juzgó a militares de la dictadura (1976-83) por delitos de lesa humanidad y por sus estudios sobre la Shoá que perpetraron los nazis recibió los premios Derechos Humanos de la Fundación B'nai B'rith, Moisés 2011 de la Sociedad Hebraica Argentina y Gilbert Lewi de la Fundación Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires.

This Story Reprinted On:

Milenio
180.com
La Prensa
BioBioChile
El Economista
Full Article

Los Tiempos (Spanish):

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Por otra parte, el juez Daniel Rafecas, experto en derechos humanos y en el Holocausto, tomará la causa del supuesto encubrimiento de la presidenta Fernández a exgobernantes iraníes.

[...]

Rafecas juzgó a militares de la dictadura (1976-83) por delitos de lesa humanidad y por sus estudios sobre la Shoá que perpetraron los nazis recibió los premios Derechos Humanos de la Fundación B’nai B’rith, Moisés 2011 de la Sociedad Hebraica Argentina y Gilbert Lewi de la Fundación Museo del Holocausto de Buenos Aires.

Full Article

Agence France-Presse (Portuguese):

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O juiz Daniel Rafecas, especialista em direitos humanos e sobre o Holocausto, acolherá a denúncia de suspeita de acobertamento contra a presidente Cristina Kirchner a favor de ex-governantes iranianos, supostamente envolvidos em um atentado antissemita em 1994, em Buenos Aires.

[...]

Rafecas julgou militares da ditadura (1976-83) por crimes contra a humanidade e foi agraciado por seus estudos sobre a Shoá praticada pelos nazistas com os prêmios de Direitos Humanos da Fundação B'nai B'rith, Moisés 2011 da Sociedade Hebraica Argentina e Gilbert Lewi, da Fundação Museu do Holocausto de Buenos Aires.

Full Article
More on Nisman's Death Below

Read More
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Flashback: B'nai B'rith Advocates U.N. To End Religious Intolerance

1/20/2015

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On this date in 1965, B'nai B'rith International was cited in an article in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for its efforts to end all religious intolerance in the United Nations.

The advocacy efforts were later detailed by Dr. William E. Korey, director of the New York Bureau of the B'nai B'rith International Council, in the February 1965 issue of the National Jewish Monthly, a publication produced by B'nai B'rith:
This month, the United Nations General Assembly will be deeply involved in creating a historic and powerful legal instrument directed against discrimination on racial and ethnic grounds. The so-called 'Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' will bind all states that ratify it to take specific measures aimed at removing barriers to human dignity.

While this proposed international treaty is particularly popular in Asian and African circles, it is instructive to note that the decision to write it was sparked by the 'swastika epidemic' of 1959-60. The 'epidemic' had been triggered by the swastika desecration of a synagogue in Cologne, West Germany, on December 24, 1959; in the next few months, some 1,800 incidents of an anti-Semitic character were reported in over 40 countries.

[...]

Of particular interest to Jewish communities throughout the world is a new Article that has been advanced be the United States to 'condemn anti-Semitism' and to oblige contracting states to 'take action...for its speedy eradication...' President Lyndon B. Johnson states last October in a message to a New York rally on Soviet anti-Semitism that he had personally 'instructed' the American delegate to the Commission on Human Rights, Mrs. Marietta Tree, to propose the new article for the Convention.

[...]

B'nai B'rith has made available a specially-prepared memorandum which spells out the reasons why an Article condemning anti-Semitism is particularly appropriate for the contemplated international treaty. Among other things it points out that anti-Semitism is a form of racial or ethnic discrimination which has a longer and more persistent history than perhaps any other form, reaching back more than 2,000 years.

Furthermore, anti-Semitism is a classic example--as evidenced by the history of naziism--of the use of racial and ethnic discrimination as an instrument for the seizure of political power, for the destruction of free institutions and for the launching of foreign aggression.

[...]

In addition to promoting the support of the article, B'nai B'rith in vigorously urging that effective implementation machinery be established by the Convention to see that it is enforced. Were the implementation machinery to include a procedure for not merely complaints by governments about violations of the treaty--this seems to have considerable support--but also complaints from non-governmental organizations, then a long step forward would have been taken in the direction of enforcement of human rights.
The end goal of the Convention was to ensure religious freedom throughout the world. This is a policy upon which the organization has made great strides, and is still vigorously pursued by B'nai B'rith International 50 years later.

Read the JTA article in its entirety, below:

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U. N. Body Hears More Jewish Pleas to Protect Religious Rights

January 20, 1965

Two international organizations–one of which has the American Jewish Committee as an affiliate, and the other representing B’nai B’rith and the Board of Deputies of British Jews–urged a United Nations body here today not only to adopt an international convention calling for the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance, but also to formulate procedures of implementation which would put enforcement teeth into a UN document guaranteeing religious freedom throughout the world.

The steps were taken here before the United Nations Sub commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. This 14 member body has before it several preliminary drafts of a religious freedoms convention which became international law when finally adopted by the UN General Assembly and ratified by a sufficient number of member states.

The statements were submitted by the International League for the Rights of Man, represented here by Sidney Liskofsky, a staff member of the American Jewish Committee, which is affiliated with the League; and by Gustav Warburg, representing the Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations, comprised of the B’nai B’rith and the British Board.

JTA.org
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B'nai B'rith Counsels German Govt. On Anti-Semitism Education

9/17/2014

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The German government has announced a new initiative to allocate funds toward anti-Semitism education in the country's Muslim population. 

In order to prepare for this initiative, the government's Jewish outreach official consulted with B'nai B'rith International leadership during a recent trip to Washington, D.C.

The visit and initiative were covered by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and German paper News02elf. 


Excerpts from the article can be found below in English and German:
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JTA (English)

[...]

Felix Klein, Germany’s special representative for relations with Jewish organizations, is in Washington this week to meet with Jewish groups and Obama administration officials over American concerns about a spike in anti-Semitism in Germany during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Many of the offenders were Muslims, and many of those were members of Germany’s substantial Turkish minority.

[...]

He said the money for such an initiative would come from Germany’s Interior Ministry and its Ministry for Families, Youth and the Elderly, as well as from regional governments.

Klein met State Department officials who deal with anti-Semitism and Holocaust issues as well as with officials of the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and B’nai B’rith International.
Continue Reading

News02elf.net (German)

[...]

Felix Klein, der Sonderbeauftragte für die Beziehungen zu jüdischen Organisationen in Deutschland, ist in dieser Woche in Washington um sich mit jüdischen Gruppen und der Obama-Regierung zu treffen. In Gesprächen soll über die amerikanische Besorgnis über das Aufflammen des Antisemitismus in Deutschland, während des letzten Israel-Hamas-Konflikt diskutiert werden.

Die Haupttäter bei den antisemitischen Ausschreitungen während der anti-Israel-Demonstrationen in Deutschland, kamen aus den Reihen der stark wachsenden muslimischen Bevölkerung.

[...]

Klein traf sich auch mit Beamten des US-Außenministerium, sowie mit Beamten des American Jewish Committee, der Anti-Defamation League und B’nai B’rith International um mit ihnen die Frage zu diskutieren, wie man mit dem aufkeimenden Antisemitismus in Deutschland umgehen könne.
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JTA: B'nai B'rith Leadership Meets With U.N.'s Ban Ki-moon

8/19/2014

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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.
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