​(Jerusalem, November 13, 2019)-- The Israel-Hellenic Forum convened yesterday for the first time in Jerusalem. The meeting was moderated by Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, and George N. Tzogopoulos, senior research fellow, Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE); research associate, Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA); and lecturer, Democritus University of Thrace, who co-founded the forum. The meeting continues today and tomorrow, concluding with a visit to Yad Vashem.
 
B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin gave remarks at the opening session.
 
“It is our firm belief that the challenges facing Israel, Greece and Cyprus make it incumbent upon those who seek to promote a peaceful, inclusive and tolerant eastern Mediterranean to promote this notion to civil society, in academia and to the public at large,” said Schneider.
 
More than 30 prominent journalists and academics from Greece and Cyprus are taking part in the historic meeting. Among the senior participants: Ioannis Kasoulidis, former foreign minister of Cyprus; Cypriot MP Eleni Stavrou; Hon. Thessalia S. Shambos, ambassador of Cyprus to Israel; Ms. Stavorula Deli, charge d’affaires, Embassy of Greece in Israel; and Prof. Aristides Hatzis of the University of Athens.
 
Sessions include the strategic importance of the Mediterranean democratic bloc; the regional economy; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; national security policy under Israel’s new government; the relationship between Israel and the United States; innovation, tourism and humanitarian aid; the emerging new paradigm in Israel’s relationships with Arab states; and Greek-Jewish relations.
 
Established by the B’nai B’rith World Center – Jerusalem, the Israel-Hellenic Forum is envisioned as a setting for discussion and action by Israeli, Greek, Cypriot and related academics, intellectuals and other public figures who have shown support in the public sphere for the burgeoning relationship solidified in recent years between these three countries – reflected in the regular tripartite meetings between their leaders and the flourishing state-to-state relations. The forum was created in close consultation with B’nai B’rith in Greece and with Israeli experts.
 
The meeting and further actions – including the creation of an online publication – will be developed in cooperation with the participants, with the aim of also addressing lingering prejudices and other obstacles to greater acceptance among the peoples of these three democracies in the eastern Mediterranean.
 
B’nai B’rith has long been dedicated to advancing Hellenic-Jewish relations and has maintained a local chapter in Greece for more than 100 years. In just the last six years, we have held a number of conferences and missions focusing on the trilateral Israel-Greece-Cyprus relationship, including several with our Hellenic-American partners the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.  
  
For further details, please contact:
 
Golan Yossifon, press contact, B'nai B'rith – 052-5625135
 
Alan Schneider, director of B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem - 052-5536441 or aschneider@bnaibrith.org
 
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
 

(Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2019)--The Israel-Hellenic Forum will hold its first gathering from Nov. 12 to Nov. 14 in Jerusalem. The meeting will be moderated by Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International and the initiator of B’nai B’rith’s Bi-Annual Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel and George N. Tzogopoulos, senior research fellow, Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE); research associate, Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA); and lecturer, Democritus University of Thrace. More than 30 prominent journalists and academics from Greece and Cyprus will take part in the historic meeting.
 
Sessions include the strategic importance of the Mediterranean democratic bloc; the regional economy; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; national security policy under Israel’s new government; the relationship between Israel and the United States; innovation, tourism and humanitarian aid; the emerging new paradigm in Israel’s relationships with Arab states; and Greek-Jewish relations.
 
Established by the B’nai B’rith World Center – Jerusalem, the Israel-Hellenic Forum is envisioned as a setting for discussion and action by Israeli, Greek, Cypriot and related academics, intellectuals and other public figures who have shown support in the public sphere for the burgeoning relationship solidified in recent years between these three countries – reflected in the regular tripartite meetings between their leaders and the flourishing state-to-state relations. The forum was created in close consultation with B’nai B’rith in Greece and with Israeli experts.
 
The meeting and further actions – including the creation of an online publication – will be developed in cooperation with the participants, with the aim of also addressing lingering prejudices and other obstacles to greater acceptance among the peoples of these three democracies in the eastern Mediterranean.
 
B’nai B’rith has long been dedicated to Greek-Jewish relations and has maintained a local chapter in Greece for more than 100 years. In just the last six years, we have held three international conferences in Israel focused on security and strategic developments in the eastern Mediterranean, with senior Greek and Cypriot participation (the next conference is planned for Washington, D.C.); we led three leadership missions to Greece, Cyprus and Israel in partnership with the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; and we held a conference in Sparta that focused on Jewish-Hellenic relations in antiquity.
 
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider said, “It is our firm belief that the challenges facing Israel, Greece and Cyprus make it incumbent upon those who seek to promote a peaceful, inclusive and tolerant eastern Mediterranean to promote this notion to civil society, in academia and to the public at large.”
 
The festive opening session of the forum meeting that will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 21:00 at the Prima Park Hotel, Jerusalem, will be open to the press by advance registration. The session will feature presentations by Hon. Thessalia S. Shambos, ambassador of Cyprus to Israel; professor Dimitris Keridis, MP, Greek Parliament; and Ioannis Kasoulides, former foreign minister of Cyprus. To register, please contact the B’nai B’rith World Center at tel 02-6251743.
 
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., Nov. 6, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
We strongly support the Corinthians Football Club of São Paulo’s campaign to commemorate Kristallnacht by wearing yellow stars on their jerseys this week. The stars on the jerseys are meant to evoke the star badges Jews were forced to wear on their clothing under Nazi rule. Corinthians Football Club’s gesture of solidarity is timed to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the 1938 pogrom.
 
On Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, 1938, Nazi paramilitaries and civilians ransacked and destroyed Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, hospitals and schools. After the Yom Kippur terrorist attack on a German synagogue, the murder of 11 worshippers a year ago at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in the face of rising anti-Semitism in the United States and across the world, historical memory is more important than ever.
 
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., Nov. 4, 2019)--B’nai B’rith International’s 2019 Leadership Forum, which featured prominent speakers from the diplomacy, public policy and media realms and a special reception for participants at the residence of the Japanese ambassador, concluded today after three days of programming for leadership from around the world.    
 
In his State of the Organization address, President Charles O. Kaufman spoke about the ways B’nai B’rith is active around the world in combating anti-Semitism and fighting for Israel on the world stage, as well as our work with senior housing and aiding communities after natural disasters. Kaufman also presented the President’s Award to 30 individuals who have gone beyond the call of duty to advance B’nai B’rith’s mission.
 
“B’nai B’rith has a long and distinguished history of leadership in taking strong stands on behalf of our people around the world. And we made our collective, global voice heard once again,” Kaufman said. “However, understanding that the pen can be mightier than the sword, I decided that a direct way to confront emerging hate was through correspondence. I took to the keyboard in protest letters regarding situations at Jewish museums in Berlin, Munich and Warsaw. I continue to follow these issues closely. Our actions were followed in the Jerusalem Post and The Economist, among other places.”
 
B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin delivered a stirring address on Sunday morning about the global challenges of anti-Semitism. “Whether it occurs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or Warsaw, Poland, or Crown Heights, Brooklyn, anti-Semitism must be confronted aggressively,” Mariaschin said. “The responsibility to do so falls squarely on all of us, together with our allies and all people of conscience. Just as the very existence of the Jewish people and the Jewish state is a product of hope and determination, we must continue to apply these qualities to the challenge at hand. The security of our community depends on it.”
 
Ambassador Gonzalo Koncke, chief of staff for Organization of American States Secretary General Louis Almagro (who delivered a video greeting to the Leadership Forum) and Eduardo Kohn, B’nai B’rith International’s director for Latin American affairs, participated in a discussion about the security outlook of the Western hemisphere.  
 
Koncke emphasized the OAS’s commitment to fighting anti-Semitism through the promotion of human rights and democracy. He acknowledged that the OAS has a lot of work to do, including advocating for all countries in the region to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
 
Three security experts participated in a panel entitled “Global Security Threats at Home and Abroad.” Patrick Daly, principal deputy director/chief operating officer, Secure Community Network; Calvin A. Shivers, deputy assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division, FBI; and Frances Townsend, executive vice president of worldwide government, legal and business affairs, MacAndrews & Forbes, Inc., president, Counter Extremism Project, and former homeland security advisor to President George W. Bush participated.
 
The three focused on fighting domestic and international terrorist threats in the age of the Internet and social media, noting that seemingly every week, a new platform is unveiled, and radical groups strike a balance between public posts intended to motivate and inspire and private direct messages between peers. Because terrorist manifestos are proliferated quickly online to the Internet’s echo chamber, the attack cycle is much shorter now and those who commit terrorist acts are able to telegraph their intent within hours of the action. Shivers provided insight into how the FBI investigates anti-Semitic threats in the United States: “We have to ensure that, where we have a single [anti-Semitic] act, we look through all the intelligence we have to make sure it’s not...a larger conspiracy.” On the international front, Townsend said:  “The single largest state sponsor of terrorism remains Iran. We have never seen a more aggressive Iran in our lifetime.” Daly explained that there has been a shift to an equal number of domestic and international terrorist investigations, although we had been blessed with geographic boundaries as a security buffer from international terrorist threats for so long.
 
Director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Alan Schneider broke down the complicated Israeli elections during a luncheon presentation.  
 
Richard Green, executive director of the Clarion Project, screened his film “Kids: Chasing Paradise.” This chilling film examines the recruitment and radicalization of terrorists around the world, many of whom are vulnerable young children. Green answered questions from the audience after the movie.
 
Day two of the conference concluded with a reception at the residence of the Japanese ambassador, hosted by Ambassador Shinsuke J. Sugiyama and his wife. Kaufman gifted a tzedakah box to Sugiyama, who spoke movingly about the Holocaust: “This is not about your history. This is about human history. We shall never let it happen again.”
 
The Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany), which represents Holocaust survivors and their descendants in negotiating for restitution and compensation, received an award for its vital six decades of work from B’nai B’rith on the conference’s final day. With the award, B’nai B’rith extended its great appreciation for the tireless efforts of the Claims Conference on behalf of Holocaust survivors worldwide.  
 
Mariaschin moderated a panel analyzing the 2020 American elections with CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and NPR Washington Desk Correspondent Mara Liasson. They discussed topics including immigration, voter turnout, the divide between the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic Party and Israel being used as a wedge partisan issue.
 
The 2019 Leadership Forum concluded with a diplomatic luncheon featuring Ambassador of Cyprus to the United States Marios Lysiotis, Ambassador of Greece to the United States Haris Lalacos and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel Benjamin Krasna. The diplomats emphasized the historic and continuing ties between Greece and Cyprus and the Jewish people.
 
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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Preeminent Jewish Studies Scholar Jonathan Sarna Joins the B’nai B’rith International Podcast to Discuss a Heretofore Unknown Jewish Novelist
 
(Washington, D.C., Nov. 1, 2019)--For more than 150 years, Jewish author Cora Wilburn’s work went largely unnoticed. Jewish Studies scholar Jonathan Sarna published her coming-of-age novel “Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny” after re-discovering the novelist in the course of his research. The book explores the lives of American Jews in the 19th century.
 
Sarna joined B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin on the B’nai B’rith Podcast to talk about the unique significance of Wilburn’s work. “Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny” is “a very early American Jewish novel full of interest and it teaches us about poor Jews; we often hear about rich Jews…Cora Wilburn teaches us about the other side of the economic spectrum.” The book is an “early novel dealing with Central European Jews,” as opposed to later novels that dealt primarily with Eastern European Jews. “And of course, this is a novel by a woman about a woman, and those are few and far between in the middle of the 19th century, and that makes this novel especially interesting and important.”
 
Listen to the podcast here.
 
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., Oct. 25, 2019)--This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the horrific attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, which left 11 worshipers dead, wounded others, and brought the specter of deadly anti-Semitic violence into the spotlight in the United States.
 
In the immediate aftermath, the B’nai B’rith Disaster and Emergency Relief Committee raised money for the Pittsburgh Healing Fund. We are now distributing these donations toward mental health support for survivors and a program to assist first responders.
 
In choosing where to offer aid, the B’nai B’rith committee wanted to focus on the mental health needs of the community and will allocate funds to support programs administered by the Jewish Family and Children Services (JFCS) of Pittsburgh, including ongoing support groups to assist with treatment of trauma. JFCS will run projects for youth and teens through the schools, including an art therapy program professionally staffed to provide art services and traditional psychotherapy. There will also be programs for seniors and young professionals.
 
The B’nai B’rith fund will also support a program to assist first responders coordinated by the Police Benevolent Fund.  
 
A symbolic tribute to victims from the congregations worshipping at the Tree of Life Synagogue building at the time of the attack (Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light) will be made to Tree of Life.  
 
B’nai B’rith International has stepped in to help after natural and man-made disasters around the world since 1865. If you would like to help us help communities in need, donate here to our Disaster Relief Fund: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/bbi-disaster-relief
 
Donors can also call 800-573-9057 to make a credit card contribution over the phone. Or 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 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., Oct. 23, 2019)--The annual Aalst carnival parade in Belgium, which has a history of anti-Semitic displays, has once again plunged into anti-Semitism. Organizers of the parade are planning to give out ribbons to all participants featuring gross caricatures of Orthodox Jews with hooked red noses and gold teeth.
 
We are disgusted that the parade continues to be on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; in March of this year, a delegation of B’nai B’rith leaders led by B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin raised the issue of anti-Semitism in the parade with the director-general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay. UNESCO is expected to decide in December whether to keep the parade on the list. We urge UNESCO in the strongest terms to remove the Aalst Carnival from the list. Furthermore, the city of Aalst must unequivocally apologize for the ribbons and its history of endorsing anti-Semitism.
 
This is by no means the first time the parade has trafficked in blatant anti-Semitism. In March, we condemned the parade for a float entitled “Shabbat Year” that depicted Orthodox Jews amidst bags of money. According to the float’s creators, it was meant to protest “rising prices.” Six years ago, the same carnival event featured a caricature of the Holocaust, with Nazi rail cars. Every time the parade has featured anti-Semitism, there is a loud and vociferous criticism from Jewish groups; every time, the town ignores Jewish voices.
 
Such blatant and unrepentant anti-Semitism should not be rewarded with the endorsement of UNESCO.
 
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., Oct. 10, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We condemn the vile anti-Semitic attack that took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, outside a synagogue and inside a kebab shop in Halle, Germany.
 
The shooter uploaded a graphic video to the Internet blaming Jews for immigration and feminism and showing off the weapons in his car before driving to the synagogue and shooting. He murdered two people and wounded an additional two. Only the synagogue’s security measures, which included locking the doors of the building, prevented a massacre inside the synagogue. German law enforcement eventually pursued the shooter and has him in custody. Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and others expressed concern that the synagogue itself was not guarded by police and that police took more than 10 minutes to arrive at the synagogue.
 
This terrorist attack should be met with a renewed resolve of solidarity within the Jewish community and beyond. We also call on Twitch, the platform the shooter used to upload his video of the massacre, to more closely monitor the content that it allows to be live-streamed. More than 2,000 viewers watched the video of the shooting before it was taken down. Social media platforms must be held responsible for the hate they allow on their platforms.
 
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.or

(Washington, D.C., Oct. 10, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman has issued the following statement:  
 
The heavenly gates are closed; the book of life is inscribed. Another judgment day has passed. And Jonathan Pollard, a convict who spent 30 years in prison for spying on behalf of Israel, remains prohibited from returning to his adopted country—the Jewish state. 
 
Sure, he’s been released from prison since 2015. His parole requires him to stay in his New York home from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., to submit any computer he uses for inspection, and to wear a GPS device at all times; and to live in the United States for five years. Thirteen months away from a possible release, the excessive sentence is more than a year from being met. Well, it’s enough.
 
Jonathan Pollard has done his penance, served his time. It’s time for the U.S. Justice Department to allow him to leave the United States. He’s lived under restrictive conditions. Even in Israel he would remain under the same restrictive conditions. Pollard is 65 years old and reportedly lives in deteriorating health. He pleaded guilty 33 years ago to committing espionage in connection with providing Israeli contacts with hundreds of classified documents that he had obtained as a civilian intelligence specialist for the U.S. Navy. 
 
Since 1986, when Pollard was convicted, the world has undergone a technological revolution. Relative to commonplace hacking today and undetected cyber violations, one thing is clear—Jonathan Pollard has spent half his life in captivity and, by all accounts, he no longer presents a danger to U.S. intelligence. An ailing, all- but-spent convict just wants to live out his days. 
 
Just five years ago, Americans felt the sting of releasing three Cuban spies for American Alan Gross. The memory of swapping five still dangerous Taliban prisoners—terrorists—for a disgraced American soldier burns brightly in the American psyche. What further debt can be extracted from a figure like Jonathan Pollard? 
 
The book of life has just closed on the Jewish people. It’s time to close the book on Pollard and lift his parole. Immediately, let him live out the final chapter of his life in Israel.
 
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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