B’nai B’rith International commends United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his first visit to Israel, which concluded yesterday. During his visit, the secretary-general recognized that calls for destroying Israel constitute “modern anti-Semitism,” and that every United Nations member state, including Israel, deserves equal treatment.
 
During his visit, Guterres laid a wreath at the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, met with Israelis whose family members are being held hostage in Gaza and toured an underground tunnel built by Hamas terrorists controlling the coastal Palestinian enclave.
 
At the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel yesterday, Guterres said: “Let me stress that when I talk about anti-Semitism, I include calls for the destruction of Israel. Israel is a member state of the United Nations. It bears all the responsibilities and enjoys all the rights of every other member state and, therefore, it must be treated as such. As secretary-general of the United Nations, I am determined to do everything I can to stand against anti-Semitism and to all other forms of bigotry and discrimination.”
 
Guterres also asserted that terrorism and incitement must end, and spoke in personal terms of the historic persecution of Jews and of Israel’s achievements, including peace treaties with two neighboring Arab countries. Calling both Israelis and Palestinians at home in the Holy Land, he said, “Anyone visiting Israel is left with no doubt that it has fulfilled the rights and national aspirations of Jews throughout generations. Your country has become renowned worldwide for its great cultural, scientific, technological and scholarly achievements ... Most importantly, you have created, for the first time in 2,000 years, a home for your people.”
 
B’nai B’rith shares the secretary-general’s hope for coexistence and peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Sadly, Palestinians exploited Guterres’ visit to orchestrate an apparently unplanned encounter between him and the relatives of imprisoned terrorists, and to then portray them as victims enjoying the U.N. chief’s support. 
 
On another key front, the U.N. Security Council yesterday renewed, but also expanded the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has not yet effectively taken action as Hezbollah, the fanatically anti-Israel faction on Israel’s northern border, has further augmented its extraordinarily lethal arsenal threatening the Jewish state.
 
B’nai B’rith hopes that the U.N. secretary-general will further play a serious leadership role in confronting and addressing the true impediment to peace in the region: violent fanaticism that rejects the presence of a democratic Jewish state within any boundaries.
 
Senior B’nai B’rith leaders, including President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, met with Guterres in January at the United Nations headquarters in New York. They discussed a variety of priority concerns, particularly a long history of hostile and inequitable treatment for Israel at the world body, Middle East peacemaking, Iranian involvement in illicit nuclear activity and terrorism and the scourge of global anti-Semitism.  

​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International is pleased that the U.S. State Department is moving forward to appoint a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. While anti-Semitism has always been a central concern in our country and around the world, the number of global anti-Semitic incidents and the intensity of anti-Israel hatred in public discourse have reached alarming levels.
 
B’nai B’rith has long spoken out about the vital nature of this position. The impact of the United States government placing its power and prestige behind the issue of anti-Semitism and combating it, cannot be overstated.
​
In March, B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin and Mark B. Levin, National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (NCSEJ) executive vice chairman and CEO, wrote an op-ed for Fox News, addressing the necessity for this special envoy and how the United States needs to lead by example. Click here to read the op-ed.
 
In June, we, along with five other Jewish organizations, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging him not to eliminate the position.
 
Former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ira Forman joined our podcast in May. He discussed the bipartisan origins of the envoy post and how various countries experience different kinds of anti-Semitism. He also noted that by prioritizing the position, the United States sets an important example to other governments about taking the lead in combating anti-Semitism. Click here to listen to the podcast.

B’nai B’rith Opens Disaster Relief Fund
 
B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International is opening its Disaster Relief Fund to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey. On Aug. 25 the Category 4 storm made landfall in Texas, and, according to CNN, has dumped 11 trillion gallons of water on the state since.
 
The hurricane, now downgraded to a tropical storm, has caused catastrophic flooding and more than 300,000 people are without power. The storm has killed at least five people and destroyed thousands of homes, schools and businesses.
 
We will continue to monitor and assess the needs of those in Texas.
 
B’nai B’rith has a tradition of helping communities in distress, which began in 1865 in pre-state Israel when we raised funds to aid victims of a cholera outbreak. Since then, B’nai B’rith has helped countless people across the globe who have faced adversity after natural and man-made disasters. In July, we presented a donation to the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas to help feed residents still struggling from torrential rains that caused massive flooding in the spring.
 
To help, donate online to our Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund at our secure website by clicking here.
 
You can also call 800-573-9057 to make a credit card contribution over the phone. Or, you can send a check payable to the B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Fund to:
 
​B’nai B’rith International
Disaster Relief Fund
1120 20th Street NW, Suite 300N
Washington, D.C. 20036

​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) toured one of B’nai B’rith International’s housing facilities for low-income senior citizens to meet with residents and discuss the critical importance of housing for adults with limited means. B’nai B’rith Apartments in Allentown, Pa., is a residential facility sponsored by B’nai B’rith in partnership with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
 
Dent also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing & Urban Development.
 
“I truly appreciate the great work that B'nai B'rith has been doing here in Allentown for decades. B'nai B'rith provides affordable housing options to many seniors. They very much like it here, so we’re blessed to have this organization in our community,” Dent said. “And we want to continue to support organizations like B'nai B'rith and others who are providing these affordable housing options in the 202 for so many seniors and elders across the country.”
 
Dent’s tour of the building included a resident’s apartment, a common room, the computer room, the arts and crafts room and the patio area.
 
The congressman held a Q-and-A session with 90 residents and answered questions regarding Section 202 rental subsidies, social security (privatization and increasing benefits), Medicare and Medicaid. He also spoke of how he is trying to work across party lines to fix the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
 
This type of housing is in constant demand, and researchers say for every low-income senior housing apartment nationwide there are 10-12 seniors waiting for a spot.
 
In attendance from the B’nai B’rith Housing community were B’nai B’rith International Associate Director of the Center for Senior Services Janel Doughten; B’nai B’rith Assistant Director for Aging Policy Evan Carmen; B’nai B’rith Senior Program Associate Breana Clark; as well as B’nai B’rith Apartments staff including Board President Barbra Butz; Project Administrator Bob Sipos; Property Management Assistant Kathy Andreas Heath; Service Coordinator Jennifer Leffler; Rental Assistant Jessica Yaich and Recertification Specialist Beth Gonzalez.
 
“We are pleased that Congressman Dent visited with our residents. He addressed their concerns and allowed their voices to be heard,” Carmen said. “For many seniors, Section 202 housing is their only option, and if this program looses any part of its budget many of our residents will be forced into homelessness.”
 
The B'nai B'rith Senior Housing Network in the United States consists of 38 buildings in 27 communities, includes more than 4,000 apartment units and serves more than 8,000 people.
 
“This is my home now. This is the place where I have friends, I have many things to do, many opportunities, wonderful exposure, you can be as active and as involved as you choose to be. The staff that works here that runs this facility is phenomenal, there is nothing that they won't do to help you down to changing my address when I first moved in. Just availability for everything. I cannot say enough good things about B'nai B'rith, and this is a family to me. And, I'm grateful to be here, this is my home, I love it,” said Kay Graf, a resident who has been living at B’nai B’rith Apartments for one year. 

​B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International is appalled by the terrorist attack that occurred today in Barcelona, Spain. A van drove into pedestrians at the Las Ramblas district, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 100. Two people have been arrested.
 
We stand in solidarity with the people of Spain, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. 

Sends Letter to Museum Leaders

B’nai B’rith International sent a letter to the Queens Museum, dismayed over the cancellation of an event marking the 70th anniversary of the passage of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, which endorsed the establishment of a Jewish state.
 
The museum’s leaders, after initially endorsing the program, have now reversed their decision, saying that they didn’t want to hold a “political event.”

In their letter, B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin write: “The event, however, is not openly political in nature, but rather a historical re-enactment and a celebration of that momentous vote which was an important step in the establishment of the State of Israel.”
 
They continued: “Moreover, the Queens Museum has hosted a number of exhibitions and events that could be interpreted as political in nature. Museums play an important role in transmitting to the public displays on culture and history, sometimes necessarily of a political nature. We respect and honor that role that museums play in our larger society. We question, though, why that respect is not also afforded to Jewish history.”
 
To read the full letter click here.

UPDATE: Since we sent our letter, the museum has now reversed its decision and will allow the event to move forward. 

B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:  
 
President Trump has returned to an indefensible position on the sickening violence that took place in Charlottesville at the “Unite the Right” rally.
 
Instead of asserting leadership and forcefully condemning the alt-right, he is once again equivocating.
 
There is no doubt that the white supremacists and neo-Nazis, with their vulgar messages of violence and exclusion, must be called out in unambiguous terms at the highest level. In the absence of a strong White House statement, the message received by these groups, who feel emboldened, is that their hatred and violence are somehow acceptable. The extremists are encouraged and their views are bolstered in this leadership vacuum.
 
The president needs to display unquestionable clarity that sets a tone for the standards of tolerance and inclusion that have long defined our democracy.
 
His message must state unambiguously and forcefully that this hatred is rejected.
 
Each moment that goes by without moral clarity from the White House is a moment that the extremists gain a greater foothold to undermine our collective values.

B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement: ​

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) toured one of B’nai B’rith International’s housing facilities for low-income senior citizens to meet with residents and discuss the critical importance of housing for adults with limited means. Nathan I. Nagler Queens B'nai B'rith House in Flushing, Queens, N.Y. is a residential facility sponsored by B’nai B’rith in partnership with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
 
Meng toured the building, which included a resident’s apartment, the community room and the facility’s garden.
 
“Section 202 is a critical housing initiative for the elderly that plays a vital role in helping to provide a safe and affordable place for low-income seniors to live. B'nai B'rith does an outstanding job in facilitating this program and it was a pleasure to see its benefits up close during my recent visit to the B'nai B'rith House in Flushing. I thank B'nai B'rith for the great tour of its facility, and I thank the organization for all the exceptional work it does on behalf of our seniors,” Meng said.
 
The congresswoman held a Q-and-A session with 70 low-income seniors and answered questions regarding rental subsidies and Supplemental Security Income benefits. She also addressed the need to protect Social Security and Medicare, and noted that she sponsored legislation to stop spoofing (which is when people call seniors and claim to be offices like the Internal Revenue Service or police to take advantage of them).

B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:

We vehemently condemn the white supremacist and neo-Nazi-backed sentiments and subsequent violence in Charlottesville, Va. The disgraceful rally these groups convened was for the express purpose of gathering hate-mongers and extremists to intimidate people all people and undermine the very principles of our democracy. Racist and anti-Semitic epithets were on vulgar display by these groups.

This abominable gathering serves as an important reminder that we must unite to stand against hatred and extremism. President Trump’s comments in the wake of the violence created a false equivalence between the peaceful rally protesters and the hate-mongers who incited violence. There are not "many sides" to the type of hate displayed at this rally. 

From each individual through neighborhoods, communities, towns, cities, states and the nation as a whole, all Americans of good conscience must reject divisiveness and strive to embrace tolerance and unity.