Center Stage Summer 2024
The latest from the B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem.
- B’nai B’rith Recognized by Local Authorities for Assistance in Wake of Massacre
- B’nai B’rith Attends Event Marking Anniversary of IHRA Founding
- B’nai B’rith Ceremony Recognizes 2024 Diaspora Reportage Award Winners
- Radio Program on the Hebrew Language Focuses on B’nai B’rith’s History in Israel
- Herzl Day at the Knesset
- B’nai B’rith Presents ATV to Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council
- B’nai B’rith Attends Meeting with Argentina’s Special Representative for the Fight against Anti-Semitism
- B’nai B’rith Donates Surveillance Drones to Kiryat Shmona
- B’nai B’rith Attends Session To Mark 75 Years Since Establishment of the Knesset
- B’nai B’rith World Center and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Celebrate Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During Holocaust Commemoration Ceremony
- B’nai B’rith Presents Endowment Funds for Israeli Youth Impacted by Hamas Terror
- B’nai B’rith World Center Holds Sessions of the Hebrew Diplomatic Club
- Douglas Murray Honored by President Herzog
- B’nai B’rith participates in JAFI and WZO Meetings in Jerusalem
- B’nai B’rith World Center Concludes Visit of 11 Latin American Journalists
- Remembering the Holocaust After October 7
- B’nai B’rith Attends Anti-Semitism Report Launch
- B’nai B’rith Concludes Solidarity Visit to Israel by Paying Condolences to Hostage Family
- B’nai B’rith Donates Jackets to IDF Soldiers in Cooperation With WZO
- IMPACT Fellows Attend WUJS Congress
B’nai B’rith Recognized by Local Authorities for Assistance in Wake of Massacre
B’nai B’rith was among the organizations recognized by the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel (FLAI) during its annual MuniExpo conference that convened at the Tel Aviv Fair Grounds on June 9. This year’s conference–entitled Israeli Revival–included an opening event in recognition of organizations that provided support to local authorities following the Oct.7 assault and ensuing war in Gaza and northern Israel.
Speakers at the event included Israeli President Isaac Herzog and FLAI Chairman Haim Bibas, mayor of Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, who said: “Jewish organizations and foundations have been serving bravely as ambassadors for the Israeli cause, providing crucial support to Israel and extending aid to our brothers and sisters. By being so vocal, you have reaffirmed that truth and solidarity know no borders and that the bond between Israel and the global Jewish community truly is unbreakable. It is also thanks to your support that Israel continues to stand strong during this period of uncertainty.”
Through its Israel Emergency Fund, B’nai B’rith has provided critical equipment to the Kiryat Shmona municipality and Mevo’ot HaHermon regional council in the North, which was featured in a video clip screened at the MuniExpo International Plenary. The B’nai B’rith World Center serves as B’nai B’rith International’s point of contact with the municipalities and was on hand to deliver the equipment.
B’nai B’rith Attends Event Marking Anniversary of IHRA Founding
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider attended an event organized by the Swedish Embassy in Israel, marking 25 years since the founding initiative of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) that today has grown into a movement of 35 member states and eight observer countries. Featured speakers at the event were IHRA initiator, then Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson (via videolink) and Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
In opening remarks, Ambassador Erik Ullenhag said that coming from Sweden, a country that has enjoyed 200 years of uninterrupted peace, he could not understand the atrocities of Oct. 7. Ullenhag also noted that Sweden, which tends to take the moral high ground in international affairs, has not come to terms with its neutrality in WWII and during the Holocaust.
Persson cautioned that the challenges he recognized 25 years ago have grown: “The world is facing dark times. Anti-democratic forces are gaining power. Intolerance, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are on the rise. Anti-Semitic chants are heard in public. Hate speech and Holocaust denial and distortion are spreading.” He called to take action with effective measures against these trends and invent new unifying projects.
Dayan said that although much was accomplished in the intervening years in implanting the seed of Holocaust remembrance into the field of modern democratic consciousness and discourse, clearly not enough was achieved: “Who could have anticipated that we would find ourselves here today, in the aftermath of the deadliest attack the Jewish people have faced since the Holocaust, watching with apprehension as a new wave of anti-Semitism surges across continents? Since October 7th, a particularly malevolent form of anti-Semitism is once again rearing its ugly head around the world. Like a mutating virus, it adopts different forms and expressions.”
He continued: “Currently, it is manifesting itself under the deceptive guise of ‘anti-Zionism,’ even joining forces and synergizing–in paradoxical ‘horseshoe’ fashion with older types of Jew hatred. Indeed, such outbursts of anti-Semitism are hardly new. But now they represent a ferocious contemporary expression of the persistently insidious hatred against Jews that has plagued human civilization and Europe in particular–for millennia. Anti-Semitism, by far, is the most lethal form of racism known to mankind. Currently, there are calls for the elimination of the State of Israel. This kind of hate speech, which advocates the destruction of the Jewish homeland, should not be tolerated in civilized society.”
Dayan asserted that this battle must be fought with no less conviction and commitment as that shown by Persson in ensuring the memory of the Holocaust, emphasizing that today “this must include not only combating ‘conventional’ neo-Nazi manifestations, but rather all forms of anti-Semitism, including those that call for the annihilation of the Jewish state, whether voiced in the halls of government in Tehran, in the streets of European cities or in American faculties. Our revitalized action must include effective means of illustrating, convincingly, the legitimacy and value of Jewish identity, Jewish peoplehood, and Jewish statehood.”
B'nai B'rith Ceremony Recognizes 2024 Diaspora Reportage Award Winners
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held its annual award ceremony for Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage on May 26 at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. Eylon Levy, former Israeli government spokesperson, called on the Israeli government to establish an elite team of spokespeople in all languages and time zones during his keynote address. He likened this team to a special forces unit, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice anywhere in the world, equipped with the necessary ammunition, backup and defensive gear.
Held for the 32nd consecutive year, the ceremony was attended by numerous dignitaries including the Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli, who delivered an address.
This year’s award winners were Elad Simchayoff, European correspondent for Channel 12 News and Canaan Lidor, Jewish World reporter for The Times of Israel. Simchayoff was recognized in the broadcast media category for his coverage of the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe following Oct.7 and for his “One a Day” podcast series. Lidor was recognized in the written media category, in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky, for his extensive coverage on various issues concerning the Jewish world and Jewish communities in Holland, Tunisia, the United States, and elsewhere in 2023. Lidor has previously written for The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and Maariv.
In his address Levy said: “The Jewish People are a global nation, and the solutions to our challenges must be global. October 7 triggered a regional war, which has become, in every sense, a global war on the Jews. A war in which the pillars of the postwar order, large parts of the international media, and whole swaths of elite institutions have been weaponized against the Jews and their state; in which the watchdogs have become attack dogs, used to launder terrorists’ propaganda, advance their annihilationist goals and give an international seal of approval to efforts to render Jews powerless once more.”
Levy continued: “This information war is existential. Because our global nation cannot afford to live in a globe in which the allegations being hurled at the Jewish state become general knowledge; in which people believe that Israel is committing genocide, or starving the Palestinians, or operating a fascist, apartheid, white settler colony. Because a world in which Israel becomes the ultimate symbol of evil, as so many are trying to paint it, is not a world in which any safe foothold may be found for our global nation, neither here in Israel nor across the diaspora. Because facts beget narrative. Narrative begets legitimacy. Legitimacy begets the material, moral, diplomatic, and military support that we need to keep ourselves safe, as we build our national home, against eight hostile frontiers. Israel exists so we can stop complaining about the hostility against us and organize properly—as a sovereign state intimately embedded in a global diaspora—to rebuff, repel and ultimately repair those problems. This war for Israel’s international standing is global and we can only win it as a global people. The diaspora is not an afterthought. It is a force multiplier. Israel is a democratic nation-state, but the task of sustaining it must be a partnership between the Jews who dwell in Zion and the Jews who dwell abroad.”
In his acceptance speech, Simchayoff emphasized the discrimination that the Jewish people are facing: “In the last seven months, Jewish communities have been faced with unprecedented hatred and heretofore, unknown levels of violence. Jews are accosted physically; they are singled out and canceled. Jews live in fear and suffer from bullying and threats. They can choose to hide and surrender; such a choice can be understood because the alternative comes at a heavy price. Thanks to those who stand with us, we are not alone, and thanks to us they are not alone. This reciprocity must be fostered and safeguarded.” In his acceptance speech, Lidor spoke about anti-Semitism in Europe: “Despite all our enemies’ threats and countdown clocks, our time is not borrowed; it is given—given to us along with the land and the book. Like Israel, the Jewish diaspora in Europe—and perhaps also in North America—is experiencing a perilous moment. The current explosion of anti-Semitism and isolation affecting European Jewry, at least, compounds some serious preexisting issues impacting Western societies as a whole: demographic stagnation or decline, assimilation, moral confusion and demoralization. October 7 demonstrated that diaspora Jews are unwanted, even unheard, in academia, the media and some other places that have ensured their post-Holocaust golden age.”
Lidor also noted, “For all its flaws, Israel is vibrant, genuine, unapologetic, and, most importantly, interested in surviving. We need your children to cement Israel’s existence here for centuries; we need your know-how and enthusiasm, and we need your tolerance. The divisions in Israeli society show that if we’re to survive here, we will need to recreate the inspiring dynamic at work in Jewish communities that unite for the common good, with men and women from rival ideologies—and enormous egos—putting them aside to make common cause.”
A special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts in Memory of Naomi Shemer was presented at the event to internationally acclaimed Israeli singer Ilanit (Hanna Dresner-Tzakh). The citation, established in 2014, has been presented to singer and songwriter Nurit Hirsh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Yehoram Gaon, Shalva Band, Danny Sanderson, Shuli Natan and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.In her acceptance speech, Ilanit said: “It is a great honor to receive this citation after so many songs, six decades and countless performances all around the world. After my parents left Poland in 1939 at the last moment and arrived in Israel on the Patria, my mother said—so they told me—‘At last we are home.’ This has accompanied me all these years. I have always known that there is no other place for me—only Israel—even though I was made many offers abroad. Every place I perform, I bring the beautiful songs of Israel and tell the audience—Jews and non-Jews alike—about our beautiful land and people. I try to unite our people through song because unity is what we need.”
B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Haim Katz also addressed the event, and award jury considerations were presented by Yehudit Aurbach and Professor Gabriela Shalev.
Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in Israeli print, broadcast and online media. Widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage, it was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award is presented in memory of the late Wolf Matsdorf, editor of the World Center’s journal “Leadership Briefing,” and journalist in Israel and Australia, and his wife Hilda, a pioneer in social work in both countries.
Watch the full ceremony here, a clip here and Eylon Levy’s keynote address here.
Press coverage:
Radio Program on the Hebrew Language Focuses on B’nai B’rith’s History in Israel
Dr. Avshalom Kor (known as “Mr. Hebrew”) focused his popular daily radio column on the Hebrew language on B’nai B’rith and its role in establishing Israel’s National Library. A promo for the show stated:
“Exactly 400 years after the Spanish expulsion, B’nai B’rith members in Jerusalem established the core from which the National Library grew. You cannot bring the people of the Book to Zion without their books. You do not transfer the fish without the water.”
The broadcast was the result of a tour organized by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem for its Hebrew Diplomatic Club (a club for diplomats stationed in Israel who speak Hebrew) to the historic B’nai B’rith library building and to the new venue of the National Library. Kor helped launch the club, delivering a lecture entitled, “I speak with King David” at its inaugural meeting at the Foreign Ministry headquarters. Kor also participated in B’nai B’rith’s UNESCO Hebrew language conference in Paris in 2022.
Click here to listen to the segment.
Herzl Day at the Knesset
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider participated on May 22 in a World Zionist Organization delegation led by WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel to a special session of the Knesset marking the 164th anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s birth. In opening remarks, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said, “The journey back to the land of our forefathers was dependent on our willpower. Herzl lived in a world where the Jews had no home and Eretz Israel was a wasteland. Herzl said that a dream and action are not so different because every action starts with a dream. Herzl not only foresaw the State of Israel, but also its role in the international arena…We are today in the midst of the most righteous war against barbarism of fundamental Islamic terrorism that knows no boundaries and that murdered, massacred, burned, raped and kidnapped the people of light who are standing like a fortified wall, protecting the values of the free world. Herzl did not predict that the free world would know how to appreciate this. The threats and dangers from outside are many and complex–perhaps more numerous and complex than ever since the War of Independence. Together–shoulder to shoulder–we will succeed in guarding the deposit that was put in our hands and hearts.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, speaking on behalf of the government, drew a comparison between two cities–Basel, Switzerland, in which the Zionist movement was created by Theodor Herzl in 1897, and The Hague in the Netherlands, where Israel and its leaders are now in the dock of the international justice system, persecuted by haters who plan Israel’s destruction. “A terrible scandal is unfolding in The Hague. It represents a total collapse of the most basic human values. The same anti-Semitism that Herzl experienced is raising its ugly head again. It is not coincidental that the same anti-Semitism that Herzl experienced at the Dreyfus trial in the criminal use of the law as a means for propagating libel and trampling Jewish rights, so too does this exact same anti-Semitism make criminal use of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Hatred towards Jews, the inability to accept our rights to live with dignity and in security, the goal to deny us the right of self-defense to the degree that we will be easy pray for despicable murderers–these are what motivate the false process in The Hague.”
B’nai B’rith Presents ATV to Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council
Director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Alan Schneider presented an ATV to the Mevo’ot HaHermon regional council, made possible by donations from B’nai B’rith’s Israel Emergency Fund. While at the regional council building, an anti-tank missile that hit Kfar Yuval, one of the 11 villages in the regional council, six of which have evacuated—was strongly felt.
In his thank you letter to B’nai B’rith, Muvchar wrote that the ATV will be used in times of emergency by regional council teams to extinguish fires and to transport necessary equipment to areas not accessible to regular vehicles. “We see your donation as an expression of your appreciation and dedication to residents of the North, and for this we express our sincere gratitude.” During the Second Lebanon War, B’nai B’rith donated air conditioners for public shelters in the regional council.
Since the Simchat Torah massacre, the B’nai B’rith Israel Emergency Fund has provided an ATV and two advanced drones to the northern city of Kiryat Shmona for use by its fast deployment team and, through the good offices of B’nai B’rith Israel, noncombat supplies to many IDF units.
B’nai B’rith Attends Meeting with Argentina’s Special Representative for the Fight against Anti-Semitism
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider represented the organization at a May 15th meeting in Jerusalem with Argentina’s Representative Ambassador to the IHRA and Representative for the Fight against Antisemitism Maria Fabiana Loguzzo, at the end of a weeklong visit to Israel.
Loguzzo was the guest of the World Zionist Organization that hosted her for an extensive itinerary including a visit to southern Israeli communities attacked by Palestinian terrorists on Simchat Torah. At the meeting, WZO chairman Yaakov Hagoel said that on Oct. 7, an assault was launched not only against Israel but against the entire Jewish people—an assault that is playing out now in Argentina and around the world.
He noted that Israel has good friends in Argentina, led by President Javier Milei, who instructed the Argentinian U.N. delegation to vote with Israel against the resolution to upgrade the status of State of Palestine there.
Loguzzo—who last visited Israel 30 years ago—said she experienced a democratic country that is defending itself, not a country ruled by hatred and discrimination that Israel is so often accused of. “We met people of different nationalities and religions who came together because of the pain they all experienced. My visit came to show support for Israel, but we go back to Argentina with a different image of the country than is portrayed in the press.”
B’nai B’rith Donates Surveillance Drones to Kiryat Shmona
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider presented Kiryat Shmona’s Rapid Response Team with a pair of state-of-the-art surveillance drones. Nestled in the Upper Galilee, Kiryat Shmona has faced a barrage of rocket attacks from across the Lebanese border. These drones are a vital addition and will greatly bolster the town’s municipal security endeavors.
This gift was made possible by all our generous members and supporters who have supported the B’nai B’rith Israel Emergency Fund.
B’nai B’rith Attends Session To Mark 75 Years Since Establishment of the Knesset
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider represented B’nai B’rith on Jan. 24 at a special sitting of the Knesset plenary, marking its 75th anniversary. The occasion was somber rather than celebratory as it fell during a particularly lethal week in the Israel’s war against Hamas.
Speaking to the special sitting that began with a moment of silence for 24 soldiers killed two days earlier, President Isaac Herzog said it is imperative that the country not return to the fractious political discourse that was prevalent prior to Oct. 7. He cautioned that when the Knesset convenes to debate the causes for the debacle on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war–predicting that these are likely to be the most important and stormy in the parliament’s history–the Knesset must display an example to the country and engage in respectful debate: “On this day, the birthday of the Israel Knesset–the temple of our democracy–it is important for me to emphasize: unity is not uniformity, unity is not silencing, unity is not the cessation of discussion and debate on matters that concern the core of the existence of the Israeli state, society and democracy [but]…it is impossible to talk about mutual respect and unity without the Knesset taking a central part in the change.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the goals of the war–to bring an end to Hamas rule in Gaza and bring home the hostages: “There is a will never be any compromise on matters that concern guaranteeing our existence and our future for generations,” and added that Hamas deluded itself that Israel is weak and would break under attack. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said there was nothing to celebrate on this anniversary “since the political system is broken” and that no one else in the country was celebrating.
Following the special plenary, Schneider attended a meeting with foreign ambassadors and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. During the meeting, Iris Haim, mother of hostage Yotam Haim, who was misidentified and accidentally killed by IDF forces along with two other hostages seeking their aid, said she was not angry at the soldiers who killed her son and that his death was a sad chapter in Israel’s fight for freedom.
B’nai B’rith World Center and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Celebrate Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During Holocaust Commemoration Ceremony
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) held on May 6—for the 22nd consecutive year—a joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). This is the only Yom HaShoah event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust.
The ceremony took place at the B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest “Scroll of Fire” Plaza and was streamed live on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page. The event was reported widely in Israel and abroad in print, online and broadcast media; some 800 people attended in person.
The B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest is the world’s largest Holocaust memorial and the most significant joint B’nai B’rith–KKL-JNF project, memorializing the victims of the Holocaust with six million trees planted in the picturesque Jerusalem mountains near Moshav Kesalon. At the pinnacle of the forest stands the “Scroll of Fire,” created by renowned sculptor Nathan Rapoport, which invokes the destruction of the Jewish people in the Holocaust and their redemption in the State of Israel. Prior to the event, small groups met with relatives of the rescuers to learn about their heroic acts in greater depth.
Speakers at the ceremony were Ambassador Sergio Barbanti, ambassador of Italy to Israel; Aharon Bar, director of Pedagogy and Guidance, KKL-JNF; Haim Katz, chairman, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem; Brigadier General Gihad Hasan, police border guard; and Sarah Jackson, a Holocaust survivor who rescued young people from the Nova festival on Oct. 7 (recorded).
Barbanti said, “the ferocious anti-Semitic massacre of October 7 represented the darkest page for the people of Israel since its foundation [and] was the image of a terrible replica of the horrors of the Shoah. Anti-Semitism is not just a scourge to be fought and eradicated as such, but rather a threat to our democratic values.”
Katz told the gathering, “The truth is that Jews did not go like sheep to the slaughter. Up against a destruction machine unlike anything the world had seen, they fought fiercely not just to save themselves, but to save their brothers and sisters, many times risking their lives and sometimes paying a price with their lives.”
Hasan invoked the recent Passover holiday in an assertion that Israel deals with existential threats “in every generation, in every period. The intention of our enemies has not changed, but our ability has. Our enemies stand up against strong and firm security forces that defend its civilians’ lives, security and the State of Israel at any cost.”
Bar—who left his son Amit’s hospital bedside for the first time since he was seriously wounded fighting in Gaza—said that the horrors perpetrated by the human animals on Oct. 7 were reminiscent of dark days we thought would not return. “Unlike then, today we have a state, an army and a defense force that can repel the attack and fight” terrorists to protect our people in their homeland.
Holocaust survivor Jackson said she did not feel she did anything special. “I hope that all Jews will reach more positive conclusions and connect to the more positive aspects of this country. I hope that we will be worthy of having no wars and of raising our children to perform good deeds and not wars.”
During the ceremony, the Jewish Rescuers Citation was conferred on 13 rescuers who operated in France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Poland. The citation—a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust—has recognized more than 632 heroes since its inception in 2011 in an effort to help correct the generally held misconception that Jews failed to come to the aid of fellow Jews during the Holocaust.
Press coverage:
Israel readies for first post-Oct. 7 Holocaust Remembrance Day – EJP (ejpress.org)
B’nai B’rith Presents Endowment Funds for Israeli Youth Impacted by Hamas Terror
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider traveled to two southern Israeli cities on April 21 to present the B’nai B’rith Edith ‘Pat’ Wolfson and Roselle and ‘Benjamin’ Bernard Roseman Endowment Fund for Israeli Youth to two Israeli children tragically affected by the Hamas Simchat Torah massacre and its aftermath.
In the Bedouin city of Rahat, the grant was presented to the infant daughter (1-year-old Mansura) of Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, killed on Jan. 22 in the central Gaza Strip along with 20 other Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the deadliest incident of the ongoing war against Hamas.
Abu Latif was proud to serve in the IDF and was a vocal advocate for coexistence and collaboration among all of Israel’s multireligious citizens.
When he was called up to active duty, he had been studying and working at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Nineteen Israeli Bedouin citizens were murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.
Schneider also presented a grant for 16-year-old Nadav Chana in Ofakim. Nadav, a child with Down syndrome, is the brother of Israel Chana who confronted a squad of terrorists with his work-issued pistol on Oct. 7, his birthday. The grant was presented to their mother, Yishi, a single mother who made Aliya from Ethiopia in 1991. Israel served in the Givati unit.
When the terrorists attacked, Israel, wearing flipflops on a walk with his girlfriend and dog, ran home to retrieve his weapon and confront the terrorists who were invading the area. Significantly out-gunned, he is credited with saving many neighbors, even while 48 residents of Ofakim were murdered by Hamas terrorists. His mother witnessed his death in a barrage of bullets. Yishi said that Israel was the pillar of their home and was a significant caregiver for Nadav.
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem has overseen the B’nai B’rith Edith ‘Pat’ Wolfson and Roselle and ‘Benjamin’ Bernard Roseman Endowment Fund for Israeli Youth since its inception in 2005. Since its founding, the fund has provided aid to more than 60 Israeli youths who have tragically lost loved ones in terror attacks and Israel’s struggle for self-defense.
B’nai B’rith World Center Holds Sessions of the Hebrew Diplomatic Club
The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem convened on April 18 the fourth session of its Hebrew Diplomatic Club. The club–established last year with support from the Protocol Department at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs–is an informal platform for exposing Hebrew-speaking foreign diplomats to varied aspects of Israeli culture, politics and society in the country’s lingua franca. Four diplomats–from Panama, Russia, the Czech Republic and Austria–participated in the session together with members of the World Center Executive Board. The session focused on the Israel National Library that was established by the B’nai B’rith Jerusalem Lodge in 1892. The session began at the historic B’nai B’rith building (Bayit Neeman) located on B’nai B’rith Street in Israel’s capital, which housed the national library from 1902 until it was transferred to the World Zionist Organization in 1925.
The session featured a visit to Bayit Neeman (zoned for conservation) and a presentation from B’nai B’rith World Center Director Alan Schneider on the history of the building and B’nai B’rith’s landmark initiatives to promote the Jewish foothold in the land of Israel in general and in Jerusalem in particular, since its founding in 1888. The session continued with a guided tour of the recently-opened Israel National Library building–a striking modernist edifice located in Jerusalem’s government quarter just opposite the Knesset—and a meeting with Sallai Meridor, chairman of the library’s Board of Directors. Meridor opened by praising the leaders of the Jerusalem Lodge for their initiative to establish the library, saying that he was in awe at their ability to implement such a monumental projec —to create in Jerusalem a depository of all Jewish religious and secular texts from antiquity until today, as the return to Zion from Europe gained momentum but before the era of Herzl and the organized Zionist movement: “Although this might be an exaggeration, some believe that the establishment of the library was the beginning of intellectual Zionism. The founders of the library believed that you cannot transfer the People of the Book to Zion without the book.” B’nai B’rith’s foundational role is recognized in the recently installed historical timeline of the library.
The third meeting of the Hebrew Diplomatic Club convened on Feb. 26 in the shadow of the Oct. 7 massacre. Former MK Shai Hermesh (Kadima), a longtime member of kibbutz Kfar Aza, where some 60 people were murdered and 20 abducted to Gaza, recounted his harrowing story of escape from murderous Palestinian terrorists with the help of IDF soldiers after he and his wife endured 22 hours in their bomb shelter. His son Omer, who lived on the kibbutz independently, was murdered under circumstances that remain unclear. Hermesh also discussed prospects for rehabilitation of the communities stormed on Oct. 7, the reality of the evacuees as they await short, medium and long-term solutions to the challenges posed by the death and damage inflicted on them by Hamas terrorists and his predictions for Israel’s political future. Diplomats from Panama, Japan and Poland participated in the meeting.
Douglas Murray Honored by President Herzog
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider attended a special event convened by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism at the Israel President’s residence, honoring British author and journalist Douglas Murray for his coverage of the Oct.7 massacre and ensuing war against Hamas. Murray said that his support for Israel stems from having a low threshold for lies, “and Israel suffers from more lies than any other country. Anyone with a sense of justice feels the same.” He added that, “the existence of the Jewish people is the greatest triumph of possibility over probability. From Pharoah to Hitler to Hamas, I am certain the Jewish people will send off this enemy too.” He noted that, “If I have optimism, it is because of the young generation in Israel. They have been tested and have been found to be magnificent. People who love death so much have no chance of winning against those who love life…I feel extraordinarily proud to say that it is a huge honor for me to stand by the State of Israel, to stand by your side, and I hope I can say: to stand by our side.”
Herzog said that the explosion of hatred since Oct. 7 has, “exposed the lie that there is a practical difference between virulent anti-Zionism and virulent anti-Semitism. But we, the Jewish people—and our friends around the globe—have not stayed silent. We continue to fight in these troubling times to bring the truth to every corner of the globe.” He commended Murray for being, “right on the front lines offering an eloquent, informed and compelling voice in defense of Israel, and in defense of the truths and values which we all share.”
Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli added, “Douglas is a leader who fearlessly speaks the truth amidst a symphony of lies, a beacon of light in times of great darkness. Douglas, you immediately understood that the war we are engaged in is not about the future of Gaza, nor is it limited to the future of the State of Israel or the Middle East. Rather, it is an existential battle for the future of the West, the future of humanity. Your understanding was not born from intuition alone, but rather the fruit of years of careful study and deep investigation.”
B’nai B’rith participates in JAFI and WZO Meetings in Jerusalem
Hon. President Charles Kaufman represented B’nai B’rith at meetings of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors, held in Jerusalem on Feb. 27 to 29–the first board meeting since the traumatic events of Oct. 7.
Speaking at the opening plenary, Chairman of the Executive, Gen. (res.) Doron Almog and former head of the IDF Southern Command said “Israel is facing a crisis scenario on a scale never known before. Jews all over the world stepped up to help. Bereavement and heroism touched everyone. There is now a trust deficit among Israelis towards the IDF and the political leadership that failed to protect the state and its citizens on October 7. It will take many years to rebuild that trust. Comfort can only be found in action. Israel is in survival mode, fighting for its life. Without unity, we are lost.” The Board passed a resolution calling on the international community to apply pressure to achieve release of all hostages, on the Israeli government to continue its efforts to bring out the release of the hostages and expressed solidarity with all victims of the Oct. 7 onslaught.
An eight-member B’nai B’rith delegation, led by Kaufman and BBI CEO Daniel Mariaschin, participated in the World Zionist Organization’s Zionist General Council meeting and a global leadership meeting on “The Jewish People Challenges” that also convened this week in Jerusalem. Other members of the delegation were: B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Dr. Haim V. Katz; Stephane Teicher, BBI representative to UNESCO; former YLAN Chair Elana Heideman; Board member Ira Bartfield; Warsaw lodge mentor Sergiusz Kowalski; and B’nai B’rith Emerging Leaders Fellowship graduates Jamie Meschoulam and Gershon Stein.
Opening the meeting, WZO Executive Chairman Yaakov Hagoel said that “There is no Right and Left today. Now is the time to change the discourse, to turn the crisis into opportunity and present a united front against all those who rise up to destroy us. This war is not just against the State of Israel but against the entire People of Israel, in Israel and the Diaspora, including the octopus of anti-Semitism around the world. It is time to wake up and understand that we are one people.
Mariaschin spoke on a panel entitled “Moving Forward with the Struggle Against Antisemitism Threats”. Other speakers included IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari; Managing Director of the Institute for National Security Studies Maj. Gen. (Res.) Tamir Hayman; public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman; Israel President Isaac Herzog; and German Ambassador Steffen Seibert who said that events of Oct. 7 leave no alternative other than to support Israel. The delegation was coordinated by B’nai B’rith World Center director Alan Schneider who moderated a round table discussion entitled “What is in fact, a Jewish and democratic state?” The delegation actively participated in debates on 70 resolutions—20 constitutional amendments and 50 programmatic resolutions—presented to the Zionist General Council, including two proposed by B’nai B’rith.
B’nai B’rith World Center Concludes Visit of 11 Latin American Journalists
The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem hosted on Feb. 15-20 a visit to Israel by 11 journalists from six Latin American countries—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Uruguay. Their program of meetings and site visits focused on the Oct. 7 terror rampage and the ensuing war with Hamas.
The visiting journalists—invited by B’nai B’rith affiliates in their countries—were briefed by Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan; Prime Minister’s Office Coordinator for Hostages and Missing Brigadier General (Ret.) Gal Hirsch; Foreign Policy Director Dr. Ophir Falk; Member of the Security Cabinet Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope); Minister of Economy MK Nir Barkat (Likud); Opposition MKs including Evgeny Sova (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Dr. Matti Sarfati Harkavi (Yesh Atid); Police Superintendent Mirit Ben Mayor; Ambassador Jonathan Peled, MFA deputy director general of Latin America and the Caribbean; Alon Simhayoff, Director, U.N. Political Affairs Department; IDF Spokesman Maj. Roni Kaplan; Capt. (Res.) Shadi Khalloul; Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch; and Ambassador (ret.) Victor Harel of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, among others.
Journalists also met with survivors of the Nova music festival, relatives of hostages being held in Gaza and evacuees from Israel’s northern border. The group toured Ofakim and Nir Oz in Southern Israel, both of which endured significant losses on Oct. 7—Nir Oz continues to be designated as a closed military zone. Additionally, the delegation visited Hadassah Hospital’s Gandel Rehabilitation Center, Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the Nova music festival site and memorials at Reim and Tkuma, Magen David Adom’s Jerusalem headquarters, Capernaum, Gush Halav, Kiryat Shmona, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The delegation also met in the Bedouin city of Rahat with the family of Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, who died fighting Hamas in Gaza.
The mission was led by B’nai B’rith Latin American Affairs Director Eduardo Kohn and educator Gabriel Ben-Tasgal. This was the fourth mission of Latin American journalists hosted by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the first since Oct. 7. World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider said the mission program exceeded expectations in exposing participants to the impact the terrorist attack had on Israel and Jews around the world and the resilience of the Israeli people in the face of extreme adversity.
The Jerusalem Post covered the visit of the delegation.
Remembering the Holocaust After October 7
In a virtual program organized by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the B’nai B’rith Office of United Nations Affairs to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem Academic Advisor and former Chief Historian Dr. Dina Porat and Inaugural Director of the New York University Center for the Study of Antisemitism Dr. Avinoam J. Patt explore connections and distinctions between the Nazi genocide and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks against Israel, which represented the deadliest atrocities among Jewish civilians since World War II. View the discussion, moderated by CEO Dan Mariaschin with opening remarks by U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs Director David Michaels, here.
B’nai B’rith Attends Anti-Semitism Report Launch
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider attended a Knesset Immigration and Absorption Committee meeting at which a new report on the levels of anti-Semitism around the world in 2023 was launched. The report—The State of Antisemitism—was issued jointly by the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Among the report’s findings were a 33% rise in the number of violent anti-Semitic incidents globally including the murder six, a 1200% increase in online anti-Semitic content calling for violence against Jews and Israelis, and that the Palestinian arena is the worldwide center of anti-Semitic incitement.
The report found that since the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, the scope of anti-Semitic incidents rose in France by 400%, in the U.K. by 512%, in the U.S. by 337% and in Canada by 800%. The report—which is available only in Hebrew at this time—also covers anti-Semitism on U.S. campuses, U.S. public opinion and the use of human rights conventions to disseminate anti-Semitism. Speakers at the meeting included Diaspora Affairs minister Amichai Chikli and WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel.
B’nai B’rith Concludes Solidarity Visit to Israel by Paying Condolences to Hostage Family
CEO Dan Mariaschin led on Dec. 18-21, 2023 a solidarity mission to Israel organized by B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem to show the unwavering strength of Jewish support for Israel around the world.
Participants in the mission included International Vice President for Latin America David Djemal (Panama), International Vice President for Europe Paolo Foa, President of the B’nai B’rith Warsaw Lodge Professor Andrzej Friedman (Poland), International Board of Governors members Jorge Stainfeld (Uruguay), Ilan Shcori (Israel) and B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Haim Katz (Israel).
“This was a solidarity mission like no other in which I have participated,” Mariaschin said. “The unprecedented assault on Israelis on October 7th was also an assault on the entirety of the Jewish people. Going forward, we must dedicate ourselves to cooperation between diaspora communities and Israel in a way never before experienced. B’nai B’rith International pledges to be in the frontline of that cooperation.”
The mission’s intensive itinerary included a visit to the “Nova 6:29” exhibition at the Tel Aviv Expo, created in memory of those murdered at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, where the group was accompanied by survivor Omri Sasi, a producer of the festival, and B’nai B’rith member Ofer Lior, father of victim Matan Lior, who was the festival’s sound engineer.
The mission also visited a chilling IDF exhibition of captured Hamas vehicles and weapons used in its murderous attack against Israel. In the northern city of Kiryat Shmona that is targeted three to four times daily by Hezbollah, the group was briefed by Mayor Avichai Stern and viewed rocket damage caused earlier in the week.
In the South, the group visited Sderot, a city that suffered over 50 civilians and 20 security forces casualties. They were briefed at the city’s command and control center and visited the police station that dozens of terrorists had captured and subsequently destroyed.
Facilitated by the Army Spokesman’s Office, the group was briefed by IDF officers at kibbutz Kfar Aza, a community that suffered 63 casualties, 18 kidnapped and one unaccounted for. They also visited kibbutz Be’eri, where member Avner Gat described the harrowing events surrounding the murder and kidnapping of family members among the 93 murdered and eight kidnapped on his kibbutz. Here, the group interacted with IDF soldiers who had just exited Gaza for a brief break at a volunteer-run canteen.
At the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv, the mission was briefed by Ambassador (ret.) Baruch Bina and other members of the Forum’s diplomatic team and heard an appeal from a relative of hostage Evyatar David, who remains in Hamas captivity. They also visited “Hostages Square,” a focal point for activism on behalf of the more than 100 remaining hostages.
The B’nai B’rith mission participants brought military-grade backpacks and packed gear—purchased with an allocation from B’nai B’rith’s Israel Emergency Fund—and presented it to IDF soldiers at a volunteer logistical center established by attorney Yifat Amit and supported by B’nai B’rith Israel. They also held a meeting with B’nai B’rith Israel President Mano (Emanuel) Cohen and Ilan Shchori, both of whom are responsible for international relations at B’nai B’rith Israel.
The mission ended in the Bedouin city of Hura, where a condolence visit was made to the family of Samer al-Talalka—one of three Israeli hostages accidentally killed by IDF soldiers. Samer’s father, Fuad, was hosted by B’nai B’rith at a conference in Paris on Dec. 13 that highlighted the ongoing humanitarian consequences of Hamas’ atrocities in Israel.
Djemal gave an interview with Spanish-language newspaper Iton Gadol about the mission.
Over the course of the mission, the group was briefed on current developments concerning the Oct. 7 attack and the ensuing war by: Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, former director of Intelligence Analysis in the IDF Intelligence Branch, former National Security advisor and head of the National Security Council; Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization; Ofir Akunis, minister of Innovation, Science and Technology; Amir Ohana, Knesset speaker; Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Department of International Relations, Hebrew University, Founding head of the Deborah Institute for Gender and Sustainability Studies, and founder of Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children; Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner, IDF spokesman for Foreign Media; Ron Dermer, minister of Strategic Affairs and member of the war cabinet; Amb. Emmanuel Nahshon, deputy director general for Media and Public Affairs, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA); Amb. Shuli Davidovich, head, World Jewish Affairs and World Religions Division, MFA; Hamutal Rogel Fuchs, director, Jewish Communities Department, MFA; Amb. Amir Weissbrod, deputy director general, U.N. and International Organizations Division, MFA; Amb. Jonathan Peled, deputy director general, Latin America Division, MFA; Dani Dayan, chairman, Yad Vashem Directorate; Stephanie Hallett, deputy chief of Mission, U.S. embassy, Jerusalem.
B’nai B’rith Donates Jackets to IDF Soldiers in Cooperation With WZO
B’nai B’rith donated 200 softshell jackets to IDF infantry units this week as part of its efforts to provide material assistance to soldiers and civilians on the front lines in Israel since the Hamas rampage of Oct. 7 and the ensuing war. Presentation of the jackets was facilitated by the World Zionist Organization’s donations center and made possible by an earmarked gift from Honorary President Charles (Chuck) Kaufman, B’nai B’rith’s representative on the Zionist Executive. B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider and Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman, head of the WZO Department for Organization and Connection with Israelis Abroad, were on hand to present the jackets to her son Niv, a reserve soldier serving in the North, for his unit.
IMPACT Fellows Attend WUJS Congress
After a three-month-long virtual fellowship program, BBI IMPACT fellows—over 20 Jewish students and young professionals from across the world—finally gathered in person on the sidelines of the annual Congress of the World Union of Jewish Students in Prague, marking the organization’s centennial. Over four days they used the skills and knowledge gained throughout the fellowship to engage in stimulating programs—panels, seminars, workshops — taking place throughout the conference. This year, given the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the devastating massacre of Oct. 7, the Congress paid special attention and tribute to the victims of the attacks, Israeli soldiers (among them IMPACT alumni), and the entire people of Israel. The delegation was made possible with the support from the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem.
Read more about the IMPACT fellowship here.