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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 (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 (Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
We are deeply appalled by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) shameful release of a blacklist of companies with business interests in Israeli territory captured during the defensive Six-Day War of 1967, which includes portions of Jerusalem. The thoroughly discredited U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had mandated OHCHR to create the database. The list was released today with no notice to the companies affected. OHCHR does not have the competency to compile such a list, nor does it have the jurisdiction. It, and the UNHRC, are mandated to deal with actions by states, not businesses. When it comes to Israel, however, a special standard is always applied at the U.N. There are plenty of other situations where territories are disputed, however, the only blacklist that exists targets Israel and it is likely that no other country will be targeted with a similar list. The list, which targets some of the largest and most important corporations in Israel, including the largest banks and telecommunications companies, is clearly meant to serve as a clearinghouse of information for anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns targeting Israel. One hundred and twelve companies are affected; the vast majority – 94 – are based in Israel, but there are others headquartered in the United States, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Thailand and Luxembourg. The U.N.’s single-minded obsession with Israel is completely unjustified. Instead of helping facilitate peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the world body continues to provoke tensions. Peace can only come from direct engagement between the two sides, not from discriminatory dicta issued by third parties. It is time for those who see the hypocrisy in these kinds of actions to stand up and speak out. 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., 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 (Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
B’nai B’rith applauds President Donald Trump’s anticipated executive order extending federal civil right protections to the Jewish people. The order will help fight anti-Semitism on college campuses by making it possible for colleges and universities to lose federal funding if they discriminate against Jews. In recent years, the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has proliferated across college campuses. Colleges have been called on to divest from Israeli entities, Israeli goods are boycotted and Jewish students have reported feeling threatened. Classifying Jews as an ethnic group, rather than purely as a religion, makes anti-Semitic discrimination a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Schools that discriminate against the racial, ethnic and national groups covered by Title VI are not allowed to receive federal funding. The Education Department will define anti-Semitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition, which has been adopted by governments and institutions around the world. The anticipated executive order is based on bipartisan legislation supported by both Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). 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 B’nai B’rith International Dismayed By European Court Of Justice Ruling On Labeling Israeli Products11/12/2019
(Washington, D.C., Nov. 12, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
B’nai B’rith International is dismayed by today’s European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling imposing labeling guidelines on Israeli products originating beyond the pre-1967 lines. The decision is applicable to products from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, and comes in response to a case initiated by the Organisation juive européenne and the winery Vignoble Psagot Ltd. It specifies that labels must contain the phrase “Israeli settlement,” and that a precise, but unclassified mention of the location is insufficient. The ruling cannot be appealed and is binding. While it is aligned with general European Union (EU) labeling guidelines, it is blind to context and future implications. Without a doubt, this new policy’s implications for EU positions on Israel will be a green light for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) supporters and the singling out of Israel for further criticism and attack. The decision negatively impacts the peace process, seeks to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and works against purported EU support for a directly-negotiated, mutually agreeable solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The ruling represents the consolidation of a non-binding opinion forwarded by the ECJ in 2015 that was widely viewed in EU member states as detrimental and thus disregarded. In 2018, a large and comprehensive report by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency showed Jews in Europe are routinely victims of the implantation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into Europe. We are further concerned that today’s ruling will have a negative impact on European Jews, possibly exposing them to an increase in anti-Semitic attacks. 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., August 14, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
We strongly support the California State Board of Education’s decision not to move forward with the implementation of a radical anti-Israel high school curriculum, the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC). The ESMC was developed in part by pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists. It demonizes the Jewish State, promotes anti-Semitic stereotypes and fosters an unsafe environment for Jewish and Israeli students. After the announcement of the new curriculum, B’nai B’rith joined more than 80 anti-discrimination and pro-Israel organizations in a letter to the California Department of Education denouncing the curriculum and urging that the ESMC be drastically revised or re-written entirely. 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 B’nai B’rith Podcast: New Episode on Dangers of Losing the Narrative on Middle East Conflict
(Washington, D.C., July 24, 2019)--Author and attorney Lee Bender notes: “Words have tremendous meaning. And if they are maligned, or misunderstood and mischaracterized, that can cause tremendous problems, issues and concerns.” Bender joined B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin on the B’nai B’rith Podcast to talk about the pervasiveness and dangers of anti-Israel bias in the media. He co-wrote “Pressing Israel: Media Bias from A-Z” with Jerome Verlin and runs the website FactsonIsrael.com. On the podcast, Bender and Mariaschin discuss how anti-Israel activists continue to poison the discourse around Israel and Zionism by injecting biased words into the discussions. For example, many media outlets now differentiate between “East Jerusalem” and “West Jerusalem,” even though Jerusalem has been an undivided city for the vast majority of its history. Bender says that deceptive language like this – what he calls “Toxic Terms” – hurts efforts to reach people who occupy a middle ground between anti-Zionism and pro-Israel advocacy; these people could become pro-Israel if they learn about the issue, but only from unbiased sources that use honest language. While it might be tempting to minimize the importance of precision in language, Bender cautions against this: “Our motto is: if you forfeit the language, you forfeit our heritage and our history.” 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 (Washington, D.C., July 18, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
We are outraged by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) introduction of a pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution in the House of Representatives. The resolution purports to merely affirm the right of American citizens to participate in both domestic and international boycotts. However, Omar’s history of anti-Israel rhetoric, including her assertion that pro-Israel Americans’ political beliefs are motivated by money, betrays the resolution’s true purpose. Outrageously, the resolution also includes language alluding to Americans’ boycott of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and implicitly compares these boycotts to the discriminatory BDS movement. It is deeply offensive to compare Israel to either of those totalitarian regimes. We call on every member of Congress to repudiate this resolution, which demonizes Israel while purporting to support human rights, and vote against it. 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 Daniel S. Mariaschin Part of Panel at Global Coalition for Israel Forum
(Washington, D.C., June 19, 2019)--B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin participated on a plenary panel entitled “BDS and Anti-Semitism: When Delegitimizing Israel Puts World Jewry at Risk” at the Global Coalition for Israel Forum (GC4I), a conference organized by the Israeli Ministry for Strategic Affairs. In remarks prepared for delivery, Mariaschin emphasized that the aim of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is to seek the delegitimization of Israel, not to achieve justice for Palestinians. He also warned of the mainstreaming of BDS in different arenas, including within social justice movements such as the Women’s March. Mariaschin’s remarks advocated for several strategies to combat BDS domestically and internationally, including promoting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism (which includes anti-Zionism), passing domestic anti-BDS legislation such as the Combating BDS Act and highlighting links between pro-BDS entities and terrorist groups. The GC4I conference brings Jewish professionals and lay leaders from around the world together and focuses primarily on strategies to fight BDS. This year, it is taking place through June 20th in Jerusalem. 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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