(Washington, D.C., April 28, 2020)--In response to the implementation of social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders, B’nai B’rith has increased our production of online content, including podcasts, webinars and one-on-one interviews with experts in a variety of fields. We have talked about how anti-Semitism has spread along with the spread of the coronavirus; the challenges facing older adults in subsidized housing; the latest medical information about the coronavirus; and resilience, among many other topics.

Together, we can navigate this crisis and combat feelings of social isolation. Please find some of our offerings below.

We held a webinar to discuss the explosion in anti-Semitism in the EU during the coronavirus pandemic, with special guest Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism The webinar, hosted by CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin can be viewed here.

The Jerusalem Post’s Op-Ed editor and Middle East affairs analyst, Seth Frantzman joined Mariaschin on the B’nai B’rith podcast to discuss his new book, how his experiences reporting in the Middle East have shaped his analysis of recent events on the ground, Iranian hegemony and coronavirus’ impact in the region. The full podcast is here. We also welcomed from the Jerusalem Post Omri Nahmias, along with our World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider for a discussion on Israel’s coalition government.

In partnership with Yad Vashem, B'nai B'rith commemorated the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust, including one and a half million children. As part of the North American Unto Every Person There is a Name program, we read names of Holocaust victims, ensuring these people would always be remembered. Due to COVID-19, this was a virtual ceremony broadcast live on Yom Hashoah.
 
Eric Fusfield, director of legislative affairs and deputy director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy spoke with Mariaschin as part of our One-On-One interview series about “The Plot Against America,” HBO's miniseries adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2004 novel of the same name and explored what the series says about Jewish identity in America, both in the 1940s and today. The six-part limited series imagines that Charles Lindbergh became president in 1940, leading to the widespread persecution of Jews in the United States. Watch here.

Mariaschin spoke with MEP Sergey Lagodinsky. A Member of the European Parliament for Germany since 2019, Lagodinsky is a lawyer and member of the German Green Party. They spoke about European Union's efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, how the parliament approaches anti-Semitism and what role the Working Group on Anti-Semitism plays in setting the parliament’s agenda. They also talked about threats to the Jewish community and the rule of law in Europe during this crisis. Watch here.

Israel's Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi joined Mariaschin for our One-On-One series to discuss the coronavirus' impact on Israel and its economy, regional cooperation during the crisis, and how Israel's relationship with the rest of the world has changed in the midst of a global pandemic. Hanegbi also provided updates on the formation of the new Israeli government. Their full conversation is here.
 
Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith’s director of Latin American Affairs, visited our One-On-One program to talk about how Latin America is responding to the coronavirus pandemic, how the Jewish community is handling the outbreak, and what B’nai B’rith is doing to help Jews across Latin America during this time. See the conversation here.

We held a webinar with members of B'nai B'rith’s Center for Senior Services team to discuss how they are guiding our senior housing communities through the coronavirus crisis, emergency and disaster training for B’nai B’rith housing staff, and its efforts on Capitol Hill advocating for seniors during the coronavirus crisis. Panelists from the Center for Senior Services included Director Mark D. Olshan, Associate Director Janel Doughten and Legislative Director for Aging Policy Evan Carmen. Watch the webinar here. What are the special challenges frontline staff are facing at these buildings? This conversation addresses that question.

Mariaschin spoke to David Michaels, B’nai B’rith’s director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs, about how the coronavirus has affected B’nai B’rith’s U.N. initiatives, how the virus has changed the U.N.’s priorities and deliberations, and what impact this crisis has had on relations between member states. They also talked about the World Health Organization’s role as this crisis continues to worsen. Watch here.

​​​​Israel is at the forefront of innovative research and treatment when it comes to coronavirus. Yoel HarEven, the director of the international division and resource development at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, joined Mariaschin on the B’nai B’rith International Podcast for a discussion on the coronavirus response at his hospital, in Israel more broadly and the sharing of best practices around the world. Listen here.

B’nai B’rith is committed to providing insightful and enlightening content during this difficult time. Visit our Extra Page to see what programs are coming up and what you may have missed.
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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., April 23, 2020)--B´nai B´rith teamed up with Jewish organizations in Panama to make a new donation to the Ministry of Health and the Ombudsman Office.

The Ministry of Health received 50 donated oximeters, which measure heart rates and the oxygen levels in patients’ blood. Oximeters are urgently needed for the coronavirus emergency and will be distributed to hospitals all over the country. The Ombudsman Office received 150 beds to help the needs of the Center of Migrants, located in Panama City. The center is a shelter for migrants who come to Panama from other countries to find work. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, most of them are unemployed.

Alberto Levy, a B´nai B´rith leader in Panama and lay leader in the Jewish community, and Alberto Jabiles, executive director of B´nai B´rith District 23, delivered the donations on behalf of all of the community.
 
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.
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(Washington, D.C., April 21, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
B’nai B’rith commends the Senate’s passage of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a $484 billion coronavirus aid package. The bill includes funds to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program, which gives loans to small businesses and nonprofits suffering as a result of the outbreak. There are also separate allocations for hospitals, economic disaster loans and coronavirus testing.
 
In a time of national and international crisis, we are encouraged by the display of bipartisan cooperation involved in the passage of this act. We urge the House to follow suit and pass the bill as quickly as possible, to provide much-needed help to small business owners and hospitals around the country.
 
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., April 20, 2020)--B´nai B´rith teamed up with Jewish organizations in Panama to make an urgently needed donation to the Ministry of Health.

The donated materials include 5,000 N95 masks, which are suitable for medical workers; 50,000 special gloves; 30,000 caps for nurses and surgeons; masks for children; masks for adults; 20 wheelchairs; thousands of special kits for sinus analysis; and 1,000 protective suits for medical doctors working in intensive care.
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The donation was distributed to four public hospitals by the Ministry of Health.

Alberto Levy, a B´nai B´rith leader in Panama and lay leader in the Jewish community, delivered the donation to the Ministry of Public Health on behalf of all of the community.

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., April 20, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We commend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz for coming together to form a unity government. In a time of crisis, the two political leaders put the country first. Once again, Israel’s vibrant democracy has resulted in a diverse coalition. Under the terms of the agreement, Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months. After that, Gantz is set to succeed him.
 
We wish the new government well in facing the battle against COVID-19, as well as other urgent challenges, such as the strategic threats posed by Iran and Hamas terrorists.
 
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.
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(Jerusalem, April 20, 2020)--The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust will hold a Zoom meeting on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah, Tuesday, April 21) to extol the heroism of some 20 Jews who endangered themselves during the Holocaust to rescue fellow Jews. Relatives and representatives of the now-deceased rescuers will address the meeting, and the Jewish Rescuers Citation – a joint project of the World Center and the Committee – will be conferred virtually on them. The event will be carried live on B’nai B’rith’s Facebook page and will primarily be in Hebrew, with some English.

The rescuers include:

• Moussa and Odette Rosenstock Abadi (Marcel Network), two Jewish doctors who married after the war, rescued 527 Jewish infants, children and teenagers with the help of  Bishop of Nice, France, Paul Remond (recognized as Righteous Among the Nations) in 1943-1945. The children were sheltered in Catholic institutions and Christian homes. Odette was denounced, arrested and tortured, but she did not reveal the network. She was deported to Auschwitz and then to Bergen-Belsen where she was liberated in April 1945;
• Joseph Bau, a graphic artist who forged documents for the Jewish underground in Krakow, Poland, and later in Oscar Schindler’s factory camp in Brněnec in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia;
• Rebecca Bau, a nurse who served as the manicurist of Amon Goeth, the ruthless Nazi who ruled over the Plaschow concentration camp. She shared secrets she overheard that helped many inmates survive while also providing them with moral and physical support;
• Fella Meiboom-Cajtak, who served for two years as a nurse in the dentistry clinic in Birkenau and was transferred to Auschwitz as punishment by Josef Mengele, where she was appointed head of Block 8 and was responsible for 1,000 children aged 12-16, many of whom she helped evade Mengele’s deadly selections;
• Ahron Roza, a Greek-Jewish pharmacist who worked in the SS’s pharmacy in Auschwitz. He endangered his life smuggling drugs to sick inmates, saving their lives;
• Lena Kuechler Silberman, who lived under an Aryan identity in occupied Warsaw and rescued twins from the Warsaw ghetto, placing them in a Catholic institution;
• Fredy Hirsch, a celebrated sportsman and educator in pre-war Germany. Through sports and physical training, he provided support and hope to Jewish children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp and later in the children’s block he established in Birkenau;
• Gisi Fleischmann, a Zionist activist and the leader of the Bratislava Working Group, one of the best known Jewish rescue groups during the Holocaust. Fleischmann was arrested on Oct. 15, 194,4 and murdered in Auschwitz three days later;
• Noach Kleiger, who served as a runner in the Belgian anti-Nazi underground and in an underground cell of the Zionist youth movements that conveyed Jewish children to Switzerland via France;
• Semyon Rozenfeld, the last surviving participant in the uprising in the Sobibor death camp that resulted in the escape of hundreds of inmates. 300 survived Nazi pursuit into the surrounding forests;
• Haidi Kornfeld, who undertook various missions for the Jewish underground in Hungary, including providing documents to Jews that allowed their survival and protected them from deportation to concentration and death camps;
• Aron Menczer, who was active in “Youth Aliya” in Vienna before the war. Deported to Theresienstadt, he was appointed to care for 1,200 children brought there from Bialystok and from there to Birkenau, where he was murdered;
• Helen Cazes-Benathar, the first female attorney in Morocco, who established the Committee to Assist Foreign Refugees in Casablanca under the German-puppet ant-Ssemitic Vichy government and engaged in clandestine illegal activities for an extended period to rescue fellow Jews.

• Adolf Berman, a doctor of psychology and a Jewish community leader in Warsaw before the war. He was one of the leaders of the Jewish underground in the Warsaw Ghetto, a member of the presidium of the Underground National Committee and general secretary of the Polish underground Council for Jewish Aid (known by its code-name “Żegota”). He and his wif,e Basia Temkin-Berman, who was also a Zionist activist, were smuggled out of the ghetto on Sept. 5, 1942, under assumed Polish identities and endangered themselves assisting Jews who escaped the ghetto after its destruction;
• Aviva Igael Ingeborg Simon, born in Frankfurt, whose family fled to France when Hitler came to power. She joined the underground activities of the Jewish Scouts that rescued Jewish children in cooperation with the French underground. She served as counselor at a shelter for abandoned Jewish children whose parents had been arrested and deported and was a courier of weapons licenses, identity cards and other illegal papers made available to the underground by friendly municipalities and local governments. She also participated in dangerous missions to smuggle Jewish children from France to Switzerland;
• Buena Sarfatty, born in Saloniki, Greece, who was arrested and imprisoned in the Pablo Mela detention camp located near the German army headquarters. Shortly after her incarceration, she was freed in a daring operation of the Greek resistance. She found refuge in Komotini in northeastern Greece where she joined first the royalist and then the communist-aligned underground ELAS-EAM. She took part in various operations across Greece on behalf of the partisans and assisted Jewish families to escape Nazi persecution to Palestine via Turkey. She also located Jewish children, the wounded and pregnant women, assisting them to escape Greece under Nazi occupation.

The Zoom meeting represents a break from the traditional annual ceremony held by the World Center and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) for the past 17 consecutive years in the B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest.  It is the only event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

Since the establishment of the Jewish Rescuers Citation in 2011, 314 heroes have been honored for rescue activities in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Holland and Belgium.

One of the most recent recipients of the Jewish Rescuers Citation, Frida Wattenberg, a member of the Jewish underground in Grenoble, France, during the Holocaust, contracted coronavirus and died in Paris on April 3, just three weeks shy of her 96th birthday. The citation was conferred on Sept. 23, 2019, at the Fondation de Rothschild seniors’ home where she resided. Tsilla Hershco, the author of the most authoritative book to date on the Jewish underground movement in France and a member of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust, conferred the citation.

The phenomena of Jewish rescue and the instructive stories of thousands of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe have yet to receive appropriate public recognition and resonance. Many who could have tried to flee preferred to stay and rescue others; some paid for it with their lives. With great heroism, Jews in every country in occupied Europe employed subterfuge, forgery, smuggling, concealment and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust, or assisted them in escaping to safe havens, and in doing so foiled the Nazi goal of total genocide against the Jews.

The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust produced a 32-booklet on Jewish rescue in advance of Yom Hashoah (Hebrew only).  Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel – has adopted Jewish rescue as the official theme of this year’s Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day under the title Rescue by Jews during the Holocaust - Solidarity in a Disintegrating World. Materials produced by Yad Vashem for the occasion can be seen here (English) and here (Hebrew).

Interviews with the last surviving Jewish rescuers in Israel, David Gur (Hungary) and Eliezer Lev Zion (France), can be arranged with prior notice.

Please contact Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem for further details - +972-52-5536441

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., April 14, 2020)--B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement: 
 
B’nai B’rith International, in cooperation with the U.S. Consulate General in Milan and an anonymous donor, provided 27,000 personal protective face shields to the Lombardy Regional Government in Italy on April 14. This donation was the result of an urgent appeal from B’nai B’rith Italy.
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The supplies were donated by the Brothers Brother Foundation, which keeps medical supplies on hand to deliver overseas at times of disaster and humanitarian need.  
 
For nearly 20 years, B’nai B’rith has partnered with Brothers Brother to help communities in crisis.

A generous donor sponsored, at no cost, the transfer of the face shields from Baltimore, Maryland to Milan, in close coordination with the U.S. Consulate General in Milan and the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service. The personal protective equipment was distributed to hospitals and medical staff in the Lombardy region.

Alan Rizzi, an undersecretary to the presidency of the Lombardy Regional Government, expressed his most sincere appreciation: “This is a concrete gesture of solidarity, which confirms the special friendship between the United States, the Jewish Community and the Lombardy Region. A heartfelt thank you to the B’nai B’rith association.”
 
Special thanks is due to Executive Board of Directors member Paolo Foa, of Milan, who worked on the ground to make this aid delivery possible. We thank Sandro di Castro, president of the B’nai B’rith Rome lodge, for reaching out to express the great need for assisting the victims and health care workers in Italy. Foa is available for interviews by contacting mediarelations@bnaibrith.org. 
 
B’nai B’rith has been helping communities in crisis since 1865. We have launched a fund to help communities battling the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and other locations around the world.
 
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., April 13, 2020)-- In response to the coronavirus pandemic and with the vast majority of the country under quarantine, today B´nai B´rith Uruguay delivered one thousand baskets of food as a donation to the government. The donations were given to two organizations: Sembrando (Sewing,) chaired by the president´s wife Lorena Lacalle, and the National System of Emergencies.

The baskets will be distributed all over the country.

Lacalle and Director of the National System of Emergencies Colonel Sergio Rico received the donation. B´nai B´rith was represented by Vice President of B’nai B’rith Uruguay Andres Yusupoff. Other members of the B´nai B´rith Board stayed home in compliance with social distancing recommendations.
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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.

By Samuel Domsky, Project H.O.P.E. coordinator for the Liberty Region
 
If circumstances were different, I would be with other volunteers at Temple Sinai today, packing and loading kosher for Passover food to deliver to over 750 of our most needy as part of B’nai B’rith’s longstanding Project H.O.P.E. community action program. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 crisis, it was not to be.  However, thanks to our partnership with the Jewish Federation and the Mitzvah Food Bank, all the nonperishable kosher for Passover food was transported last week from George's Market to a federation distribution center, then off to six food bank locations that serve our community. With the help of the Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family and Children’s Services, most of the recipients have been notified about where to receive their food, and measures are being taken to assist with safe pickups. I am grateful to the many people involved with B’nai B’rith who support Project H.O.P.E. through donations and, lately, emotional support. The money raised this year was enough to cover the food costs, and rest assured, the food will get to those in need. 
 
Special thanks to Brian Gralnick, director of social responsibility for the Jewish Federation, and Diedre Mulligan, mitzvah food program senior manager, for helping me coordinate the food transfer. Also, another special thank you to John Salanik, Kevin Carlin and George Endrigian of George's Market. I could not ask for better partners every year and I am eternally grateful and full of love and respect.
 
We will be back stronger for the 24th Project H.O.P.E. on Sunday March 21, 2021. 

On behalf of the Domsky and Pilchik families, we wish you " A Zissen Pesach!"

We commended the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which is providing assistance for low-income senior housing. With the COVID-19 virus still bearing down on the country, B’nai B’rith is calling on Congress to pass another bipartisan stimulus package that provides funding for Section 202 affordable housing for seniors. 
 
As the largest national Jewish sponsor of low-income, nonsectarian housing for seniors in the United States, B’nai B’rith is uniquely aware of the need to appropriate additional financial resources for senior housing in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The additional money would potentially allow senior buildings to expand service coordination (which is especially important for buildings that lack a service coordinator: a social services staff person) and offer WiFi to all residents, which could make telemedicine more readily accessible. Funding could also provide the necessary resources for buildings to absorb additional expenses associated with extra staffing, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment, security personnel and decreases in rents. The funding could enable our country to construct more Section 202 properties. As always, B’nai B’rith will continue to advocate to members of Congress on issues important to seniors.  
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Lastly, we appreciate the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) decision to provide direct stimulus payments to all Social Security recipients regardless of whether they filed a tax return.  We now call on the IRS to extend this guidance to Supplemental Security Income recipients (SSI). Forcing SSI recipients, to file a tax return is an unnecessary burden during a time of crisis. Given restrictions regarding travel and socialization, the IRS guidance places hardships on the very set of people who need the financial assistance the most. We should be looking to get financial assistance to SSI recipients as quickly as possible and not force them to jump needlessly through hoops.