(Washington, D.C., Nov. 16, 2020)--Global anti-Semitism, the impact of the U.S. elections on the Jewish community and changes in the Middle East peace landscape were the featured topics of B'nai B'rith International’s just-concluded annual Leadership Forum. The two-day event was held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

​Despite being unable to shake hands and connect with friends in person, the Leadership Forum offered in-depth conversations with important guests, including Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, who closed out the Forum in an off-the-record discussion that included the changing peace landscape in the region.

President Charles O. Kaufman kicked things off by providing an overview of B’nai B’rith’s work around the world. Kaufman spoke about public policy and the United Nations, work in Israel, advocacy on behalf of seniors and disaster and emergency relief efforts, including the distribution of supplies in various countries affected by COVID-19, from the U.S., Panama and Uruguay to Italy.

B'nai B'rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin hosted an informative conversation on global anti-Semitism with Ellie Cohanim, U.S. State Department deputy special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, and Katharina Von Schnurbein, the European Commission coordinator on combating anti-Semitism.

Von Schnurbein spoke of the European Commission's efforts to combat anti-Semitism online. She emphasized the importance of "Pause: Take Care Before You Share," a campaign started by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to stop the spread of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been no shortage of offensive and untrue conspiracy theories regarding Jews' and Israel's supposed role in spreading and creating the novel coronavirus. Von Schnurbein hopes A "Pause" strategy will help put an end to the falsehoods. "We help debunk conspiracy myths," she said. "We have seen, like in the terrorist attacks in Halle, the road from conspiracy myths to hate crimes on the street is very short."

Similarly, Cohanim commented on the unfortunate relationship between the online world and anti-Semitism. “The internet, sadly, has become a medium which allows millions and millions of people to be on the receiving end of these lies," she said.

In the day's second panel discussion, moderated by Eric Fusfield, B'nai B'rith International director of legislative affairs and deputy director of the Center for Human Rights and Public Policy, Lisa Lerer of The New York Times and Josh Kraushaar of the National Journal analyzed the outcomes of the 2020 U.S. elections and what changes Jews, Americans and those abroad, could expect to see from the new administration with regard to Israel.

Lerer, a political reporter, said that all indicators point to President-Elect Joe Biden pushing for a respectful relationship with Israel. "He comes from an older school of politics that see a relationship with Israel as a key part of foreign policy," she said.

Addressing a question about the need for bipartisan support for Israel, Kraushaar said that in what are now increasingly “tribal times,” the biggest movement is when someone in one party speaks out against someone in the same party who is not behaving in a responsible way.

Day two began with a spirited, extraordinary conversation hosted by B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider with guest Bassem Eid, a Jerusalem-based political analyst, human rights pioneer and expert commentator on Arab and Palestinian affairs. He offered great insight into missed and possible opportunities that exist between Israel and the Palestinians.

"One of the major tragedies of the Palestinian people is their own leadership," Eid said. "We have such old leadership who only like to talk about the past, who like only to mention history. They are not looking to the future of their people and their children."

“Homeland is the place where you can find dignity, justice and freedoms,” he continued. “This is the real homeland… Arab leaders and even Arab nations are starting to realize slowly, the influence of the State of Israel in the region.”

B’nai B’rith policy specialists discussed their respective areas of expertise, with Associate Director of the Center for Senior Services Janel Doughten describing the importance of collaboration among the different housing staffs during combined training sessions. "That is one of the great things about the training sessions,” she said.  “They can come together and share best practice, learning from each other.”

Evan Carmen, legislative director for aging policy, noted the diverse issues the seniors team tackles on Capitol Hill to help older adults, including affordable housing, Social Security, Medicare and nutrition. At the end of the day, it’s all about getting as much funding for those programs as possible, he said.

Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn spoke about the perils Latin America will continue to face as the coronavirus pandemic rages in the region. “The pandemic has created a serious drama,” Kohn said. “The near future for Latin America is an increasing one of poverty and with that an increase of social unrest.”

Eric Fusfield, joining again on day two, stressed the need for the U.N. to change its attitude toward Israel. “Change is in order when it comes to the ritual condemnation of Israel at the United Nations,” he said. “It’s really time for the U.N. to exercise some necessary leadership.”

Vice President of Programming Rhonda Love spoke about B’nai B’rith’s long commitment to helping others and, in particular, the victims of natural disasters.  “Our strength has really been to look at what we call the vulnerable population,” she said. “It’s all about the 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 bnaibrith.org.

(Washington, D.C., May 19, 2020)--B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We commend the government’s decision in the Spanish region of Valencia to revoke its sponsorship of a seminar organized by BDS País Valencia, a local branch of the international anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.
 
B’nai B’rith called for this action last week.
 
The seminar, entitled “Solidarity and human rights: learning to teach against hatred and racism (Judeophobia, Islamophobia and Palestine-Israel)” purported to be against discrimination directed toward all religious groups. However, the group’s obsessive anti-Israel focus disproves this claim. The BDS movement’s goal is the delegitimization of Israel, and it is best-known for orchestrating a pressure campaign against American Jewish singer Matisyahu that demanded he endorse Palestinian statehood or be disinvited from a music festival; ultimately, he was disinvited.
 
According to a Fundamental Rights Agency Survey conducted in 2018, 78 percent of the respondents in Spain consider anti-Semitism to be a big problem with 73 percent finding that anti-Semitism had increased over the previous five years. A higher percentage, 84 percent, said the Arab-Israeli conflict impacts their feeling of safety in Spain.
 
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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Former Surrogate Promoted Terrorist Organization, Called Zionism “Racist”

​(Washington, D.C., March 10, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We call on presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to terminate his campaign’s relationship with Phillip Agnew, who was named this week as a senior adviser to the Sanders camp.
 
Agnew’s activist organization, Dream Defenders, has promoted to children the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 1997. He called Zionism “racist, exploitative and exclusionary” in a 2015 interview with Ebony Magazine and is a proponent of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
 
Agnew’s so-called “rebellion curriculum,” which is aimed at children in 6th to 11th grade, refers to Israel as “occupied Palestine” and speaks approvingly of the goals of creating a communist party and liberating “Palestine.” He participated in a trip to Israel that included meetings with Omar Barghouti, the founder of BDS, and a former spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization.
 
It is unacceptable that someone with this history of anti-Semitic and pro-terrorism statements was given a role on any presidential campaign. In his statement naming Agnew as an adviser, Sanders noted Agnew’s expertise on race and inequity. It is possible to address social inequity in this country without espousing anti-Israel vitriol.  
 
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., Feb. 28, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
We commend the Austrian parliament for unanimously passing a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, including the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The resolution is a strong symbolic statement against all forms of anti-Semitism, including anti-Zionism.
 
The resolution was introduced by the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s center-right People’s Party, but we are encouraged by support for the resolution from other political parties, including those in the opposition. Support for Israel should be a nonpartisan political issue in every country.
 
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., Feb. 25, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
We commend Bulgarian authorities for preventing a torch-carrying march attended by neo-Nazi groups from taking place last weekend. The annual demonstration is named after anti-Semite and Nazi ally General Hristo Lukov, whose Union of Bulgarian National Legions movement supported the deportation of more than 11,000 Jews from Macedonia to the death camp Treblinka.
 
Bulgaria’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled that the far-right demonstrators had to limit their rally to laying wreaths at Lukov’s home, rather than marching. The court decision, as well as the cooperation of senior Bulgarian government officials, is a victory for the Bulgarian Jewish community.
 
A survey released by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) last year found that 85 percent of Europe’s Jews believe anti-Semitism is the biggest social or political problem in their society and 30 percent had been subjected to anti-Semitic harassment.  It is vital that European governments ensure the safety and security of their Jewish communities.
 
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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(Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:   
 
This year’s Aalst Carnival generated more abundant and offensive anti-Semitic displays. B’nai B’rith demands that all political authorities overhaul this celebration. While organizers claim no group is spared mockery, insults and humiliation, it would seem that the worst of this horrifying, hateful behavior falls squarely on stereotypical tropes against Jews.
 
B’nai B’rith is aware that the carnival is rooted in the Middle Ages, when Jews evidently were a primary target for such hatred. But the Middle Ages are long gone. The lessons from this dark time should be taught, but not as comedy. In modern times, this village celebration is a global event with 21st century technology. The “rabbi kits,” hook-nosed masks, sidelocks and massive black hats are not only disrespectful, they are not entertaining because they are offensive.
 
Mocking religious Jews identifies them as targets for ridicule, abuse and hate. Surely there are ways to celebrate the ignorance of the Middle Ages other than portraying Jews as vermin. B’nai B’rith is deeply concerned about the messages this carnival sends to current and future generations.
 
Flemish authorities have failed to act, instead further instigating vitriol. Aalst Mayor Christoph D’Haese and Jan Jambon, minister-president of the Flanders region, maintain their support of the parade. They reject any notion that these displays are anti-Semitic. UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) understood the offensive characterizations of Jews by de-listing the event in December 2019. Jambon understandably backs this display of hate as he has been criticized for giving a speech at a celebration of former Flemish Nazi collaborators, not to mention his ties to people affiliated to neo-Nazi organizations.
 
B’nai B’rith commends vocal opposition to the event, notably from UNESCO, the European Commission, members of the European Parliament and countless civic organizations. Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès has said the carnival “damage[s] our values and the reputation of our country.” Regional political party DéFI has equated the event of amounting to “incitement to hatred” given its hateful imagery and slogans.
 
A recent Fundamental Rights Agency Survey reports 87 percent of Belgian Jews perceive anti-Semitism as a serious problem nationally; 67 percent avoid wearing Jewish symbols out of fear of being attacked.
 
While checks on the festival are a necessary first step to overhauling this festival, the long-term solution requires a concerted effort to deconstruct the root biases that prompted the festival displays in the first place.
 
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., Feb. 11, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We call on music, film and media festival South by Southwest (SXSW) to remove an interview with former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters from its schedule of events. Currently, Waters is scheduled to give a sit-down interview with documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. The musician is listed as one of the festival’s keynote speakers.
 
Waters is an avowed anti-Semite with a long history of demonizing Jews and Israel, which he refers to as a “racist apartheid regime” and a “theocracy.” He is a prominent advocate of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and blames “the Jewish lobby” for objecting to his views. His shows have featured an inflatable pig marked with a Star of David, which he refused to apologize for.
 
By cloaking his anti-Semitic beliefs in anti-Israel invective, Waters apparently believes he has carte blanche to spew anti-Jewish tropes. It is unconscionable that Waters be given any platform to air his anti-Semitic views, much less the chance to be a keynote speaker at a major music festival. SXSW should remove him from its lineup immediately.
 
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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B’nai B’rith Had Expressed Disappointment in MLB ads Promoting Waters
 
(Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
In response to a letter from B’nai B’rith expressing concern that musician Roger Waters was given an advertising platform on Major League Baseball (MLB)-affiliated media channels, MLB reached out to B’nai B’rith to assure us that ads promoting Waters have run their course and there are no plans to schedule any more ads on the MLB platforms.
 
MLB also noted that it had no anti-Semitic intentions by running these ads.
 
Waters is an avowed anti-Semite with a long history of demonizing Jews and Israel.
 
In our original letter, we stated that “Roger Waters has performed while displaying a large inflatable pig prominently marked with a Star of David.  He participates in the discriminatory, anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and castigates other musicians for performing in Israel.  He has blamed “the Jewish Lobby” for intimidating anti-Israel critics like him.  And he has falsely labeled the Jewish state a “racist apartheid regime” and claimed Israel is guilty of “ethnic cleansing.”
 
Read B’nai B’rith’s letter to MLB 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., Feb. 4, 2020)— B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
B’nai B’rith is calling for the dismissal of Portuguese newsmagazine Sábado cartoonist Vasco Gargalo, who published anti-Semitic images in the month before International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
 
“Demonization of the State of Israel is not acceptable political or social commentary, it is in fact modern day anti-Semitism, and the images of a crucifixion on the Star of David perpetuate the world’s oldest hate,” we wrote in our letter to the publication.
 
The cartoons demonized Israel by comparing the Jewish State to Nazi Germany and invoking Nazi imagery to characterize Israelis, both of which fall under the internationally accepted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s definition of anti-Semitism.
 
In the first cartoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing a coffin with a Palestinian Authority flag into an oven. The German phrase “Arbeit macht frei,” which translates to “Work sets you free,” was infamously inscribed on the gates of Auschwitz. Gargalo’s second cartoon showed a Black politician being crucified on the Star of David.

We fully respect freedom of expression and free speech, but these age-old anti-Semitic tropes — blood libels — are hateful and shameful. No more!
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Read our full letter 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