(Tel Aviv, Jan. 14, 2020)--The Philippine Embassy in Israel, in partnership with the B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem, will be holding "Safe Haven: Jewish Refugees in the Philippines," a commemorative event to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Jan. 27 at the Balai Quezon. Ambassador of the Philippines to Israel Neal Imperial will deliver opening remarks.
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The event, which focuses on Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon's landmark "Open Doors Policy" offering safe haven in the Philippines to Jewish people fleeing the Holocaust in Europe, will feature a panel discussion with Imperial and Professor Robert Rockaway of Tel Aviv University, as well as screenings of excerpts from ABS-CBN iWANT documentary “The Last Manilaners” and Star Cinema's feature film on Quezon's decision to accept Jewish refugees, “Quezon's Game.”
 
Max Weissler and Margot Pins Kestenbaum, the two "Manilaners" still living in Israel, will attend the event as special guests.
 
From 1937 to 1941, Quezon extended visas to Jewish refugees who sought to escape the growing terror of the Holocaust in Europe. This policy, which came to be known as the "Open Doors Policy," led to the entry of close to 1,300 Jewish refugees to the Philippines, where they settled in Manila - leading them to refer to themselves, fondly, as "Manilaners.”  This little-known part of the shared history between Filipinos and the Jewish people was first brought to light in Frank Ephraim's book “Escape to Manila” and has since become the foundation of bilateral relations between the Philippines and the State of Israel.
 
Balai Quezon, the Philippine Embassy's cultural center, was inaugurated in 2019 to build awareness of Quezon's policy and its impact on Philippine-Israel relations.
 
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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(Jerusalem, Nov. 25, 2019)--The Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews during the Holocaust and B'nai B'rith World Center – Jerusalem will present tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 26, the Jewish Rescuers Citation posthumously to Rabbi Nathan Cassuto, chief rabbi of Florence and head of the Jewish underground in Florence during the Holocaust, and Matilda Cassin, a member of the underground. In a unique example of Jewish-Christian cooperation, the group, which included Jews and Christian clergy, endangered their lives to arrange hideouts for hundreds of Jews in Catholic institutions and homes while the Nazis and Fascists sought to capture and deport them to concentration camps.  
 
The citation will be presented to Asher Vardi, son of Matilda Cassin, and David Cassuto, son of Rabbi Nathan Cassuto.
 
The event will take place at 6 p.m. under the sponsorship of Hevra't Yehud'e Italia Beisrael at the Italian Synagogue, 25 Hillel St., Jerusalem. The date marks 76 years to the day after Cassuto, Don Leto Casini  and other members of their rescue group were arrested by the SS at the Azione Cattolica headquarters in Florence. Cassuto was deported to Auschwitz, where he died. Cassin gave herself up to the police in order to free her family that had been arrested, remaining in custody until January 1944, when she was released, escaping later to Switzerland.
 
Speakers at the event include Sergio DellaPergola, president, Hevra't Yehud'e Italia Beisrael; Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; H.E. Gianluigi Benedetti, Italian ambassador to Israel; Haim Roet, chairman of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews During the Holocaust; and Alan Schneider, director, B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem and secretary of the Jewish Rescuer Sub-Committee, who will present the citation.
 
For further information, please contact Alan Schneider at 972-52-5536441 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
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(Jerusalem, Nov. 21, 2019)--B’nai B’rith International and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) hosted in the Jewish state a group of eight foreign ambassadors and representatives serving their countries at the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. bodies in Geneva.
 
Israeli Ambassador in Geneva Aviva Raz Shechter; Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem; and B’nai B’rith International Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels devised the intensive program and accompanied the diplomats, who represented the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Slovakia, Togo, Burkina Faso and Cameroon, for the week-long visit.
 
The week began with a gala dinner attended by B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Chairman Haim Katz, U.N. Affairs Chair Millie Magid and her husband, Larry Magid, and ambassadors posted in Israel. The program included meetings with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, MFA Deputy Director General Alon Bar, former Vice President of the Supreme Court Elyakim Rubinstein, Head of the Israel Innovation Authority Ami Appelbaum, Knesset members Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh and Avi Hauser and Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs President Ambassador Dore Gold, among others, including victims of terror attacks and providers of humanitarian services. They visited the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza and Gaza-border communities, Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon, Jerusalem’s Old City, Yad Vashem, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and the Druze village of Isfiya.
 
The purpose of the visit was to further expose the senior diplomats to the complex geopolitical circumstances of the State of Israel in the region and to its diverse and dynamic society. The U.N. Human Rights Council has long constituted one of the most hostile multilateral forums toward the State of Israel. President Rivlin – who met privately with the group in the midst of intensive coalition maneuverings – emphasized his own roots 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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​(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., July 8, 2019)--Antonia Yamin, chief Europe correspondent for KAN-Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, and Zvika Klein, Jewish world correspondent for Makor Rishon and NRG360, were honored at the 27th annual B’nai B’rith World Center Awards for Journalism on July 3rd. You can watch the ceremony here. Photos from the event can be viewed here.
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Deborah Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, delivered the keynote address on “Old Wine in New Bottles: Antisemitism in the Contemporary World.”

Yamin and Klein each received the 2019 Award for Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage, in memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf. Yamin’s award was for broadcast media for a series of reports on Jewish life in Great Britain and Austria and on anti-Semitism in Germany, while Klein received the print media award for his series Distant Relatives that explored Israel and Jewish American relations. A certificate of merit in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky was conferred on Attila Somfalvi, the lead anchor of ynet news, for a series of reports and commentaries on the relationship between Israel and American Jewry. Actor and Israel Prize laureate Yehoram Gaon was honored with a special citation for fostering Israel-Diaspora relations through the arts.
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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

Israel Prize Winner Yehoram Gaon to be Honored for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations Through the Arts

(Jerusalem, June 25, 2019)--Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, will deliver the keynote address at the 27th Annual B'nai B'rith World Center Award for Journalism on "Old Wine in New Bottles: Antisemitism in the Contemporary World." The event noting outstanding journalism in Israel will take place at 7:30 p.m. July 3rd at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. You can stream the ceremony live here.

Lipstadt writes on the Holocaust and contemporary Jewish life. In her best-known book, “History on Trial” (2005), Lipstadt chronicled the London courtroom battle that erupted when English author David Irving, a Holocaust denier, filed a libel suit against her in the United Kingdom for having called him a Holocaust denier. After a 10-week trial, Irving lost his case, and the proceedings exposed the true depth of his association with neo-Nazi groups. “History on Trial” became the basis for the critically acclaimed 2016 feature film “Denial,” starring Rachel Weisz. 

Her recent book, “Antisemitism: Here and Now” (2019), addresses the ever-present danger of anti-Semitic hatred and violence.  It has already been translated into German and Hebrew and was an Amazon best-seller. 

Winners of the 2019 Award for Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage, in memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf, are Antonia Yamin, chief Europe correspondent for KAN - Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (for broadcast media), and Zvika Klein, Jewish World correspondent for Makor Rishon and NRG360 (for print media). A certificate of merit in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky will be conferred on Attila Somfalvi, lead anchor of ynet news.

A special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts will be presented to singer, actor and Israel Prize laureate Yehoram Gaon.

Yamin will receive the award for a series of reports on Jewish life in Great Britain and Austria and on anti-Semitism in Germany. Klein will receive the award for his series Distant Relatives that explored Israel and Jewish American relations. Somfalvi will receive a certificate of merit for a series of reports and commentaries on the relationship between Israel and American Jewry.

Gaon, 2004 Israel Prize winner for Hebrew song, is an iconic Israeli singer, actor, producer, TV and radio host and public figure. Throughout a career that has spanned six decades, Gaon has been responsible for countless hit songs, plays and movies that have become woven into the common culture of Israel and Diaspora Jewry. The son of an educator and historian, Gaon has taken profound interest in promoting Jewish historical themes and in engaging with Jewish audiences around the world. Gaon’s civic career also shows a profound dedication to Sephardic and Ladino heritage. 

Keynote speaker Lipstadt founded the Institute for Jewish Studies at Emory University, serving as its first director from 1998-2008, and directs the Holocaust Denial on Trial website, which contains transcripts and other materials from the Irving trial as well as scholarly materials that offer answers to frequent claims made by deniers. Lipstadt was a historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and helped design the section of the museum focused on the American response to the Holocaust. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has awarded her its highest honor, the Albert D. Chernin Award, given to “an American Jew whose work best exemplifies the social justice imperatives of Judaism, Jewish history and the protection of the Bill of Rights.” 

The distinguished members of the award jury are: Professor Yehudith Auerback, School of Communications, Bar Ilan University; Professor Sergio DellaPergola, the Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University; Sallai Meridor, international chairman, Jerusalem Foundation, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, former chairman of the Zionist Executive and Jewish Agency; Professor Gabriela Shalev, Higher Academic Council, Ono Academic College and former ambassador of Israel to the United Nations; Yair Sheleg, columnist; Asher Weill, publisher and editor of ARIEL-The Israel Review of Arts and Letters from 1981-2003.

Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in the Israeli print, broadcast and online media. The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations.
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The B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage is named for the late Wolf Matsdorf and his wife Hilda. Wolf Matsdorf was an editor of the World Center-Jerusalem’s journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia. Hilda Matsdorf was a pioneer in social work in both Australia and Israel. The award is made possible through donations from the Matsdorf family and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem board member Daniel Schydlowsky.
 
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

Recognition to be presented at annual B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism ceremony. Winners: Antonia Yamin (KAN - Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation), and Zvika Klein (Makor Rishon and NRG360); Certificate of Merit: Attila Somfalvi (ynet news)

Emory University Professor Deborah E. Lipstadt to deliver keynote address

(Jerusalem, June 20, 2019)--The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem announced today that singer, actor and Israel Prize laureate for Hebrew Song for 2004 Yehoram Gaon will be the next recipient of its Special Citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts. The certificate will be presented during the 27th annual B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism ceremony on Wednesday, July 3rd at 7:30 p.m.at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, 6 Sh. A. Nahon Street, Jerusalem. The citation was established in 2014. Former winners are Nurit Hersh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel and David Broza.     

Gaon, 2004 Israel Prize winner for Hebrew song, is an iconic Israeli singer, actor, producer, TV and radio host and public figure. Throughout a career that has spanned six decades, Gaon has been responsible for countless hit songs, plays and movies that have become woven into the common culture of Israel and Diaspora Jewry. The son of an educator and historian, Gaon has taken profound interest in promoting Jewish historical themes and in engaging with Jewish audiences around the world. Gaon’s civic career also shows a profound dedication to Sephardic and Ladino heritage.  B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Haim Katz said that the citation is a fitting recognition in advance of Gaon’s 80th birthday.

The winners of the 2019 B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage in memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf, are Antonia Yamin, chief Europe correspondent for KAN - Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (for broadcast media), and Zvika Klein, Jewish World correspondent for Makor Rishon and NRG360 (for print media). A certificate of merit in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky will be conferred on Attila Somfalvi, lead anchor of ynet news.

Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, will deliver the keynote address on "Old Wine in New Bottles: Antisemitism in the Contemporary World."  

Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in the Israeli print, broadcast and online media. The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations.

The B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage is named for the late Wolf Matsdorf and his wife, Hilda. Wolf Matsdorf was an editor of the World Center-Jerusalem’s journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia. Hilda Matsdorf was a pioneer in social work in both Australia and Israel. The award is made possible through donations from the Matsdorf family and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem board member Daniel Schydlowsky.
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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 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.
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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
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​B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith is outraged by the torching of Joseph’s Tomb, a holy site in the ancient city of  Shechem in the West Bank, by Palestinian rioters. As of yet, no injuries or deaths have been reported.
 
While Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces managed to disperse the crowds and douse the fire, significant damage has been reported in the women’s section of the site. The arson came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian leadership to stop a wave of attacks on Jews. After a week of silence, PA President Mahmoud Abbas finally issued a statement condemning the group’s actions and announcing plans to create an investigatory committee.
 
While vicious attacks have left seven dead and more than 30 wounded—Abbas issued no condemnation while other PA officials have been busy inciting this kind of violence. B’nai B’rith is appalled that the PA ignored multiple violent deaths before finally denouncing this act of wanton arson.