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. 

Trevor Noah Has History of Anti-Israel, Anti-Semitic, Misogynistic Comments

B’nai B’rith is concerned about the long history of anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and misogynistic tweets by the new choice to host the popular comedy program, The Daily Show.

Trevor Noah, tapped to replace retiring Daily Show host Jon Stewart, has repeatedly tweeted comments that are deeply offensive and highly stereotypical, and his anti-Israel comments even border on incitement. Why does he tweet about Jews so much?

Though Jon Stewart has always been quick to note that The Daily Show is meant to provide entertainment more than actual news, political comedy in our culture is often a substitute for news. Studies have shown that a large number of Americans, particularly young Americans, get their news from such programs.

The line between satire and hate can be very fine. As a result, the role of the host on this popular program carries significant responsibility.

We recognize that the platform The Daily Show provides its host is different from the stand-up comedy circuit, and we are hopeful that Noah will use this new and larger role responsibly on complex, sensitive issues. Entertainment cannot justify promoting hate and misinformation—and no group, including Israelis and Jews, should be considered fair game for bigotry. 

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

The weekend shooting attacks in Copenhagen on a synagogue and a free speech seminar are frighteningly similar to the January terror spree in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a kosher market.

Two people were killed in the Copenhagen attacks.

B’nai B’rith expresses our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the two men killed in the Copenhagen attacks: Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old member of the local Jewish community, who was serving as a volunteer guarding a synagogue during a bat mitzvah ceremony; and Finn Nørgaard, 55, who was attending the free speech seminar.

Recent attacks on Jewish sites in Europe indicate violence linked to anti-Semitism is becoming more common.

Just days earlier, a German court ruled the firebombing of a synagogue in Wuppertal was not anti-Semitism. Instead, the court determined the attack was meant to bring “attention to the Gaza conflict.”

The ruling sends a dangerous and troubling message that terrorists can hide blatant anti-Semitism behind a different label and escape punishment.

The two adult attackers and their 18-year-old accomplice in the Wuppertal firebombing were ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. The adults involved in the case each received suspended prison terms.

It is a perilous time as anti-Semitic attitudes increasingly masquerade as anti-Israel political statements. Violence against Jews and their houses of worship should be punished accordingly—as the hate crimes they are.  

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

B’nai B’rith International welcomes President Obama’s attention to specific issues, domestic and international, that we view as priorities.

The president noted his commitment to pursuing diplomatic means to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons development program. We must make it starkly clear to Tehran that the expanded deadline for talks must not merely serve as an opportunity for Iran to continue to build its nuclear program and deceive the world about its weapons-making progress. 

B’nai B’rith has consistently called for maintaining pressure on Iran and keeping all options open. We are pleased the president acknowledged that Iran's nuclear program has implications for the security of both the United States and Israel. But we remain concerned that removing sanctions as an option leaves an open door for Iran’s delaying tactics. 

All options must remain on the table. Keeping up pressure on Iran reinforces a strong U.S. negotiating position.

B’nai B’rith commends the president’s vow to fight terrorism. In light of the recent terror attacks in Paris that left 17 people dead, we support an intensive and unflagging battle to defeat terrorism worldwide.

B’nai B’rith commends the president for noting the American culture of respect for “human dignity” and we were pleased when he went on to say of this respect: “It’s why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world.”

The president acknowledged the long-standing stumbling block that is immigration reform. He noted: “it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.” B’nai B’rith has long supported comprehensive immigration reform. America is a country of immigrants. As such, we must embrace a reform plan.  The White House and Congress must work together. Real cooperation between the two branches is what will lead to a lasting reform.

Social Security is a top priority for B’nai B’rith and we regret more detail on social security challenges were not included in this speech.

In this, the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we were pleased that the president talked about the most basic of American freedoms. Some of the guarantees contained in that legislation have eroded over time; we need voting rights reform this year to restore full access to the ballot box.

We were pleased to see Alan Gross as an honored guest sitting with the first lady. Gross was freed in December after unjustly spending five years in a Cuban prison.

Of course the State of the Union address merely provides a peek at the president’s top priorities. But it does offer useful insight into where the president, and in turn, Congress, may focus. B’nai B’rith will study details of the president’s plans and will continue to advocate for our top priorities.

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

B’nai B’rith International condemns the latest act of the terror that unfolded in eastern Paris today, where a terrorist suspected of killing a police officer yesterday, shot and killed four people, wounded many more and held at least five hostages inside a kosher market. Police recently stormed the market, freeing the surviving hostages and killing the gunman.

The terrorist is reported to be Amedy Coulibaly who is being linked to the men who stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people. Those assailants were killed in a simultaneous raid on a printing business where they also held a hostage who was eventually freed.

Today’s terrorizing of a kosher market is not just an attack on Jews, but a reprehensible assault on free societies everywhere. We applaud French authorities for acting swiftly and decisively, avoiding further innocent bloodshed when neutralizing the attacker. At the same time, our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.

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

Popular commerce website Etsy recently went on the record to ban some offensive items, citing its policy of not allowing “content on our site that demeans people based upon race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, disability, or sexual orientation.”

Yet, Etsy is inconsistent in enforcing its own policies.

B’nai B’rith International is disturbed to learn that the site still readily sells swastika and anti-Semitic paraphernalia. When B’nai B’rith checked the site in recent days, 456 swastika-themed items were available for sale, as were 479 Hitler-themed items, 13 Ku Klux Klan-themed items, and one racist, Jewish caricature candlestick listed specifically under the topic “anti-Semitic.”

Etsy is not the only culprit of such practices: Ebay has also been repeatedly caught allowing the auction of hate-themed items, despite having an extensive policy banning offensive material. Additionally, Amazon, Sears Marketplace and Yahoo! have sold hate materials on their websites.

It is incumbent on these sites to abide by their own policies and police the sale of offensive items. B’nai B’rith condemns the sale of these disgusting and hate-filled objects and demands Etsy and other businesses remove the aforementioned items from their stores and stay vigilant against additional offensive materials from appearing on their sites again.  

Update: