​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International strongly condemns the nomination of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination was submitted by Bjornar Moxness, Norwegian MP and leader of the Red Party.
 
The BDS movement is antithetical to peace. It is a nefarious, discriminatory crusade by anti-Israel activists who wish to isolate and cripple Israel by boycotting its cultural and economic sectors.
 
This shameful nomination demonstrates the willingness of many in the international community to advance a biased agenda against the Jewish state based on a false historical narrative.
 

B’nai B’rith International, the Begin-Sadat Center of Strategic Studies (BESA) and the Center for Righteousness and Integrity will hold a conference on “Strategic Challenges in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Gulf” on Feb. 22, 2018 at Bar-Ilan University. The conference will be held in English with simultaneous Hebrew translation.
 
The conference will offer cutting edge discussion of the new strategic challenges in the Persian Gulf: Can Iran's hegemonic drive be contained and its nuclear program reversed? How likely is Iranian-Israeli confrontation in Syria? Will Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman succeed in reforming the kingdom? How real is the evolving Israeli-Saudi alliance? Are the Gulf states a spent power?
 
B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin and Center for Righteousness and Integrity President Reva Oliner will provide opening remarks. Other scheduled speakers in the conference include leading experts from Israel and abroad including:  Gary P. Saltzman, B’nai B’rith president and Alan Schneider, B’nai B’rith World-Jerusalem director.
 
Click here to see a tentative schedule. 

​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith strongly condemns the annual neo-Nazi "Lukov March" that will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria on Feb. 17. The rally has been held each year since 2003 to glorify Nazi ally General Hristo Lukov, who participated in the repression of Bulgarian Jewry before and during World War II; and was the leader of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions. Organized by the far-right Bulgarian National Union, the march is aimed at spreading xenophobia and intolerance in Bulgaria.
 
For the past two years the march was technically banned, however it was allowed to continue nonetheless without police intervention. The rally brings together neo-Nazis and other extremists united in hatred. Such blatant public displays of anti-Semitism and xenophobia must not be ignored.
 
In an era of rising anti-Semitism and Holocaust distortion, B’nai B’rith condemns in the strongest terms all such expressions of bigotry. We call on Bulgarian authorities to denounce the Lukov March as a demonstration of the ideology of hatred and historical revisionism. We further implore Bulgarian political and civil society leaders to intensify their efforts to counter the Lukov March organizers and other extremists who continue to defy the rule of law.

​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
In discussing the history of Poland during World War II, B’nai B’rith International has always strongly discouraged the use of inaccurate and deeply problematic phrases like “Polish death camps” to describe concentration camps built and operated by the Nazis on Polish soil. We understand that Poland was invaded and occupied by Germany and that the Polish people suffered terrible losses.
 
However, the draft law passed by the Polish Senate today by a 57-23 vote represents a wrong approach. We believe it will have a chilling effect on Poland’s examination of the country’s wartime role. The law would criminalize not only the phrase “Polish death camp,” but any suggestion of Polish complicity in the Holocaust.
 
It is vital that every country confront the most painful and vexing episodes in its past in an open and honest way. For Poland, this means acknowledging a history of anti-Semitism that preceded the Holocaust and has persisted to this day. It also means recognizing that some Poles provided assistance to the Germans and some participated in massacres not orchestrated by the Nazis.
 
We urge the Polish government to reverse this ill-conceived law in favor of policies that would promote free speech and inquiry about this dark chapter of the country’s past. Openness and education are the keys to establishing a historical record based on truth rather than painful inaccuracies.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed every year on or near Jan. 27, the date in 1945 the allies liberated the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. In addition to U.S. observances, B’nai B’rith International commemorated this significant day across Latin America.

In Argentina, Human Rights Office Director Claudio Avruj, who is also a former B’nai B’rith executive vice president of District 23, was the governmental officer attending the main commemoration in the Chaco Province. Also attending was Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and the leaders of Jewish organizations. 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago, Chile held an event that was attended by more than 300 people and was organized jointly by B´nai B´rith and the Jewish community of Chile. Samuel del Campo, Righteous Among Nations, was honored through his nephew Christian Beals.

Uruguay’s Congress held a special session commemorating the day, and Chief of Staff Juan Roballo gave a speech that was broadcast across the country on the radio and several television channels. In his speech Roballo stated, “Our remembrance of Holocaust victims is a commitment to fight for a real ‘never more’ and a commitment to fight against all forms of discrimination.”

In Brazil, The U.N. office opened an exhibit on the Shoah in Rio de Janeiro for one week.

In Ecuador, the University of the Americas hosted an event by the U.N. office, the Israeli Embassy, Albert Einstein College and the local Jewish community. 

Mexico commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day through a ceremony in Congress co-sponsored by B´nai B´rith and a special recognition was presented to Bulgaria for its role during the Shoah. B’nai B’rith leader Dan Tartakovski coordinated B´nai B´rith’s co-sponsorship of the event.

The Guatemalan Foreign Ministry held a special event in the ministry to remember the Shoah and the main speaker was the Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel.