B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International denounces Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ disavowal of signed peace agreements with Israel in his speech to the U.N. General Assembly today. Abbas painted a picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was divorced from reality and he used it as grounds to pull his administration from its commitments with Israel.
 
On a day when he was called up to the U.N. rostrum as the head of state of the "State of Palestine"—and when the United Nations made the Palestinians the only people to have their flag flown there in advance of the establishment and admission of an actual state—Abbas said he was declaring "that we cannot continue to be bound by these [past] agreements and that Israel must assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying power." He added that he would escalate Palestinian pursuit of membership in international organizations, which have been exploited as propaganda tools against Israel. 
 
The statement by Abbas shows the true face of the PA. Abbas appropriates the trappings of statehood, refuses its obligations, and shifts these to Israel rather than engaging in genuine peacemaking with the Jewish state. Yet the PA cannot achieve its objectives by fiat or by manipulating the United Nations and its agencies. Abbas and his Palestinian peers must recognize Jewish statehood and respect the basic rights of Israelis if the Palestinians’ political goals are to concretely materialize.
 
In a 40-minute speech before the General Assembly, Abbas again directed inflammatory rhetoric and mistruths at Israel while avoiding his responsibility for the current state of relations between the two sides. Abbas demanded full recognition at the United Nations and rebuffed the direct bilateral negotiations with Israel that the U.N. itself long insisted upon as the only legitimate path to progress.
 
Abbas invoked recent violence at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, rehashing his revisionist narrative of developments at the site, obfuscating its essential Jewish history and escalating efforts to prevent Jewish visits there. Abbas claimed that Palestinians are “working to spread the culture of peace.” This week, though, Palestinian rioters armed with stones and firebombs mobilized to prevent non-Muslims from entering Temple Mount, even though Israel has for decades explicitly protected Islamic privilege there.
 
Abbas asserted that a two-state solution requires unconditional international recognition of a Palestinian state that does not yet exist. However, he failed to acknowledge that the terrorist group Hamas, which violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from him, remains fervently committed to Israel’s destruction and continues its utterly unprovoked and indiscriminate attacks on civilian communities inside Israel.
 
If the PA were serious about peace, its officials would be sitting down with the Israeli government to negotiate a lasting, comprehensive peace rather than pursuing symbolic victories and senseless confrontation at the United Nations.

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

With Pope Francis set to touch down at Joint Base Andrews this afternoon, beginning his historic three-city visit to the United States, B’nai B’rith International welcomes the pontiff to America.

Pope Francis will spend time in Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia before returning to Rome on Sept. 27.

B’nai B’rith is among all those who await the pope’s visit and will be listening to what he has to say as he addresses a number of audiences. Of particular note are Pope Francis’ speeches to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations General Assembly.

The pope is a strong supporter of interreligious relations and the Catholic-Jewish friendship. In June, a multinational delegation of B’nai B’rith leaders met privately with Pope Francis at the Vatican. The meeting came during this 50th anniversary year of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council document that helped to transform Catholic engagement with Jews and others.

B’nai B’rith International Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels will be present on Friday when Pope Francis visits the National September 11th Memorial and Museum in New York. Previously, in 2014, Michaels greeted Francis at Jerusalem’s Western Wall during the papal visit to Israel, and in 2013, Michaels attended the installation of the pope and the first interreligious meeting with him at the Vatican.

Before becoming pope, in 2012, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio hosted B’nai B’rith’s annual Kristallnacht commemoration in Buenos Aires.

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

B’nai B’rith International denounces the United Nations Security Council’s “press statement” on simmering tensions around Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount, issued late on Sept. 17. Clearly a distorted political product, it should not have been approved by the council's 15 members--including the permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France.

The Temple Mount is the single holiest site in Judaism—and yet, deploringly, the Security Council statement refers to the historic plateau, five times, only by its Muslim name. Jewish and other non-Muslim visitors to the site have increasingly been targeted with organized intimidation and hate attacks, persistently and openly incited by inflammatory Islamic leaders and Palestinian politicians. And still, the Security Council statement only says that “Muslim worshippers at the Haram Al-Sharif must be allowed to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations.”

In a policy of incomparable care and restraint, but with virtually no international acknowledgement, Israel has long determinedly maintained a status quo at the Temple Mount that allows only Muslims to pray openly there.

Despite this, and in stark contrast, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas himself has spoken of pilgrimage sites on the Temple Mount being “contaminated” by Jews, saying they “have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet” and “no right to defile” the Mount, which is claimed as an exclusively Arab and Islamic domain.

One can only imagine the international reaction if such utterly incendiary and bigoted comments were to be made by the prime minister of Israel.

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

B’nai B’rith International condemns Ann Coulter for her ugly remarks on Twitter during last night’s Republican presidential debate. During the final questions of the debate, several of the candidates expressed support for Israel, causing Coulter to take to social media to angrily accuse them of pandering to Jewish voters and asking on Twitter: “How many f---ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States.”

Coulter’s comments were beyond crass. Whatever her intention, her comments came across to many as deeply offensive to all who value the important alliance between the United States and the democracy of Israel. Her odious words clearly demonstrate her endless desire for attention and causing conflict.

B’nai B’rith laments that it is contributing to the spotlight on Coulter and her comments, but this is another example of spreading hate through punditry and it should not be tolerated. 

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

B’nai B’rith International commends the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a resolution of disapproval regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program. This is a strong message to Iran that our elected representatives have listened to the American people, debated and ultimately spoken out against the deal.

We are pleased to see that a majority of the House agrees that the Iran nuclear deal is unlikely to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and that it is impossible to look at Iran’s track record and trust the regime to adhere to the terms of this pact. 

Additionally, B’nai B’rith applauds the House for voting against lifting sanctions against Tehran. Sanctions were key in isolating Iran and severely impacting its economy. Lifting the sanctions will only cause more money to flow into the Iranian nuclear program, as well as to its terror proxies around the globe.

At the same time, B’nai B’rith regrets that a parallel vote did not occur yesterday in the Senate. It is truly disappointing that Senators were not able to cast an up-or-down vote on this monumental issue.

On the same day the Senate vote was thwarted, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said publically, “God willing, there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years. Until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists.” Khamenei's remarks are a perfect illustration of why this deal has potentially catastrophic consequences.

B’nai B’rith International is disappointed the European Parliament has passed a resolution that will allow European governments to label products made in the West Bank, a policy that will cause great economic and political harm to the Jewish state.

The resolution, which passed by a vote of 525-70, is an affirmation of the discriminatory goals of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Such a misguided policy is destructive to the peace process and gives momentum to opponents of Israel who seek to delegitimize the Jewish state by weakening its economy and isolating it politically.

We call on European governments to reject this biased and counterproductive resolution.

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

B’nai B’rith International condemns the U.N. General Assembly’s acquiescence to Palestinians’ demands for their flag to be flown outside United Nations headquarters despite the fact that “Palestine” does not yet exist as a state and is a non-member of the world body. The Palestinians, whose Arab and other allies control a majority of the United Nations, secured U.N. recognition as a non-member observer “state” in 2012.

119 voted for the resolution, 8 voted against and 45 abstained.

In August, the Palestinian mission to the U.N. distributed a draft resolution calling for the flying of non-member state flags. The draft resolution was apparently circulated without the authorization of the Vatican, the only other “non-member state” at the United Nations, and the Holy See asked the Palestinians to remove any mention of it from the draft.

The resolution is yet another transparent, provocative political maneuver by the Palestinian Authority, which has long evaded its obligation affirmed by relevant global actors, including the United Nations itself, to pursue aspirations only achievable through a direct and comprehensive bilateral agreement with Israel. By having their flag flown at the United Nations in advance of successful talks and mutual compromise with Israel, the Palestinians only further demonstrate their strategy of maintaining and “internationalizing” their conflict with Israel. The step is also further proof of the Palestinians’ political exploitation of the United Nations, which grants no other nationalist group the unconditional benefits afforded them.

The flags outside the United Nations represent existing countries. The Palestinian territories—part of which are controlled by the terrorist group Hamas, which is committed to Israel’s destruction—do not currently comprise a state, owing to the Palestinians’ refusal to reach a two-state solution that includes recognition of the Jewish state.

We commend the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and Tuvalu for opposing a tactic of Palestinian leaders whose only purpose is to avoid meaningful engagement with Israel and to distract from failure to genuinely improve their constituents’ future. 

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

B’nai B’rith International is pleased with Amazon’s swift action, removing the blood-stained Israeli flag merchandise from its website. The repugnant merchandise, ranging from phone cases to umbrellas, was sold by a third party retailer and was pulled from the website after it was discovered by Israeli news outlets. 

In June, Amazon joined other major retailers in removing all Confederate flag related items from its online store. By following up the banning of Confederate flag merchandise with a quick removal of these anti-Semitic devises, Amazon has shown it will not stand for bigotry and will forcefully dispel hateful items from its store.

That being said, B’nai B’rith hopes Amazon will increase its vigilance in making sure these hateful objects do not materialize for purchase on its website. 

As a national leader in the field of seniors and aging issues, B’nai B’rith International was invited by our partner Leading Age to participate in a tour of several Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 202 senior housing buildings with Congressional staffers and discuss the importance of this government program.

B’nai B’rith’s Director of Aging Policy Rachel Goldberg and Associate Director of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services Janel Doughten, along with Alayna Waldrum of Leading Age, were part of the tour and discussion, explaining what Section 202 housing is, why it is so important and why it is imperative that Congress restore funding to this essential program in the federal budget.

The purpose of the tour was to put a face on why the Section 202 buildings for moderate-to-low-income seniors are so important, and why funding to build more of these homes across the United States should be restored to the federal budget and made a priority. The Congressional delegations often hear statistics and pleas to restore the funding, but until they see the buildings, what they provide, and meet the residents, it is easier to dismiss. By giving these staffers a direct look, and an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the program, B’nai B’rith hopes the staffers came away with a greater urgency to address this issue.

The first building toured was St. Mary’s Court in downtown Washington, D.C., where Doughton serves as the vice president of the building’s board of directors.  The group met with residents, the manager and the service coordinator of the building. St. Mary’s Manager Margaret Pully gave an overview of the building, including demographics of the residents, meal program and the issues with the long waitlist to live in the building. The service coordinator, Ceila Wolter, talked about her wide range of interactions with the residents, from helping a hoarder de-clutter an apartment to making sure someone with a chronic medical issue or someone recently returned from the hospital has the necessary medical care.

The second property congressional staffers toured was the Samuel J. Simmons NCBA Estates (National Caucus and Center on Black Aged). On the bus ride from St. Mary’s Court to NCBA Estates, staffers had a chance to ask Leading Age staff and Doughten questions on the particulars of these buildings and the program, such as why are waitlists closed? How are service coordinators funded? 

Waldrum explained that waitlists in many buildings are closed because there is such a demand for this housing that the lists just got too long. Once it is determined there is more than a two year wait for an apartment, most buildings close the list. They do not want to give false hope to people hoping to move into a building, when the list length means it most likely will not happen. 

Answering the question of how to fund a service coordinator, Waldrum and Doughten informed Congressional staffers that the position was often funded through a HUD grant, but when the federal budget cut the funding to build 202 projects, the money for service coordinators was also mostly eliminated. Some buildings are able to get the costs of a service coordinator built into their operating budget, but not all buildings are able to do that. The members of a building’s board of directors are the volunteer fundraisers for that complex, and they also work with staff to prepare grant applications and other means of funding. 

Although a wonderful building with creative staff, NCBA Estates is an example of what happens when money is cut from Section 202 housing. The wait list has been closed for two years and there is no service coordinator.

B’nai B’rith International is the largest national Jewish sponsor of low-income senior housing in the United States, with 42 buildings in 26 communities, encompassing more than 4,000 apartment units and serving more than 8,000 people. Operating the Senior Housing Network since 1968, B'nai B'rith complexes are open to all qualified individuals as defined by HUD, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap or national origin. The B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network is just a small slice of the almost 400,000 seniors in more than 8,000 buildings throughout the country served by Section 202. 

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

B’nai B’rith International condemns the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) for its disgraceful endorsement of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and is repulsed by its accusations against Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.”

BDS is a campaign to isolate Israel economically and politically through boycotts and other discriminatory tactics.  Its aim is to delegitimize and ultimately cripple the Jewish state.  Its focus on one and only one state— Israel—demonstrates the highly sinister intentions of the movement, which ignores human rights violations committed by the world’s worst abusers while raining fusillades on the Jewish state.

At UE’s national convention in mid-August the union adopted a resolution making it the first union in the United States to take a pro-BDS position. In the resolution, UE called on the United States to end its aid to Israel and aligned itself with overseas labor unions that also oppose the Jewish state.

The resolution goes on to make absurd claims, fraudulently asserting that Palestinian citizens of Israel “survived ethnic cleansing,” and that members of the government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have called for the stripping of citizenship and expulsion of Palestinians.  The text further characterizes Israel’s defensive military operation in the wake of Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians in 2014 as “genocide.”

While leveling outlandish falsehoods at the only democracy in the Middle East, the resolution does not once mention the terror organization Hamas and the violent fanaticism Israel faces everyday. The UE is perpetuating a one-sided, distorted view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In doing so, it is spreading hatred, endangering the security of the Middle East’s only democracy and harming the cause of peace in the region.