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

B’nai B’rith International commends the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for rejecting an anti-Israel resolution, by a vote of 58-45, and declining to succumb to a shallow political distraction that would have unnecessarily diverted the agency’s attention and resources from truly urgent priorities. 

The resolution, backed by 18 Arab states, voiced concern over alleged Israeli nuclear military capabilities.‎ Israel has never declared such capabilities, let alone threatened their use.

B’nai B’rith applauds those countries that voted against the resolution. They showed principled leadership in declining to pursue another gratuitous political attack against Israel that we have often seen across the U.N. system.  

Israel has never denied the right to exist or basic security of its neighbors or anyone else. The Iranian regime since its inception has called for the destruction of Israel and has actively backed terrorist organizations in the region and beyond.

B’nai B’rith International has selected Brett Yormark, CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, to receive its Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of key community and corporate leaders from around the world.

The award ceremony will take place on Oct. 6, 2014, at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City.

“It’s an honor to bestow the Distinguished Achievement Award on Brett Yormark. In the short time that the Nets and Barclays Center have been in Brooklyn, Yormark and the organization have quickly and impressively established themselves as an indelible leader in the community,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said.  

Since he joined the Nets in 2005, Yormark's mission has been to make it the most accessible, inventive, fan-friendly and community-active team in sports. As CEO, Yormark spearheaded the Nets’ relocation from New Jersey, highlighted by the popular “Hello Brooklyn” marketing campaign—a multifaceted effort that built a connection between the borough and its new home team, capturing the attitude, pride and history of Brooklyn. 

Yormark also oversees all facets of Barclays Center, including operations, event programming, sales and marketing. Under Yormark’s leadership, Barclays Center has redefined the arena customer service and culinary experience. Its more than 2,000 employees are trained by Disney Institute, the business advisory arm of The Walt Disney Company, and its BrooklynTaste food program features selections from 55 well-known restaurants and vendors in the borough.  

With its strong link to Brooklyn and the surrounding area, the Nets and Barclays Center are extremely active in the community, having participated in more than 100 community events and donated 4,500 tickets to non-profits over the past year. Special community events have included the entire Nets team serving a Thanksgiving meal to service men and women at historic Fort Hamilton, as well as Barclays Center hosting a Back to School Jam for 500 children and their parents. 

“I am honored to join an impressive and long list of Distinguished Achievement Award recipients,” Yormark said. “B’nai B’rith is a true champion for communities everywhere with its inspirational and relentless work to make the world a better place. The Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center are proud to serve as a pillar of strength for the local community and I am privileged to lead these efforts.”

In addition to the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center community initiatives, Yormark started the Yormark Family Foundation to help re-develop basketball courts at Boys & Girls Clubs in Brooklyn. He also sits on the board of the City Parks Foundation to help improve our vital outdoor spaces.  

More recently, Yormark was instrumental in creating a partnership group that secured the winning bid to renovate and operate the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, N.Y. Upon completion of renovations in 2017, the venue will host more than 300 events annually, and will also include an outdoor performance park, family friendly entertainment and community activities. 

“It’s clear that when discussing the sports entertainment industry, Brett and the Brooklyn Nets are at the forefront,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “Brett and the Nets are not only leaders and innovators, but have also demonstrated a commitment to the community that has resulted in an overwhelmingly positive impact on Brooklyn and its residents—exactly what B’nai B’rith looks for in a Distinguished Achievement Award winner.” 

For more than four decades, B’nai B’rith has presented the Distinguished Achievement Award in recognition of the accomplishments of key community and corporate leaders around the world. These exceptional individuals and companies are honored for their community service, dedicated leadership and commitment to improving the lives of the individuals they serve.

The high-level opening segment of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly commences this week in New York and a B’nai B’rith International delegation is on the ground, meeting with numerous presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and other senior officials. The delegation, including B’nai B’rith senior members, partners and professionals from around the country, is led by International President Allan J. Jacobs, Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin and Chairman of the Executive Committee Gary P. Saltzman.

B’nai B’rith is addressing a number of key priorities including Iran’s uncurbed drive to acquire nuclear weapons capability; terrorist threats such as those posed by Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS, which continue to plague the Middle East, and the perpetual politicization of the world body. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently reiterated his threat to “internationalize” the conflict with Israel, suggesting that he would direct through the United Nations an ultimatum for Israeli compliance with his political demands. He is expected to address the organization later this week.

“We come to the United Nations at an important time, between Iran’s disregard for the international community’s calls for nuclear non-proliferation, the fighting in Israel and Gaza during the summer and the predictable attacks on Israel in U.N. forums. B’nai B’rith will be working hard to get our message out there on these and many more important issues as we meet with dozens of world leaders,” Jacobs said.

B’nai B’rith—which coordinated meetings on behalf of a broad coalition of major international and American Jewish organizations—has already met with leaders of countries including France, Australia, Italy and Greece.

Additionally, B’nai B’rith will be monitoring speeches by heads of state when the assembly’s General Debate opens, as well as a U.N. Security Council meeting chaired by President Obama, who will be pushing a global travel ban on individuals recruited to fight for foreign terrorist groups.

“B’nai B’rith engages in global advocacy throughout the year, and has done so since the United Nations’ inception. The longevity of our organization gives us an authoritative voice on the important policy issues of the day,” Mariaschin said. “Advocating our values and interests at such a high level presents a distinct opportunity, and we seek to maximize it by reaching out to countries on virtually every continent.”

B’nai B’rith is once again integrating a group of young leaders from the national Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi in a number of its high-level meetings in New York.

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

B’nai B’rith International is extremely concerned about the string of events that has recently unfolded in Bolivia.

Last week, attackers desecrated a Jewish cemetery with dynamite in the central Bolivian town of Cochabamba. This attack comes on the heels of Bolivian President Evo Morales calling Israel a “terrorist state” and endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. B’nai B’rith condemns the attack, as well as Morales’ senseless and inflammatory remarks.

B’nai B’rith calls on Morales to immediately cease his anti-Israel rhetoric. It has clearly incited anti-Semitism and endangered his country’s citizens, creating an atmosphere of violence against the Jewish community of Bolivia. Even more worrying, Morales’ hateful rhetoric mirrors Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose derogatory and dangerous remarks against Israel have created the same environment for Jews in his country.

Morales must fulfill his obligation to protect all Bolivians.

B’nai B’rith expresses its solidarity with the Bolivian Jewish community. We will continue to call attention to and monitor the hate-filled environment that Morales is fostering.

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

B’nai B’rith International delivered a statement on Sept. 17 at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), condemning its obsession with inquiries directed at Israel. None of the world's worst abusers of human rights are subjected to such treatment.

B’nai B’rith representative to the U.N. in Geneva Klaus Netter addressed the UNHRC concerning its commission of inquiry that is slated to “investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law” in the Palestinian territories.

But, Netter noted to the council, the resolution establishing this inquiry was “without any mention of such violations at the expense of the citizens of Israel, such as the indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars into Israeli civilian sites throughout that country. As against the repeated condemnations of Israel, Hamas, the other party of the recent conflict in Gaza, is nowhere mentioned in the resolution.”

Netter also mentioned that 100 members of the U.S. Congress shared in B’nai B’rith’s condemnation of the resolution and quoted a July 25 letter the legislators sent to the High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The U.N. Human Rights Council simply cannot be taken seriously as a human rights organization when it establishes a commission of inquiry to unjustly probe alleged war crimes and violations of international law by the nation defending its citizens from rocket attacks and terror tunnels, rather than the terrorist group whose depravity makes a policy of using its citizens as human shields while its terror commanders flee to fortified bunkers.”  

Netter continued: “Apart from its biased terms of reference, the outcome of the inquiry can easily be deduced from the commission’s composition. Its chairman has been quoted as stating at the 2013 Russell Tribunal that Israel has been guilty of ‘crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression’”

Netter concluded: “… let us recall the divisive and wasteful previous council commissions of inquiry directed against Israel, by virtue of which truly grave violations of human rights elsewhere in the world have been ignored.”

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

B’nai B’rith International condemns the theatrics of Ohio University Student Senate President Megan Marzec as she turned an ALS ice bucket challenge from the university president into a totally inappropriate protest, calling for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel by the school.

Last week Ohio University President Roderick McDavis called on Marzec to complete the ice bucket challenge, supporting research for Lou Gehrig’s disease. Instead, Marzec posted a video of herself pouring a bucket of “blood” over her head, claiming Ohio University is complicit in the “genocide” and “occupation” of Palestinians and demanded the university sever any and all Israeli ties.

By doing this, Marzec repeated shock-worn canards about Israel long utilized by those who wish to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

Defined by the rejection of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish democratic state in the ancestral Jewish homeland, the BDS movement directs discrimination and double standards at the Jewish state alone, and further denies the right of Israelis to live safely while already facing relentless terrorism and violent fanaticism. 

Marzec’s “performance” on this issue is another example of hatred toward Israel emanating from university campuses where some students have blindly supported the BDS movement. B’nai B’rith hopes that should Marzec bring attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the future, she will steer clear of dramatics and opt for constructive dialogue. 

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

B’nai B’rith is troubled that a gathering in Washington, D.C., to support Christians persecuted by radical Islamists has been overshadowed by a display of animosity toward Israel.

During the “In Defense of Christians” (IDC) summit, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was shouted down when he spoke positively about Israel.

During a speech at an evening gala, Cruz noted that some urge differentiating between “ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas”—and rejected this approach, asserting, “Hate is hate, and murder is murder.”  He continued: “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.”

In response, some members of the audience loudly booed the senator, shouting “go home” and “get off the stage.” Cruz retorted that “Those who hate Israel hate America. Those who hate Jews hate Christians. If those in this room will not recognize that, then my heart weeps. If you hate the Jewish people you are not reflecting the teachings of Christ. And the very same people who persecute and murder Christians right now, who crucify Christians, who behead children, are the very same people who target Jews for their faith, for the same reason.”

In the face of hecklers disregarding appeals for civility from a conference leader and some other attendees, Cruz concluded, “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you.”

Organizers urged the conference to continue its focus on the plight of Middle East Christians and issued a statement reporting that “a few politically motivated opportunists chose to divide a room that for more than 48 hours sought unity in opposing the shared threat of genocide, faced not only by our Christian brothers and sisters, but our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of all other faiths and all people of good will. Tonight’s injection of politics when the focus should have been on unity and faith, momentarily played into the hands of a few who do not adhere to IDC’s principles. They were made no longer welcome.”

B’nai B’rith shares concern for Christians and other minorities facing severe threats and violence in the Middle East. One senior cleric suggested at the IDC dinner that media representatives present “keep it in the room”—referring to the outburst of hate and hypocrisy. However, these sentiments must be recognized and addressed by Christian leaders. Among the prominent Middle Eastern clerics visiting the United States to advocate for the region’s Christians is Gregorios III Laham, the Melkite patriarch of the (Greek Catholic) Church of Antioch, who has a history of vitriolic statements about Zionism and the national homeland of the Jewish people.

Just as the entire international community must rally to protect the fundamental rights and dignity of Christians in places like Iraq and Syria, Christian leaders and faithful, along with others, are morally obliged do the same for Jews in the Middle East. There can be no condoning or belittling the Islamist extremists doctrinally committed to the violent destruction of the Middle East’s democratic Jewish state.

Fortunately, so many Christians stand firmly with Israel and the Jewish people. But decades of anti-Israel animus, and centuries of anti-Judaism, have made a very significant imprint in the Middle East, and this moral disfigurement is not limited to components of the region’s Muslim population. If efforts for peace, and to protect Middle Eastern Christians, are to succeed, there must be recognition that “love your neighbor as yourself” applies to the people of Israel as much as to any other human beings. 

Some 1,000 attendees at the first IDC summit were joined by an array of senior Christian clergy from the region. A long list of Democratic and Republican members of Congress addressed the conference, including Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Also in attendance: the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, and the Catholic archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, and prominent public figures including former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. The theme of the gathering was a unified appeal for the safety of Middle Eastern Christians—and for religious freedom for all—a cause broadly embraced by speakers and attendees at the conference.

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

B’nai B’rith International commends the Greek legislature for passing a law strengthening the country’s anti-discrimination laws and making it a crime to deny the Holocaust. This decisive action by lawmakers comes at a time of need as the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party has sparked anti-Semitic and xenophobic crimes throughout the country.

The law was passed by parliament on Sept. 9 after a year of debate. It increases jail time for offenders from two to three years and sets the fine at $26,000 as the maximum penalty for “inciting acts of discrimination, hatred or violence” based on religion, race or disability.

This change in policy, updating anti-discrimination legislation passed in 1979, is a positive and necessary step toward tolerance and inclusiveness in Greek society.

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

B’nai B’rith International was pleased to attend Colombia’s signing of the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, and the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance today at the Organization of American States’ (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C., two conventions in which B’nai B’rith worked diligently over a decade to get the conventions passed and ratified.

The signing of the conventions in the Galería de los Héroes today establishes a clear obligation for the Colombian government to create policies that enforce the protocols within the conventions. The conventions—passed by the OAS General Assembly in June 2013—puts the onus on member states to ratify legislation that prevents, prohibits and punishes all acts of discrimination, including anti-Semitism.

In 2004, B’nai B’rith actively worked with the group in charge of drafting these documents and successfully advocated for the inclusion of anti-Semitism—a rising problem in Latin America—as a form of discrimination. Since the conventions’ initial drafting, B’nai B’rith has attended every OAS general assembly to push for passage.

B’nai B’rith was a guest of the Colombian Permanent Mission to the OAS at the signing ceremony. The conventions were signed by Colombian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OAS Andres Gonzalez Diaz. He signed the documents in the presence of Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Chair of the Permanent Council and the General Committee Sonia Merlyn Johnny.

It was an important act by Colombia, as the conventions provide a valuable tool in fighting bigotry and hatred.

B’nai B’rith, an accredited non-governmental organization at the OAS, will continue to stress the importance of these conventions as it advocates for the widespread adoption of these conventions and subsequent policies by member states who have yet to do so.