(Washington, D.C., June 18, 2019)--Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith International director of Latin American affairs, joined CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin for a discussion on B’nai B’rith’s podcast in advance of the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), where Kohn will represent B’nai B’rith along with Program Director for Strategic Engagement Sienna Girgenti.
 
Kohn and Mariaschin discuss B’nai B’rith’s work and history with the OAS; it was the first Jewish organization to be recognized as a civil society organization by the body and has used its influence to push for human rights and anti-discrimination measures such as the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance. This year marks the 25th anniversary of an Iran-linked terrorist attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), and Kohn goes into detail about how the Jewish community is still fighting for justice.
 
Although the AMIA bombing was more than two decades ago, Kohn is clear that discrimination against Jews in Latin America is not a relic of the past: “Anti-Semitism is a real clear and present danger in Latin America, not only historically, because the AMIA bombing happened 25 years ago,” he cautions. While he is confident that the current Argentine government takes justice in the AMIA case seriously, he believes that this is the first government to do so since the attack. The threat posed to Latin American Jewry by Iran and Hezbollah is far from over, especially because far-left governments in countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia maintain links with the rogue state and terrorist group.
 
To listen to the podcast, click here.
 
B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org
​

(Washington, D.C., June 11, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We applaud the Organization of American States’ (OAS) decision to adopt language defining anti-Semitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA’s working definition covers anti-Semitism in many forms, including discrimination against and persecution of Jews, Holocaust denial and anti-Zionism.
 
We want to especially note OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro for his strong stance against anti-Jewish terror. In his speech announcing the adoption of the IHRA definition, Almagro called out the continued presence of Hezbollah and Iranian proxies in Latin America, particularly Cuba and Venezuela. He also mentioned the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300. Though no individuals or groups have ever been brought to justice in the worst terror attack in Latin America, Iran and its proxies are widely believed to be behind the deadly attack. After the announcement of the adoption of the IHRA language, Almagro denounced an anti-Semitic attack against a rabbi in Argentina. The rabbi’s attackers yelled anti-Semitic slurs before assaulting him.
 
A universally accepted definition of anti-Semitism is vital so that all levels of society can recognize the problem and take steps to combat it.
 
B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org
​

(Washington, D.C., June 7, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We are angered that the organizers of the D.C. Dyke March, which is billed as a more progressive alternative to the Pride Parade, have chosen to ban the Star of David and Israeli flags from their protest. Outrageously, although the organizers justified their decision by claiming “nationalist symbols” were banned, Palestinian flags will still be allowed.
 
This move comes after the Chicago Dyke March, a sister protest, ejected several marchers carrying Jewish pride symbols in 2017.
 
With a few hours to go until the march steps off today, there is still time to reverse this anti-Semitic decision. We call on the march’s organizers to apologize to the Jewish community and allow Jewish protesters to participate without forcing them to choose between their LGBTQ and Jewish identities. At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise, it is unacceptable for a supposedly progressive protest to further marginalize its Jewish participants.
 
B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org
​

(Washington, D.C., May 28, 2019)--B’nai B’rith International is pleased to announce Harsha V. Agadi, president & CEO of Crawford & Company®, as the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award. A gala award dinner will be held in his honor on May 30th at the St. Regis in New York. B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin will deliver remarks and present the award.
 
Crawford & Company, (www.crawco.com) (NYSE: CRD-A and CRD-B), is the world’s largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities. Since taking the helm in August of 2015, Agadi has led a cultural and operational renaissance within Crawford by incorporating a new set of employee values and establishing the company mission to restore and enhance lives, businesses and communities. His leadership has led to Crawford enjoying its strongest financial position in years as it continues to embrace new technology and enhance its service solutions to help its customers meet current and future challenges. Agadi displays the rare acumen and action found in only the highest performing CEOs. His remarkable leadership of Crawford led him to being honored by Atlanta Business Chronicle as its 2017 Most Admired CEO.
 
In addition to leading Crawford, Agadi has nearly 30 years of experience in various senior leadership positions for several food service and franchise companies as well as Fortune 500 companies and is currently chairman of GHS Holdings, LLC, with investments in restaurants, hospitality and other related industries. Additionally, he serves on the boards of Belmond Ltd., Crawford & Company and Diversified Foodservice Supply, Inc.
 
Aside from Agadi’s corporate endeavors, he also actively participates on several charitable boards in the United States and abroad. He is on the board of Eaglebrook School in Massachusetts and Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, Agadi’s alma mater. In India, Agadi serves as chairman of the board of SKSVMA College of Engineering & Technology in Karnataka, India.
 
Due to his passion for philanthropy, Agadi is an active donor to GHS Charitable Foundation at Duke University where he has established an endowment at the Fuqua School of Business. The Harshavardhan V. Agadi Scholarship is awarded each year to two promising female students from India.
 
“Harsha Agadi’s deep commitment to educational philanthropy and leadership in the business world are admirable. He leads by the highest ideals and values. It is an honor to present this award,” Kaufman and Mariaschin said.
 
The B’nai B’rith Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes the accomplishments of key community and corporate leaders from around the world. Agadi will be recognized for his commitment to industry innovation, philanthropy, diversity education and leadership in promoting tolerance around the globe.
 
B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org

B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
At each meeting of the United Nations World Health Organization it further sullies its own reputation and mission. 

The latest hypocritical outrage that further politicizes the World Health Organization and the entire U.N. system is a vote earlier this week at WHO’s annual assembly singling out Israel by critiquing “Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.”

The 96-11 vote on the resolution, not surprisingly sponsored by the Arab bloc and the Palestinian delegation, demonstrates the inherent bias of the organization. There were 21 items to be considered, but only one of those was country-specific.

The barbarity of the eight-year-long civil war in Syria? Not singled out. It is well known that for the duration of the war in Syria, Israel has treated civilian casualties of that fighting. The common knowledge that Israel treats thousands of Palestinians in its hospitals and health facilities every day? Not noted. If WHO really wanted to address humanitarian issues, what about focusing on the current crisis in Venezuela, which is facing widespread and devastating shortages of food and medicine?

We commend the United States, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary and Israel for seeing through this shameless resolution and rejecting it.

As if the main resolution were not abhorrent enough, the session included a one-sided anti-Israel report about “trauma injuries and exposure to violence during the ‘Great March of Return.’" This is the same march that saw Hamas-backed Palestinian snipers shooting at Israeli soldiers defending Israel’s sovereign borders, fire kites launched into Israel that burned countless acres of farmland and Hamas encouraging women and children to rush the border fence.    

Once again, the United Nations system cannot be trusted to serve the humanitarian needs of the global community.

​B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
B’nai B’rith is appalled at the absolutist stance of the Polish government that it will never provide any restoration or compensation to Jews whose property was stolen during the Holocaust.
 
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Law and Justice party have clung to the view that because Poland was also a victim of Nazi Germany it cannot be held responsible for crimes committed against Jews. They are therefore denying rightful and long-overdue compensation to Polish Jews whose property was stolen during World War II. However, some Poles did participate in crimes against Jews, before, during and after the war.
 
Poland’s post-war Communist regime nationalized much of the property stolen from Jews. Morawiecki says any restitution to Jews must be paid by Berlin.
 
Last year in the shadow of a Polish law that would have criminalized talk of Poland’s complicity in the Holocaust, we noted that Poland must acknowledge a history of anti-Semitism that preceded the Holocaust and persists to this day. 
 
We also condemn the disgraceful and brazen act of anti-Semitism by Polish politician Konrad Berkowicz, who forced a kippah on the head of Law and Justice Party leader Anna Krupka while saying she is “selling the country to the Jews.”  When Poland denies its history, acts like these further illustrate the country’s problem. This event is especially despicable considering that it took place in Kielce, the home of a horrific pogrom carried out against Jews in 1946. 

(Washington, D.C., May 15, 2019)--A B’nai B’rith delegation has visited China and Japan, concluding with a private meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
 
In recognition of the growing geopolitical importance of China – the world’s most populous nation – and of B’nai B’rith’s longtime engagement with Japan as a key democracy, the leadership group arrived to build further bridges to both societies, to recognize increasingly robust relations with Israel and to encourage strong bilateral ties with the United States.
 
In his remarks to the visiting delegation, Abe thanked B’nai B’rith – which arrived shortly after the accession of a new emperor – for its humanitarian contributions after a number of natural disasters in Japan, particularly the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. B’nai B’rith has also sent several cohorts of American Jewish young leaders to the country.
 
In both countries, B’nai B’rith met with senior officials, diplomats and experts responsible for implementing or guiding foreign policy, as well as with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors, and with rabbis and other local Jewish leaders.
 
B’nai B’rith particularly urged Chinese and Japanese policymakers to help promote peace and stability in the Middle East by consistently denouncing Palestinian terrorist groups that attacked Israeli civilians with hundreds of rockets this month, by denying revenue to Iran’s hegemonic regime and by backing fairness for Israel at the United Nations.
 
China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, and Japan is a leading contributor to the operational budget of the world body.
 
President Donald Trump is expected to visit Japan over the coming weeks. On the eve of B’nai B’rith’s visit, he ended a waiver of sanctions on countries purchasing oil from Iran, leading a variety of countries to significantly wind down such purchases.
 
In China, the B’nai B’rith group made a stop in Shanghai to commemorate the extraordinary welcoming of European Jews there during the Holocaust. The group also joined the Embassy of Israel in Beijing in marking the Jewish State’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.
 
Led by B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, the delegation included Executive Board of Directors member and Chair of the Center for Community Action Ira Bartfield, of Arlington, Virginia; Executive Board of Directors member Eric Engelmayer, of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Jennifer Kaufman, of Austin, Texas; Michal Mariaschin, of Washington, DC; and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels, of New York, who facilitated the mission.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org

(Washington, D.C., May 13, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
We are outraged that Imam Omar Suleiman was chosen to give the opening Ramadan invocation at the House of Representatives. Suleiman, who leads the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, has a history of making inflammatory comments about Israel that endorse violence against Jews and peddle in anti-Semitic tropes.
 
There are numerous examples of hateful comments on Suleiman’s social media and in his public statements. During the 2014 Gaza war, which Israel fought against the terrorist group Hamas, Suleiman tweeted: "God willing on this blessed night as the 3rd Intifada begins, the beginning of the end of Zionism is here. May Allah help us overcome this monster, protect the innocent of the world, and accept the murdered as martyrs." His tweet implies support for Hamas and the end of the Jewish state.
 
Suleiman has also referred to Israel as the “51st state,” building on the anti-Semitic notion that the small country somehow controls American foreign policy. At a 2017 rally, he said of the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: “Your recognition means nothing to us. Your maps mean nothing to us, your embassy is as illegitimate as the occupation it seeks to legitimize. Our land is our land, our dignity is our dignity.” 
 
His anti-Israel stance is a thin political cover for his anti-Semitic beliefs, which include veiled support for anti-Semitic violence. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who issued the invitation to Suleiman, and the House should be ashamed that his comments did not disqualify him from giving the opening prayer. ​

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org