Center Stage Summer 2026
The latest from the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, June 2025 – May 2026
Israel-Hellenic Forum Holds Special Briefing on Israel-Iran War
B’nai B’rith World Center Presents 2025 Journalism Awards in Jerusalem
Israel-Hellenic Forum Meets to Address Outbreak of Anti-Semitism in Greece
World Center Director Meets with Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber
B’nai B’rith Confers With Druze Leader
B’nai B’rith World Center Hebrew Diplomatic Club
B’nai B’rith International Delegation Participates in 39th Zionist Congress
B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin Visit to Israel – November 2025
B’nai B’rith’s Annual Latin American Journalists Mission to Israel Offers Firsthand Look at Israel’s On-the-Ground Reality
Sixth Biennial Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Announces Recipients Of 2026 Diaspora Reporting Award
B’nai B’rith Visits Missile Impact Sites in Arad and Dimona
World Center Director Visits Kiryat Shmona Amid Rocket Attacks
Unique Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony Honoring Jewish Rescuers Held in Jerusalem
B’nai B’rith Announces Winners of Award Recognizing Polish Preservation of Jewish Heritage
B’nai B’rith Presents Endowment Funds for Israeli Youth
B’nai B’rith Mourns the Loss of Dr. Avraham Huli
B’nai B’rith Attends Milei Event in Israel
Israel-Hellenic Forum Holds Special Briefing on Israel-Iran War
The Israel-Hellenic Forum—established in 2019 by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem to serve as a major platform for furthering relations between academics, public intellectuals and experts in Greece, Cyprus and Israel—held a special zoom briefing on June 19, 2025 on the state of the war between Iran and Israel that began with a surprise attack by Israel a week earlier.
The briefing took place just three days before the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities and covered various scenarios and the possibility of U.S. intervention. The 90-minute briefing was opened by B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel Mariaschin and included presentations by leading experts and analysts: Professor Efraim Inbar, founding head, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (Geopolitical significance); Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror, former National Security Advisor and Director, Intelligence Analysis Division, Military Intelligence (Military and Strategic Situation); Attorney Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel and a vice president of Republicans Overseas, Inc. (President Trump); Yoram Ettinger, former minister for Congressional Affairs, Embassy of Israel, Washington D.C. (A view from Capitol Hill); Colonel (Res.) Dr. Eran Lerman, vice president, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, former deputy director for foreign policy and international affairs at National Security Council and senior IDF intelligence officer (Predictions).
The briefing can be viewed here. Password: BB2025
B'nai B'rith World Center Presents 2025 Journalism Awards in Jerusalem
Winner: Yuna Leibzon (Channel 12 News)
Certificate of Merit: Roi Kais (Kan 11), Avital Indig (Makor Rishon)
Musician Efi Netzer Receives Special Citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations Through the Arts
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held its 33rd annual Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage Award for Journalism ceremony yesterday in Jerusalem, recognizing excellence in reportage on the Jewish diaspora and Israel-diaspora relations in Israeli media.
Yuna Leibzon, a news correspondent for Channel 12 News, received the award in recognition of her series of articles on the Jewish community in the United States and her consistent coverage of U.S. Jewry, anti-Semitism and—since Oct. 7th—the surge in anti-Semitism in the United States.
Certificates of Merits were awarded to Roi Kais of Kan 11 for his series on Jewish communities in Arab countries and Avital Indig of Makor Rishon for her series on New York’s Jewish community.
A special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts in Memory of Naomi Shemer was presented to musician and composer Efi Netzer. The citation, established in 2014, has been presented previously to the following outstanding Israeli artists and ensembles: Nurit Hirsh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Yehoram Gaon, Shalva Band, Danny Sanderson, Shuli Natan, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Ilanit. Netzer, who has composed 800 songs over a career spanning more than 70 years, was feted for the strong relationships he formed with Diaspora communities including an appearance in Teheran in 1967 following the Six-Day War. Netzer also taught Hebrew songs to Jewish communities in the Soviet Union in the 1970s over The Voice of Israel’s Diaspora service and performed to Jewish audiences in Spain, the U.S., Mexico, Venezuela, Poland and England. “I do not deserve a prize for what I did,” Netzer said during the ceremony. “The prize was the fact that I could travel and meet these dear Jews. Everywhere I went, I felt that they were my brothers. It was a great pleasure to feel that I was an emissary bringing Eretz Israel to them.”
The ceremony concluded with a spirited discussion between Zvika Klein, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post and Leibzon on press freedom in Israel.
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. The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations.
The distinguished members of the award jury include Dr. Yehudith Auerbach, former head of the Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, Bar Ilan University; Yaron Deckel, a previous Diaspora Reportage Award winner and regional director for the Canadian Jewish Agency for Israel; Professor Uzi Rebhun, Shlomo Argov chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations and head of the Division of Jewish Demography & Statistics, The A. Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry director, Florence Melton Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Professor Gabriela Shalev, former Israel ambassador to the United Nations; Journalist Yair Sheleg; and Asher Weill, publisher and editor of “Ariel,” The Israel Review of Arts and Letters (1981-2003).
The award is presented in memory of the late Wolf Matsdorf, editor of the World Center’s journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia, and his wife Hilda, a pioneer in social work in both countries, and in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky.
The full ceremony can be viewed here (in Hebrew).
Watch speeches from the ceremony in Hebrew.
Watch speeches from the ceremony in English.
Israel-Hellenic Forum Meets to Address Outbreak of Anti-Semitism in Greece
Over 30 members of the Israel-Hellenic Forum met by Zoom on August 20, 2025 to discuss a wave of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incidents around Greece that increased exponentially over the past two weeks. Participants included Greek, Cypriot and Israeli diplomats, politicians, media personalities, academics and members of B’nai B’rith Greece and the Greek Jewish community. The incidents, which included physical violence against Israeli tourists, vandalism of Jewish homes and businesses, graffiti, threatening street marches and social media posts—were undertaken by Rouvikonas anarchists and the Communist Party in solidarity with Hamas.
Introductory remarks to the two-hour discussion were made by Israel-Hellenic Forum co-convenors, B’nai B’rith International CEO Dan Mariaschin and Dr. George Tzogopoulos, a senior fellow at ELIAMEP and BESA research centers and lecturer at the European Institute in Nice and Democritis University of Thrace. Among the distinguished representatives speaking during the meeting were Dr. Thanos Dokos, National Security Advisor of Greece; Hon. Noam Katz, Ambassador of Israel to Greece; and Dr. Dimitris Kairidis, Member, Greek-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group (New Democracy).
The discussion concluded with the formulation of a number of practical steps to be implemented by the forum and its partners in Israel and Greece in the interest of presenting Israel’s legitimate war aims against Hamas and the validity of Zionism as the movement of Jewish self-determination.
World Center Director Meets with Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider met on 17 August 2025 with Israel Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber to discuss the growing missionary and Messianic threats to Jewish integrity in Israel. Mina Fenton, former member of the Jerusalem Municipal Council and Rabbi Binyamin Volkan—head of the department combating missionary activity and cults at Or L’Achim, also participated in the meeting.
Ber was presented with the scope of missionary and Messianic activity in Israel today and agreed to consider a proposal to reestablish a Chief Rabbinate committee to combat proselytizing. B’nai B’rith was active in counter-missionary activity in Israel since the founding of the Jerusalem Lodge in 1888 and Schneider has published recently on the issue in the Jerusalem Post and Jewish Press.
B’nai B’rith Confers With Druze Leader
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider met on 7 September 2025 with Druze leader Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif to discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria’s Suweyda governate following an ISIS/Hamas-style attack in July perpetrated by government and irregular forces. The meeting took place at a situation room set up by the Israeli Druze community in the northern Druze village of Julis that serves as a nerve center following the plight of the Druze and unfolding events in Syria.
As many as 10,000 Druze were murdered in the attack and 240,000 were displaced. Rape was so prevalent that the Sheikh broke with religious tradition and issued a fatwa allowing women and girls to abort. 700 people remain missing—among them 150 women and girls, and 40 villages remain emptied of residents while the concentration of Druze in Suweyda city remain encircled, facing hunger and medical emergencies, after the onslaught was stopped by Israeli military intervention.
The Druze community in Israel is providing aid that needs to be scaled through a humanitarian corridor from Israel, which the Syrian regime has refused to open. The meeting focused on ways to bring the crisis of the Druze and other minorities in Syria to the attention of the international community and media, and on finding a long-term political resolution to the ethnic strife in Syria, home to 1.2 million Druze among Kurdish, Christian and Alawite minorities.
B’nai B’rith World Center Hebrew Diplomatic Club
New Knesset Museum
Ten members of the B’nai B’rith World Center’s “Hebrew Diplomatic Club” met on September 2025 for a meeting at the newly opened Knesset Museum in downtown Jerusalem. The museum, which opened just two weeks ago, is located at the historic Frumin House where Israel’s parliament lived in from 1950—when it moved from Tel Aviv—until its current premises were completed in 1966.
Diplomats from Greece, Hungary, Argentina, Kosovo, India, Poland and the Czech Republic joined members of the World Center Executive Committee for a tour of the innovative exhibition and a presentation by Moshe Fuksman-Sha’al, museum curator and founding director. During the years the Knesset operated in the building, many landmark events took place, including Ben Gurion’s announcement of Adolf Eichmann’s capture, a grenade bombing that left Ben Gurion and other MKs wounded, fiery debates over reparations from Germany and the struggle for equality for Israel’s Sephardi population.
City of David
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held on November the 11th session of its Hebrew Diplomatic Club—the first forum ever established in Israel for Hebrew-speaking foreign diplomats. The Club’s founding was embraced by the Israel Foreign Ministry’s Protocol Office.
Some 35 diplomats and their spouses from Hungary, Czechia, India, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Latvia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Guatemala and China, attended the session at the City of David, where the group was hosted for an extensive VIP tour, including some of the sections of the site still closed to general visitors, particularly the underground Pilgrim’s Way.
The club was established to serve as an informal forum for foreign diplomats who have made the effort to learn Hebrew, an invaluable foundation for understanding how the State of Israel works.
Remilk
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held on January 2026 the twelfth session of its Hebrew Diplomatic Club—the first forum ever established in Israel for Hebrew-speaking foreign diplomats. The session showcased the Israeli food-tech startup Remilk, the first company in the world to sell non-dairy, lab-produced milk made from dairy proteins to consumers. Presentations were made by Remilk CEO Aviv Wolff, Board member Amiad Solomon and CTO Uri Cohavi. The club members also toured Remilk’s R&D labs. Remilk has spent $150 million copying cow milk’s DNA, identifying unique proteins and fermenting it with yeast. Remilk hopes to scale production in Israel and abroad and add products such as white cheeses and yogurt.
Fourteen diplomats from Hungary, Panama, the Netherlands, Moldova, Greece, Czechia, Cyprus, Singapore and the Philippines attended the session at Remilk’s corporate headquarters in Ness Ziona.
The Club was established to serve as an informal forum for foreign diplomats who have made the effort to learn Hebrew, an invaluable foundation for understanding how the State of Israel ticks. The Club’s founding was embraced by the Israel Foreign Ministry’s Protocol Office and the inaugural meeting took place at the ministry headquarters in Jerusalem.
B’nai B’rith International Delegation Participates in 39th Zionist Congress
B’nai B’rith fielded a mission of 20 delegates from 10 countries to the 39th Zionist Congress that convened in Jerusalem on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, 2025. The delegation was led by International President Robert Spitzer and former President Charles Kaufman, who represents B’nai B’rith on the Zionist Executive.
The Congress is the top World Zionist Organization legislative body, established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl and meets once every five years to set policy for the Zionist Movement. This was the largest Congress in history, with some 750 delegates participating from more than 40 countries.
B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin Visit to Israel – November 2025
B’nai B’rith International CEO Dan Mariaschin and World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister’s senior policy advisors also participated in the hour-long meeting that covered the major diplomatic and defense challenges and opportunities facing the State of Israel, anti-Semitism in the United States and upcoming B’nai B’rith programs geared toward facing these issues.
Mariaschin and Schneider also visited the Civil Military Coordination Center (CMCC), established on October 17, 2025 as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan which aims to coordinate stabilization and relief efforts in Gaza in the aftermath of the war with Hamas. During the hour-long visit, in-depth briefings were provided by Israeli and American officers on the progress made at CMCC, in coordination with officers and experts from other countries, in planning redevelopment, humanitarian affairs, education and other services for Gazans after Hamas is disarmed and removed from power. The B’nai B’rith representatives expressed support for the groundbreaking effort that could lead to a new long-term reality between Israel and Palestinians.
They also met with Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism and with former Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy at the Knesset. Afterward, they paused at the historic menorah gifted to Israel’s parliament by B’nai B’rith Argentina in 1951—a remarkable piece of shared heritage that greets every visitor at the entrance to the iconic Knesset building in Jerusalem. During the visit Mariaschin and Schneider also met with Ambassador of Greece to Israel, Maya Solomon and the Ambassador of Cyprus to Israel, Kornelios Korneliou, with incoming President of the World Zionist Organization, Rabbi Doron Perez, moments after he was elected by the Zionist General Council.
In Jerusalem, Mariaschin and Schneider also met with officials at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Arezoo Hersel Rohila, Director for Combating anti-Semitism; Ambassador Ruth Cohen-Dar (pictured); Ambassador Yacov Livne, Senior Deputy Director General for Public Diplomacy; Ambassador Edwin Yabo, Director of the Caribbean Department and newly-appointed Deputy to the Director General Avi Ganon.
B’nai B’rith’s Annual Latin American Journalists Mission to Israel Offers Firsthand Look at Israel’s On-the-Ground Reality
The sixth Biennial Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel—a joint delegation representing the American Hellenic and American Jewish community – was held on February 21-27, 2026 for six days of intensive meetings, visits and consultations. The mission included the top leadership of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and B’nai B’rith. The effort represents the ongoing organizational cooperation between the American Hellenic and American Jewish communities and the broad diaspora support for the trilateral partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. As in past missions, the delegation explored the major economic, energy, and defense and security developments underway between the three countries with government officials, military officers and experts.
The Israel leg of the mission organized by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem included an audience with President Isaac Herzog, briefings at the Ministry of Defense, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation also met with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, was briefed by Greek, American, Cypriot and Israeli officers at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat and held a roundtable discussion with experts at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. The program included a dinner with the ambassadors of Greece and Cyprus to Israel, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Greece and the parents of Israeli-Greek dual national Ionas Karussis, who was a victim of terrorism.
In Greece, the group met with Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Dendias, National Security Advisor Dr. Thanos Dokos, Deputy Minister of Tourism Anna Karmanli, Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Loverdos and Israeli Ambassador Noam Katz. They were also briefed at the Greek Army headquarters by senior members of the General Staff and visited the special forces training center in Nea Peramos, where they viewed land, sea and air exercises. The B’nai B’rith delegation attended an event organized by the B’nai B’rith Philon Lodge in Athens where the organization has been active for over 100 years.
In Cyprus the mission met with the Minister of Energy and Commerce and with Israeli Ambassador Oren Anolik. The mission concluded with meetings with the minister of defense, chief of staff and director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This program—inaugurated in 2014 together with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations—seeks to strengthen the cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel in a trilateral partnership, together with the United States, helping to foster peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean and the broader region, contributing to intergroup and international cooperation and friendship. Participants in the mission included B’nai B’rith President Robert Spitzer, CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, Foundation Chair Irving Silver and World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider, AHI President and CEO Nicholas Larigakis and AHEPA Supreme President Chris Kaitson and Executive Director Basil Mossidis.
Spitzer and Mariaschin said the timing showed the significance of the mission. The program concluded right before the joint US-Israel military operation against Iran began.
Sixth Biennial Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel
The sixth Biennial Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel—a joint delegation representing the American Hellenic and American Jewish community – was held on February 21-27, 2026 for six days of intensive meetings, visits and consultations. The mission included the top leadership of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and B’nai B’rith. The effort represents the ongoing organizational cooperation between the American Hellenic and American Jewish communities and the broad diaspora support for the trilateral partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. As in past missions, the delegation explored the major economic, energy, and defense and security developments underway between the three countries with government officials, military officers and experts.
The Israel leg of the mission organized by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem included an audience with President Isaac Herzog, briefings at the Ministry of Defense, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation also met with U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, was briefed by Greek, American, Cypriot and Israeli officers at the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat and held a roundtable discussion with experts at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. The program included a dinner with the ambassadors of Greece and Cyprus to Israel, Israel’s ambassador-designate to Greece and the parents of Israeli-Greek dual national Ionas Karussis, who was a victim of terrorism.
In Greece, the group met with Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Dendias, National Security Advisor Dr. Thanos Dokos, Deputy Minister of Tourism Anna Karmanli, Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Loverdos and Israeli Ambassador Noam Katz. They were also briefed at the Greek Army headquarters by senior members of the General Staff and visited the special forces training center in Nea Peramos, where they viewed land, sea and air exercises. The B’nai B’rith delegation attended an event organized by the B’nai B’rith Philon Lodge in Athens where the organization has been active for over 100 years.
In Cyprus the mission met with the Minister of Energy and Commerce and with Israeli Ambassador Oren Anolik. The mission concluded with meetings with the minister of defense, chief of staff and director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This program—inaugurated in 2014 together with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations—seeks to strengthen the cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel in a trilateral partnership, together with the United States, helping to foster peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean and the broader region, contributing to intergroup and international cooperation and friendship. Participants in the mission included B’nai B’rith President Robert Spitzer, CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, Foundation Chair Irving Silver and World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider, AHI President and CEO Nicholas Larigakis and AHEPA Supreme President Chris Kaitson and Executive Director Basil Mossidis.
Spitzer and Mariaschin said the timing showed the significance of the mission. The program concluded right before the joint US-Israel military operation against Iran began.
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Announces Recipients Of 2026 Diaspora Reporting Award
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem has announced the recipients of its Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2026.
Award winners are: for written media: Zev Stub, Jewish World reporter for The Times of Israel. He won the award for a series of articles on Jewish communities in France and Canada, immigration to Israel, the Birthright program and on Israeli and Jewish academia.
For broadcast media: Tamar Ish Shalom for her Jewish People Policy Institute podcast, “Jewish Crossroads” dealing with the effects of Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, on U.S. Jewry and its relations to Israel.
A Lifetime achievement Award will go to Oren Nahari, anchor and editor of “Shabbat with Oren Nahari” on Kan Reshet Bet radio and foreign news editor (1985-2016) Israel Broadcasting Authority.
B’nai B’rith Visits Missile Impact Sites in Arad and Dimona
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider joined World Zionist Organization Executive Chairman Yaacov Hagoel on March 24, 2026 for a visit to the impact sites of two Iranian ballistic missiles that hit the southern Israeli cities of Arad and Dimona last week. The solidarity visit included meetings with Arad Mayor Yair Maayan and Dimona Mayor Benny Biton who are leading recovery efforts in their respective cities that were targeted Saturday night.
In both cases, the missile landed in an open area between apartment buildings in old, underprivileged neighborhoods causing widespread destruction to hundreds of apartments and over 250 injuries, leading to a mass-casualty event. In Arad, 115 were wounded, 9 seriously and hundreds of apartments were destroyed. In Dimona, 145 persons were injured, 1 seriously and 3 moderately. 1,148 apartments were declared not suitable for occupancy; 700 residents were evacuated to hotels–40% of whom with special needs–where the municipality will establish schools and kindergartens for evacuated children. Maayan and Biton requested coordinated assistance to meet the immediate needs of their residents during the ongoing war footing in Israel.
MK Ariel Kallner (Likud), who participated in the visits, noted that without resilience in the homefront there will be no resilience in the battlefield and promised to dedicate his efforts to ensure that the affected municipalities will receive necessary state funding to meet the homefront challenges
World Center Director Visits Kiryat Shmona Amid Rocket Attacks
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider visited the Galilee capital Kiryat Shmona on March 29, 2026 to view the assistance provided by B’nai B’rith’s Israel Emergency Fund in the current round of fighting with Hezbollah. By the time of the visit the terrorist Iranian proxy has launched more than 5,000 rockets, drones, and artillery shells toward Israeli territory and IDF forces since joining the conflict on March 2 – averaging 100-600 a day. Kiryat Shmona has been hit by about 250 projectiles injuring 10 people, damaging homes, roads and vehicles, and driving much of the population to evacuate the city.
Working closely with the Kiryat Shmona municipality, the B’nai B’rith aid has focused on providing material and activities for children in shelters, equipping security teams and developing an urban park in memory of Capt. Elay Elisha Lugasi z”l, a 21-year-old resident of Kiryat Shmona and only child of a single mother who was killed fighting Hamas in Gaza on July 3, 2024.
While in Kiryat Shmona, Schneider met with residents and members of the city’s security team who praised B’nai B’rith’s earlier round of assistance that included gifting two advanced surveillance drones and an ATV. During Schneider’s visit an alarm warning of incoming projectiles sounded – providing 15 seconds to take cover – and friendly artillery fire supporting IDF troops advancing in southern Lebanon was constantly heard.
Unique Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony Honoring Jewish Rescuers Held in Jerusalem
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund (KKL–JNF) held on April 14, 2026 their 24th annual joint Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, dedicated to commemorating the heroism of Jews who saved fellow Jews during the Holocaust.
The annual ceremony highlights the stories of hundreds of Jews who acted with extraordinary courage to rescue members of their own faith—often at great personal risk and sometimes at the cost of their lives. To date, hundreds of rescuers have been recognized as part of this initiative, which seeks to correct the misconception that Jews did not come to the aid of one another during the Holocaust.
Among the speakers were Marriët Schuurman, ambassador of the Netherlands to Israel; Sar-Shalom Gerbi, head of the Education Division at KKL–JNF; Dr. Haim Katz, chairman of the B’nai B’rith World Center–Jerusalem; and Moshe Shapira, father of Aner Shapira, z”l, the hero of the shelter in Re’im, and grandson of Jewish rescuer Minister Haim-Moshe Shapira.
In an emotional address, Moshe Shapira recounted that according to an IDF investigation, his son Aner threw back 11 grenades at the terrorists, including two after he had already been seriously wounded. “A direct line connects my grandfather’s heroism in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust and Aner’s heroism defending other young people seeking refuge from Hamas murderers during the Simchat Torah/October 7 massacre.”
As part of the international memorial initiative “Unto Every Person There Is a Name,” Channa Arnon, a Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands and a founding member of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust, read aloud the names of some of the more than 100 of her relatives who perished in the Holocaust.
During the ceremony, the “Jewish Rescuer Citation” was presented to four rescuers who operated in the Netherlands, Poland and France. The citation—a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust—has recognized 667 heroes since its inception in 2011. The awards were presented to the rescuers’ family members by Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center; Katz; and Gerbi.
B’nai B’rith Announces Winners of Award Recognizing Polish Preservation of Jewish Heritage
The award, in its fourth consecutive year, is called Wdzięczność-Gratitude-הכרת הטוב and recognizes outstanding contributions of non-Jewish individuals and institutions to the preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland and to the promotion of Jewish-Polish relations. The award is presented in honor of Marian Turski (1926-2025), a Polish-Jewish journalist, historian, Holocaust survivor and a member of the B’nai B’rith Poland lodge.
2026 Recipients of the award are:
Individual category: Wojciech Michał Lemański, Zbigniew J. Nita and Jakub Wójcik
Institutional category: Sitwa Organization
The award includes a unique statuette and certificate designed by graphic artist Klara Jankiewicz. The award will be presented on Sunday, June 28, at the iconic Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, in Lublin, Poland. The ceremony will include presentations by B’nai B’rith CEO Dan Mariaschin and B’nai B’rith Poland President Andrzej Friedman.
B’nai B’rith Presents Endowment Funds for Israeli Youth
Edith ‘Pat’ Wolfson and Roselle and ‘Benjamin’ Bernard Roseman Fund Aids Children in Sderot
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider traveled to the Gaza border city of Sderot on April 9, 2026 to present the B’nai B’rith Edith “Pat” Wolfson and Roselle and Benjamin Bernard Roseman Endowment Fund for Israeli Youth, to the five orphans of Maor Jacob a resident of the city who died five months ago at the age of 38 after a heroic battle with cancer.
The family was gravely affected by the Hamas terrorist assault on Sderot, which left 72 residents dead—20 of them policemen—and dozens wounded. They spent nerve-wracking hours in a safe room until rescue forces arrived. Since that day, the family has been dealing with the consequences, compounded by Maor—who worked at the SodaStream factory near Be’er Sheva—contracting and battling cancer – a battle he tragically lost on October 26, 2025.
His wife, Tali, is partially blind and, until her disability became more severe, worked at a nonprofit for the blind and visually impaired. The children—Tohar (11.5), Hila (10), Uriya (6.5), Bnaya (5.5), and Nave (1.5)—are experiencing anxiety, difficulty sleeping and a pervasive sense of insecurity. Tali is doing her best to rebuild their lives, return to routine and give the children a renewed sense of stability.
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem worked closely with the Sderot municipality to identify the Jacob orphans as this year’s endowment recipients.
The 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, in Israel’s struggle for self-defense, or due to acute personal tragedy.
B’nai B’rith Mourns the Loss of Dr. Avraham Huli
Former B’nai B’rith International Vice President (2017-2019) Dr. Avraham Huli passed away on April 3 at the age of 82 following a gallant battle against the ravages of diabetes.
He held a Ph.D. in Business Administration and was recognized as one of the first experts in organizational excellence, authoring a number of books on the topic. He served as head of the Quality Department in the IDF Signal Corps before decommissioning as Lieutenant Colonel in 1984, after which he served as vice president of Quality and Customer Satisfaction at Motorola Israel.
Huli was particularly engaged in preserving the history and culture of the Jewish communities in Greece, focusing on the preservation of the heritage of Kastoria Jewry in Greece, a community from which many of the founders of Moshav Tzur Moshe, where he grew up, made aliya—including his parents.
Huli was first exposed to the phenomena of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust through his membership in the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Executive Committee (2016-2019) which has championed the cause of Jewish rescuers for the past 30 years. He devoted significant efforts to research and nominated rescuers for the “Jewish Rescuers Citation”—a joint project of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust—becoming the greatest individual source of nominees—77 (out of 667 total recipients to date).
Huli also established, independently, the Jews Rescue Jews (JRJ) website and produced the two-hour film “Recognition,” (director: Shosi Ben Hamo; academic advisor: Professor Gideon Greif), in order to help set the historic record of Jewish heroism straight. The film was launched at the Jerusalem Cinematheque in 2022 and broadcast online by B’nai B’rith to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026.
B’nai B’rith Attends Milei Event in Israel
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider represented B’nai B’rith at a ceremony at which an honorary doctorate was conferred on visiting Argentinian President Javier Milei on April 20, one of the main events of Milei’s four-day visit to Israel—his third visit to the country since his election in November 2023. The university honored Milei for his quest to seek solutions to the world’s challenges, his firm stance against anti-Semitism, diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Argentinian nationals held hostage in Gaza—who were present at the event—and for his dedication to strengthening Israel-Argentina relations.
In a wide-ranging acceptance speech Milei reaffirmed his administration’s “unprecedented strategic alignment” with Israel and the U.S., emphasizing Judeo-Christian values as the foundation of his foreign policy. “I accept [the degree] with the honor it deserves, and as yet another warm gesture from the people of Israel, who welcome me with their characteristic affection on every visit,” adding that “Argentina and Israel, each in its own way, stand for the same cause: keeping the flame of freedom alive in an uncertain world, where darkness now looms even over all the peoples who once knew freedom.”
During his historic trip, Milei became the first foreign president to light a torch at Israel’s official Independence Day ceremony and signed bilateral agreements to promote the Isaac Accords to boost Israel-Latin America ties and establish a direct air connection between Israel and Argentina. He was feted by Israel’s President Isacc Herzog who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Honor and by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called Milei, “a great friend of the State of Israel. Israel and Argentina stand together, stronger than ever.”