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

In an hours-long speech from the Senate floor voicing his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) noted that implementing Obamacare is analogous to appeasing Hitler.

Cruz said: “If you go to the 1940s, Nazi Germany. Look, we saw in Britain, Neville Chamberlain, who told the British people, ‘Accept the Nazis. Yes, they’ll dominate the continent of Europe but that’s not our problem. Let’s appease them. Why? Because it can’t be done. We can’t possibly stand against them.’”

And later: “I suspect those same pundits who say it can’t be done, if it had been in the 1940s we would have been listening to them. Then they would have made television. They would have gotten beyond carrier pigeons and beyond letters and they would have been on TV and they would have been saying, ‘You cannot defeat the Germans.’”

Nazi comparisons are never acceptable. No matter how one feels about this issue, or any issue, invoking Nazi imagery trivializes and undermines the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazi machine.

Nazi references and comparisons dilute the horror of the mass genocide that was the Holocaust.

To compare a U.S. law to anything out of Nazi Germany is unacceptable. We call on Cruz to apologize.

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

B’nai B’rith International is appalled that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Thomas Bach to serve as the organization’s president for an eight-year term. Until reportedly resigning on Sept. 16, Bach served as president of Ghorfa—the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry—an organization that boycotts Israeli businesses and makes sure products do not contain anything originating in the Jewish state.

Notwithstanding his resignation from Ghorfa, Bach’s association with anti-Israel discrimination is inconsistent with Olympic ideals and further undercuts the standing of an organization that is too often embroiled in scandal and controversy. B’nai B’rith calls for Bach’s immediate resignation and hopes a suitable replacement will take his place.

One serious recent controversy that plagued the IOC arose during the 2012 London Olympics, in which Bach’s predecessor, Jacques Rogge, denied requests for a moment of silence to remember the 11 Israeli athletes, coaches and referees murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Bach supported the IOC’s refusal to incorporate the moment of silence into the opening ceremony.

B’nai B’rith was a staunch supporter of the moment of silence and at the time called the decision “unacceptable and discriminatory.”

B’nai B’rith International has opened its Flood, Tornado and Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund to benefit the victims of historic flooding in Colorado that has ravaged the state, displacing thousands of people and leaving hundreds unaccounted for.

The funds raised will be used to help victims of the flood as they rebuild their communities after thousands of buildings and homes were damaged or destroyed, while more than 100 miles of road and 20 to 30 bridges will need repairs.

Beginning the week of Sept. 8, a strong, slow-moving storm drenched northern Colorado and created what President Barack Obama declared a “major disaster.”

“What we’re seeing coming out of Colorado is nothing short of extraordinary. The destruction and aftermath of this flood is sure to alter many lives, and B’nai B’rith would like to help restore some sense of normalcy to these people,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “B’nai B’rith has helped disaster victims since 1865. Each disaster has its own unique challenges. As always, we will carefully evaluate needs and provide assistance to address immediate needs and longer term rebuilding efforts.” 

The B’nai B’rith Flood, Tornado and Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund aided victims of Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012, as well as the victims of the Moore, Okla., tornado in May 2013. B’nai B’rith disaster relief funds have also provided aid internationally, assisting earthquake victims in Haiti and Japan, and following manmade disasters, such as the Boston bombing.

“B’nai B’rith repeatedly answers the call when it comes to assisting those in crisis. With devastating flooding occurring in Colorado, we’re eager to open up our Flood, Tornado and Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund to help the people of Colorado and get them back on their feet,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “We will work with representatives of agencies and our members on the ground to provide assistance where it is needed.”

To help, donate online 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
Flood, Tornado and Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund
2020 K Street NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006

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

A wave of anti-Semitic articles appearing on government-sponsored websites and publications in Venezuela is deeply alarming. Aporrea.org and other sites have cast the potential U.S. response to the barbaric chemical attack by the Syrian government upon its civilians as a Zionist conspiracy to control the world. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski—who supports intervention in Syria—is accused of being an agent of Israel because he has Jewish roots.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who continues his country’s close relationship with Iran, backs the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Venezuela considers Syria an ally in the Middle East and has provided oil to Assad’s forces.

The rash of disturbing reports includes a particularly troubling article written by the editor of a weekly newspaper called "Semanario Kikiriki.” The piece, "History of the Arrival of Jews to the American Continent," makes the absurd claim that Jews, even from the time of Christopher Colombus, were involved in a conspiracy to take control of the world's riches. The piece claims Jews financed Colombus' expedition, even when they were being expelled from Spain. Perhaps even more preposterous is the assertion that wealthy Jews financed Adolf Hitler during World War II.

After claiming that powerful Jews are currently financing the opposition in Venezuela, the article cites the highly anti-Semitic book “The International Jew” written by Henry Ford in 1920 and states, among other things, that Jews find joy at the misfortune of others. Jews are portrayed as inhumane creatures who only care about money and who should be blamed for all of the world’s inequalities.

Unfortunately, preposterous as these claims are, they endanger the small Jewish community of Venezuela.

B’nai B’rith urges the Venezuelan government to take measures against the publication of materials that promote xenophobia and hatred against the country's Jewish minority.

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

B’nai B’rith International supports President Barack Obama’s call for Congressional authorization of military action in response to the Syrian government’s use of nerve gas against civilians last month.

The United States has a moral obligation to enforce a global norm against using chemical weapons. It is in the national security interest of the United States to prevent the use and spread of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction by Syria, Iran or terrorist organizations that are surely monitoring the situation. A U.S. military response would send a clear message that no one can engage in this depraved activity.

We urge bipartisan Congressional authorization for the White House proposal, sending a message that the immoral use of these chemical weapons of mass destruction will not be tolerated.