​B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
B’nai B’rith is appalled at the absolutist stance of the Polish government that it will never provide any restoration or compensation to Jews whose property was stolen during the Holocaust.
 
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his Law and Justice party have clung to the view that because Poland was also a victim of Nazi Germany it cannot be held responsible for crimes committed against Jews. They are therefore denying rightful and long-overdue compensation to Polish Jews whose property was stolen during World War II. However, some Poles did participate in crimes against Jews, before, during and after the war.
 
Poland’s post-war Communist regime nationalized much of the property stolen from Jews. Morawiecki says any restitution to Jews must be paid by Berlin.
 
Last year in the shadow of a Polish law that would have criminalized talk of Poland’s complicity in the Holocaust, we noted that Poland must acknowledge a history of anti-Semitism that preceded the Holocaust and persists to this day. 
 
We also condemn the disgraceful and brazen act of anti-Semitism by Polish politician Konrad Berkowicz, who forced a kippah on the head of Law and Justice Party leader Anna Krupka while saying she is “selling the country to the Jews.”  When Poland denies its history, acts like these further illustrate the country’s problem. This event is especially despicable considering that it took place in Kielce, the home of a horrific pogrom carried out against Jews in 1946. 

(Washington, D.C., May 15, 2019)--A B’nai B’rith delegation has visited China and Japan, concluding with a private meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
 
In recognition of the growing geopolitical importance of China – the world’s most populous nation – and of B’nai B’rith’s longtime engagement with Japan as a key democracy, the leadership group arrived to build further bridges to both societies, to recognize increasingly robust relations with Israel and to encourage strong bilateral ties with the United States.
 
In his remarks to the visiting delegation, Abe thanked B’nai B’rith – which arrived shortly after the accession of a new emperor – for its humanitarian contributions after a number of natural disasters in Japan, particularly the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. B’nai B’rith has also sent several cohorts of American Jewish young leaders to the country.
 
In both countries, B’nai B’rith met with senior officials, diplomats and experts responsible for implementing or guiding foreign policy, as well as with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors, and with rabbis and other local Jewish leaders.
 
B’nai B’rith particularly urged Chinese and Japanese policymakers to help promote peace and stability in the Middle East by consistently denouncing Palestinian terrorist groups that attacked Israeli civilians with hundreds of rockets this month, by denying revenue to Iran’s hegemonic regime and by backing fairness for Israel at the United Nations.
 
China is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, and Japan is a leading contributor to the operational budget of the world body.
 
President Donald Trump is expected to visit Japan over the coming weeks. On the eve of B’nai B’rith’s visit, he ended a waiver of sanctions on countries purchasing oil from Iran, leading a variety of countries to significantly wind down such purchases.
 
In China, the B’nai B’rith group made a stop in Shanghai to commemorate the extraordinary welcoming of European Jews there during the Holocaust. The group also joined the Embassy of Israel in Beijing in marking the Jewish State’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.
 
Led by B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, the delegation included Executive Board of Directors member and Chair of the Center for Community Action Ira Bartfield, of Arlington, Virginia; Executive Board of Directors member Eric Engelmayer, of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Jennifer Kaufman, of Austin, Texas; Michal Mariaschin, of Washington, DC; and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels, of New York, who facilitated the mission.

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

(Washington, D.C., May 13, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
We are outraged that Imam Omar Suleiman was chosen to give the opening Ramadan invocation at the House of Representatives. Suleiman, who leads the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, has a history of making inflammatory comments about Israel that endorse violence against Jews and peddle in anti-Semitic tropes.
 
There are numerous examples of hateful comments on Suleiman’s social media and in his public statements. During the 2014 Gaza war, which Israel fought against the terrorist group Hamas, Suleiman tweeted: "God willing on this blessed night as the 3rd Intifada begins, the beginning of the end of Zionism is here. May Allah help us overcome this monster, protect the innocent of the world, and accept the murdered as martyrs." His tweet implies support for Hamas and the end of the Jewish state.
 
Suleiman has also referred to Israel as the “51st state,” building on the anti-Semitic notion that the small country somehow controls American foreign policy. At a 2017 rally, he said of the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: “Your recognition means nothing to us. Your maps mean nothing to us, your embassy is as illegitimate as the occupation it seeks to legitimize. Our land is our land, our dignity is our dignity.” 
 
His anti-Israel stance is a thin political cover for his anti-Semitic beliefs, which include veiled support for anti-Semitic violence. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), who issued the invitation to Suleiman, and the House should be ashamed that his comments did not disqualify him from giving the opening prayer. ​

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

Council ignores Hamas Rockets into Israel

B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   

What an outrage that on the heels of Hamas and Islamic Jihad firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians, killing four, the United Nations Security Council holds a briefing on settlements in the West Bank.

Instead of a meeting to condemn the terror groups for indiscriminate rocket attacks and ceaseless incitement against Israel, the security council met to discuss the “illegality” of settlements. To make matters worse, no Israeli official was invited to speak.

We commend U.S. Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt for speaking out unequivocally against the council’s failure to hold Hamas and Islamic Jihad accountable for the violence and instead, choosing to rehash “tired talking points, some 20 years old.”

​(Washington, D.C., May 8, 2019)--B’nai B’rith International co-hosted a rally on Capitol Hill today to call attention to the need for more affordable senior housing. About 1,000 people attended the Senior Housing Now rally, which featured Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine; Missouri Rep. William Clay; California Rep. Katie Hill; and Florida Rep. Donna Shalala, along with residents of affordable housing for low-income seniors.
 
Safe and affordable housing is a lifeline for so many older adults. Attending the rally today, Ethel Young, president of the CSI board of directors in Baltimore, who said: “Sometimes I learn that a person who calls to check on where they are on the waiting list [for housing where she lives] is sleeping in their car. I feel so sorry for them. My heart goes out to them. By the grace of God I know it just could have easily been me. The Walker coop apartments are 88 wonderful apartments in a beautiful community. But we are only 88 units. I cannot create new units or wipe away the waiting lists. However, Congress can. Members of Congress should answer the leasing office phone for a few hours a week and hear from the people I talk to.” 
 
Evelyn Hudson, a resident of St. Mary’s Court in Washington, D.C., said: “The reason I’m here today is because of the fact that senior citizens can be displaced quickly because of the fact they don’t make enough money. Some of us retired and we didn’t get the retirement we thought we would get. The American dream seems like an illusion, and so we need affordable houses. Safe, affordable houses where we can have food, medicine and housing without scrimping and scraping.”
 
Lawmakers attending the rally said they understood how vital funding is. Shalala told the crowd:
“I started my career at HUD, working on 202s as a policymaker at HUD in the Carter administration, a long time ago. I’m a senior, too. But I came to tell you that the Congress is committed, that we understand what you’ve contributed to this country. And we know what we have to do to honor that contribution. Seniors all over our country are desperate for affordable housing. And 202 and Section 8s are the best vehicle to provide first-class housing to seniors.” She finished by saying: “Housing is a right in this country, and quality housing for seniors ought to be a right.”


B’nai B’rith’s long history with Section 202 housing started in 1971, when we formed a partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to sponsor housing for low-income seniors. The B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network in the United States comprises 38 buildings and serves some 5,000 people. B’nai B’rith International is the largest national Jewish sponsor of non-sectarian low-income housing for seniors in the country.
 
Attending the rally on behalf of the B’nai B’rith Center for Senior Services were Associate Director Janel Doughten and Assistant Director for Aging Policy Evan Carmen. They noted: “It’s so exciting being at the Senior Housing Now rally on Capitol Hill. Affordable HUD senior housing is so important throughout our country and we call on Congress to appropriate more money for the Section 202 program. Just look to our B’nai B’rith housing communities where often waiting lists to get into our sponsored Section 202 properties can be a year or longer, or even closed. This rally was critical to highlight the importance of creating more senior housing.”
 
The rally was sponsored by LeadingAge, an association of non-profit aging services.  

(Washington, D.C., May 6, 2019)-- The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem honored the legacy of Jewish Holocaust-era rescuers in Belgium at two major events held on May 2nd - Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah). The events were dedicated to rescue efforts undertaken by members of the Jewish Defense Committee in Belgium (CDJ, for its initials in French).
 
 The phenomenon of Jewish rescue and the instructive stories of thousands of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe have yet to receive appropriate public recognition. Many who could have tried to flee preferred to stay and rescue others; some paid for it with their lives. With great heroism, Jews in every country in occupied Europe employed subterfuge, forgery, smuggling, concealment and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust, or assisted other Jews in escaping to safe havens, and in doing so foiled the Nazi goal of total genocide against the Jews. The organizers of the ceremony view it as especially important to expose Jewish youth to these narratives as a model for Jewish solidarity and courage.
 
The first event was a unique joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony held for the 17th consecutive year together with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael/Jewish National Fund - the only event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust. Held at B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest “Scroll of Fire” Plaza”, over 1,000 Jerusalem-area school pupils and pre-army preparatory academy students attended the ceremony together with Jewish rescuers, survivors and Border Patrol cadets.
Speakers at the ceremony were Mr. Danny Atar, world chairman, Jewish National Fund; Dr. Haim V. Katz, chairman of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem; Brigadier General Yehuda Yehoshua, commander of the Border Guard Combat Training Center; H.E. Olivier Belle, ambassador of Belgium to Israel; and Michel Werber, son of CDJ founding members Abusz and Shifra Werber.
 
During the ceremony, a “Jewish Rescuers Citation” was conferred on 11 leading members of the CDJ - David Ferdman, Hertz Jospa, Hava Jospa, Abraham Manaster, Chaim Pinkus Perelman, Fela Perelman, David Trocki-Muscnicki, Paulina Avstritski, Josef Sterngold, Abusz Werber and Shifra Werber - and four other rescuers who were active in Poland - Shraga Dgani, Miriam-Mania Zeidman, Yaacov Segalchik and Bela Yaari-Hazan. A joint project of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust, nearly 270 heroes have been honored with the citation since its establishment in 2011 for rescue activities in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Holland and Belgium.


The second event was an international conference entitled “Historical Perspectives on Jewish Rescue in Belgium During the Holocaust”. Held before an overflow crowd at the official residence of Ambassador Belle, speakers included B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider; Paul Jospa, son of CDJ leaders Hertz and Hava Jospa; B’nai B’rith Antwerp President Willy Kahan (who is married to the daughter of CDJ rescuer Josef Sterngold, Rachel); Olivia Mattis, granddaughter of CDJ founders Prof. Haim and Fela Perelman; and Alain Blitz, the son of a Belgian deportee to Auschwitz and an educator and author of the first Hebrew-language book on the Holocaust in Belgium. Lectures were presented by Dorien Styven, researcher and archivist at the Kazerne Dossin Museum of Deportation and Resistance in Mechelen, Belgium, on "Unlikely Allies - Diversity in the Ranks of the Jewish Defense Committee," and by Joel Kotek, professor at the Free University in Brussels and at Sciences Po University in Paris entitled, “Reception of the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance in Belgian Historiography”. Closing remarks were offered by David Inowlocki, honorary vice president, Belgian Association for Hidden Children. The conference was co-sponsored by the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews during the Holocaust (JRJ); B’nai B’rith Joseph Wybran Lodge; OBI – Organization of Belgians in Israel (l'Asiociation des Originaries de la Belgique en Israel) and Amilies Israel Belgique Luxemburg – Tel Aviv.
 
Two Jewish Rescuers Citations – in memory of CDJ activists Leopold Flam and Israel Tabakman - were presented at the close of the conference.
 
Reports on the events were carried in the Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Swiss National Radio, Belgian National Radio, I24 news, Jwire, Israel Radio, JTA, KAN 11 Television – Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation and Maariv, among others.
--
The Jewish Defense Committee in Belgium was founded in September 1942 in reaction to the start of the deportation of Jews by the Gestapo in August 1942 in Brussels and Antwerp. The goal of the CDJ was to operate clandestinely to save as many Jews as possible. The CDJ united Jews from a broad ideological spectrum (including communists, revisionists, General Zionists and members of "Left Zion Workers” and "Zionist Youth") and from different swathes of society (among them Belgian citizens and foreigners, secular and religious Jews and even some non-Jews, such as the teacher Andree Geulen) to engage in joint rescue operations. The CDJ urged Jews to disregard the orders of the local Judenrat – the AJB - and go underground instead, and also endeavored to win the support of the general public for persecuted Jews. Some of the CDJ members held positions in the AJB and secretly passed on vital information to foil the German's nefarious plans. 

The committee managed to rescue 3,000-4,000 Jewish children – half of all the Jewish children who survived the Holocaust in Belgium – and provided life-saving assistance to 10,000 adults, including hiding places and forged documents. This activity endangered the lives of the CDJ members; some of them were captured, tortured and deported to concentration camps. Some did not survive. The CDJ operated as an adjunct of the "Independence Front" – the most significant resistance organization, founded in Belgium in March 1941, that united 17 different ideological and religious groups lead by the Communist Party in response to the German invasion of the USSR. At the time of the German invasion of Belgium – May 10, 1940 – 66,000 Jews lived in the country, of whom only 10 percent were Belgian citizens; 34,801 were arrested during the Holocaust (among them 5,092 children under the age of 16); 28,902 were murdered – 44 percent of the entire Jewish population in Belgium; 24,906 were imprisoned - usually for several days – at the transfer camp Mechelen-Malines and deported from there on 28 transports to Auschwitz beginning in summer 1942. Only 1,337 survived the camps. 

The number of CDJ members reached 300. It operated an impressive administrative network to handle finance, forged papers and food coupons, clandestine press and concealment of children and adults. The department for forged papers was so successful that it also provided papers for non-Jews trying to avoid forced labor. The principal feature of CDJ – cooperation between groups across the ideological and political spectrum - was the basis of an organization unique in Western Europe. The main chapter of the committee was in Brussels. Other chapters were in Charleroi and Liege. In Antwerp, the committee was founded in 1943, when three independent groups started to collaborate. 55 percent of Belgian Jews survived thanks to the swift response of individuals who went underground independently, to the heroic operation of members of the CDJ and to the support of the local Belgian society at large, including many clergy. It should be noted that Jews also operated outside the CDJ in various resistance organizations in smuggling, intelligence, sabotage and clandestine press. The unequivocal conclusion resulting from the events in Belgium during the war is that passivity of the Jews facing the horrors of the Holocaust is a myth.     

The B'nai B'rith Martyr’s Forest is the largest joint B’nai B’rith and KKL-JNF project, which memorializes the victims of the Holocaust with 6 million trees planted in the picturesque Jerusalem mountains near Moshav Kesalon. At the pinnacle of the forest stands the “Scroll of Fire,” created by renowned sculptor Nathan Rapoport, which invokes the destruction.

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
​

The world is too silent as Israelis are under rocket assault from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The massive shelling attacks – hundreds of rockets – that began Saturday have sent Israelis scrambling for shelters. From schools to apartment buildings to playgrounds to soccer fields, Israelis cannot go about their daily lives as terrorists have launched an offensive of indiscriminate rocket attacks against a sovereign nation. No other nation is forced to endure such attacks as part of its existence.

It should not come as a surprise that Israel will do what it needs to do to defend its population. The international community must understand that Hamas is responsible for hiding behind Gazans to carry out its terror attacks. Hamas leaders cowardly hide while using their own population as human shields.  

B’nai B’rith stands with the people of Israel as it responds to these despicable acts of violence and terror and we commend the Israel Defense Forces for its actions to defend Israeli civilians.

(Washington, D.C., May 3, 2019)--Pamela Nadell, the Patrick Clendenen chair in Women’s and Gender History at American University’s Department of History and the author of America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today, joined B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin for a discussion on the history of Jewish women in American life. Nadell also directs the Jewish Studies Program at American University and serves as the chair of its Critical Race, Gender & Culture Studies program.
 
Nadell and Mariaschin discuss the societal roles of Jewish women across classes, professions and time periods, as well as their roles in pivotal social movements in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the labor movement, women’s suffrage and the feminist movement. Among the many ways women made their voices heard: In New York City in 1902, Jewish women organized a boycott of kosher meat to protest its rising prices.
 
Nadell describes one notable example of the involvement of Jewish women in the labor movement: “The first really successful general strike on the Lower East Side of New York was the 1909 Shirtwaist Makers strike, and the men who were in charge of the labor unions were very suspicious of women. They didn’t expect that women could organize and sustain a strike. They started the strike with an almost bankrupt strike fund, and they always felt that the women who were working in the factories and in the sweatshops were, by and large, single women and they were going to get married and they were going to leave…and the women of the shirtwaist makers braved thugs and terrorism from the police and arrests and workhouse sentencing, and they sustained a several months-long strike that was settled in many shops successfully…It sparked a decade of labor unrest that ultimately saw, by the end of World War I, the garment industry as the best-organized labor unions in the United States.”
 
America’s Jewish Women mostly takes the form of sketches of individual women at specific points in time. Some of the prominent women discussed include American author Mary Antin, feminist activist Betty Friedan and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; however, Nadell also explores the lives of various every day women whose time was taken up with family life and domestic responsibilities.
 
The podcast conversation includes discussion of how American Jewish women influenced the development of Judaism and Jewish institutions. From the earliest days of the Jewish community in America, American Jewish women began regularly attending synagogue (rather than observing their religious duties solely at home) and invented Sunday school for Jewish children. Women also founded Jewish organizations focused on immigrant relief, were adept at fundraising and organizing for programs for their synagogues and many were early activists in the Zionism movement. Some of these organizations, such as the National Council of Jewish Women, still exist today. 
 
To listen to the full discussion on our podcast, click 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
​

​(Washington, D.C., April 29, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
The anti-Semitic editorial cartoon in Thursday's international edition of the New York Times was an outrage. Drawn with great technical skill and conceived with great ignorance, if not hate, this piece was simply a reflection of the Times’ long-standing bias against Israel. The symbolism used was vintage Nazi Germany.
 
This cartoon punctuated yet another shocking weekend of hatred toward Jews. How anti-Semitic commentary has made it into the mainstream of public opinion is beyond comprehension in modern times. In this case, this incident is the exclamation point about media today. Editors have virtually disappeared as the marketplace of ideas flourishes with unchecked sources and little, if any, corroboration of information. What seems to matter most is being first to market with a thought rather than exercising discretion, a penchant for accuracy and news judgment. 
 
Given the nature and rules of engagement of today's media world, we are frankly surprised that people are so shocked by this editorial illustration. It simply reflects the opinion and biased coverage of Israel, Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, Palestinian leadership, the peace process, false narratives advanced through anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations, United Nations Human Rights Council and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization by the Times. The Times proves over and over again that, with few exceptions, it is giving forces who operate without a free and scrutinizing press — Israel’s adversaries — a free pass. Such a shame. Journalism is badly, maybe irreparably, damaged.
 
While we acknowledge that the Times has issued apologies for the cartoon, merely apologizing is not enough. We call on the paper to review and revise its editorial processes so that blatantly anti-Semitic and racist content will not be given a platform by one of the most widely read newspapers in the world. The artist who created the cartoon and the editors who approved its publication must be held accountable.
 
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