The message and story of Passover—of liberation and freedom—are especially meaningful and poignant now, as the Russian attack on Ukraine enters its seventh week.

This year, those of us living in freedom may cherish it a little more. Those living outwardly as Jews in places without fear of persecution may feel a bit more grateful than in other years.

Since Russia began its brutal assault on the sovereign nation of Ukraine on Feb. 24, our members and supporters around the world have rallied. We have sent warm clothes, food, hygiene items, baby formula, medicines and comforting aids such as stuffed teddy bears for children. We have had teams on the borders in Poland and Romania to help at refugee centers and to restore some humanity to those who have left behind all they know.

We have sent medicines into Ukraine to ensure the health of those living in unimaginably difficult war-time conditions.

And we are helping to safeguard a small measure of Jewish continuity, with a shipment of Passover specialty foods delivered to the B'nai B'rith Leopolis Lodge in Lviv, including Matzoh, gefilte fish and cookies. This delivery is especially meaningful as Ukraine was a center of Jewish life in Europe for centuries.

As we sit down to our seders this year, we will pause to appreciate our freedoms and to wish for peace in Ukraine and for Jews everywhere. #PassoverLiberationForUkraine

Seth J. Riklin, B’nai B’rith International President        Daniel S. Mariaschin, ​B’nai B’rith CEO

Dear Friends,

As we enter a second Shabbat since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we are focused on the devastating humanitarian crisis unfolding there.

With more than a million refugees so far, the mass exodus is frighteningly reminiscent of the refugee crisis across Europe during World War II. At the same time, the situation for those remaining in Ukraine is dire, with Russia indiscriminately attacking civilian areas. 

B’nai B’rith International, B’nai B’rith Europe, B’nai B’rith UK, B’nai B’rith in Italy and in Germany are mobilizing to help with immediate essentials as well as long-term needs for the Ukrainian people.

On March 1, we were briefed about the situation on the ground by two Ukrainians. They both described the conditions in the cities and towns: Dark and cold homes, sheltering in subways, food and fuel scarcities, not enough munitions. These were chilling, real-time accounts.

Ukraine was a center of Jewish life in Europe for centuries, even as the history of the Jewish people in Ukraine is fraught with tragedy and filled with accomplishment. The Babyn Yar memorial—which was damaged on March 2 by Russian strikes on a neighboring TV tower—stands as witness to the 33,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis in Ukraine.

The trans-Atlantic alliance’s unity in condemning Russia is a welcome and important show of solidarity. In addition, major retailers are closing their stores in Russia. Movie studios are holding off releasing films there. The Paralympics have banned Russian athletes and international soccer is banning Russian teams from competition at the highest levels. Even individual bar and liquor store owners around the world are refusing to sell Russian vodka. These global actions from so many disparate industries demonstrate a unified sense of purpose unmatched in recent memory.

Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a true hero—sometimes described as a modern-day Maccabi. His strong defiance against Russia demonstrates a personal bravery that should be a point of pride for all Jews.

Our efforts to help the people of Ukraine will not falter. Help us meet these needs today. Our Ukraine Assistance Fund is open. Please donate here.

With hopes for peace on our minds, Shabbat Shalom.

Seth J. Riklin, B’nai B’rith International President        Daniel S. Mariaschin, ​B’nai B’rith CEO

 Four Rights Monitors Saluted for Condemning “Zionism-is-Racism” Slur 

(Washington, D.C., Jan. 27, 2022)—B’nai B’rith President Seth Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

B’nai B’rith International welcomes United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s reference, in an address on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to a “common definition” of anti-Jewish hatred. He quoted from a critical working definition of anti-Semitism that encompasses prevalent contemporary forms of the scourge—including the delegitimization and demonization of Israel.

The working definition—which has become the consensus one among multiple democracies, experts on anti-Semitism and Jewish communities most engaged in facing it—is that of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an intergovernmental body.

The remarks come the day after several U.N.-affiliated experts in Geneva issued a landmark statement rejecting the calling into question of Israel’s legitimacy.

On Jan. 26, four U.N.-affiliated rights monitors in Geneva—Ahmed Shaheed, special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Alexandra Xanthaki, special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Morris Tidball-Binz, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Fernand de Varennes RP, special rapporteur on minority issues—cited the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism and condemned “assertions that Zionism, the self-determination movement of the Jewish people, is an inherently racist ideology and a form of racial supremacy."

Noting “antisemitic diatribes” even in U.N. settings, they said: “Not only is this narrative false; it has also shown to fuel resentment against Jews and normalise bias against Jewish communities worldwide.”

B’nai B’rith, which has directly encouraged the U.N. chief to further build upon his personal efforts against anti-Semitism, urges him to formally endorse and apply the IHRA working definition. This embrace of a concrete, comprehensive and up-to-date definition of anti-Semitism would be essential at a time when the animus has persisted and even spread, including in violent forms, around the world. In several countries, Jews are the leading target of faith-based hate crimes, and anti-Semitic incitement is widespread both online and otherwise.

B’nai B’rith’s own annual U.N. Holocaust remembrance event on Jan. 24 featured the secretary-general of IHRA and several high-level figures, including the vice president of the European Commission, who urged utilization of her group’s anti-Semitism definition.

The program, viewable online here, saw new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock affirm Israel’s security as a “reason of state” for her country, which she said fights “unfounded criticism and hate against Israel.” For his part, days after a hostage-taking at a synagogue in Texas, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas—himself the descendant of Holocaust-era refugees—starkly warned that the Holocaust could recur anywhere.

Before the U.N. General Assembly’s passage of an important resolution last week embracing another IHRA working definition—that of Holocaust-denial and distortion—B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin and U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs Director David J. Michaels wrote in an op-ed in Newsweek, “We hope member states will join in adopting… an equally vital working definition of antisemitism.”

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, we commend those defenders of universal human rights standing firmly against anti-Semitism not only in the past but also in the present.

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., Jan. 24, 2022)--In her first major address before an international Jewish audience since starting her new role, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock delivered a keynote speech at B’nai B’rith International’s annual event in conjunction with the United Nations’ Holocaust Remembrance Day. She said that Germany “is firmly committed to preserving the memory of the Holocaust—today and in the future. We will shoulder our responsibilities, and we will keep facing our past,” adding, “For the new German government, the security of Israel is and will remain inherent to our reason of state. We speak out against unfounded criticism and hate against Israel.”
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The virtual B’nai B’rith program, “Holocaust Remembrance: Responsibilities for All Society” also featured live remarks by United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who shared personal memories of his mother’s family’s Holocaust experience. Mayorkas talked about foundational principles that define anti-Semitism and other forms of hate, and said that hate manifests in ways we can see but also lingers below the surface. He added that the prevalence of this bigotry continues to present an existential threat and that we cannot assume the Holocaust could not recur. Finally, he noted, “An attack born of hate against one minority is an attack against all.”  Mayorkas—who, like other speakers, commended B’nai B’rith for its relevant work—said that although International Holocaust Remembrance Day is just one day each year, “We know that remembrance is every day, as is the work that must accompany it.”

In his remarks, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas made the point, “Left unchallenged, Holocaust-distortion nourishes anti-Semitism.” He said, “We need to protect our societies from any attempt to rewrite history, and support open and independent research on all aspects of the Holocaust. At the same time, we must step up our efforts to fight anti-Semitism in all its forms, using the definition of IHRA as our starting point.” IHRA is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental body that has adopted critical working definitions of both anti-Semitism and Holocaust-denial.

In advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, B’nai B’rith’s program focused on collective responsibility to remember and to educate about the systematic murder of six million Jews across Europe during the Shoah.

Opening the program, with a global virtual audience this year due to the pandemic, B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin noted: “As we wrote in a letter to U.N. member states” in support of an Israeli-initiated resolution passed by the U.N. General Assembly last week, “Holocaust-denial is fundamentally not just about revisionist histories… it is an attempt to deny the past in order to justify present or future violence against the Jewish people and other vulnerable minorities.”

B’nai B’rith Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels and Director of European Union Affairs Alina Bricman moderated two panels of distinguished figures. Panel I focused on government action across the world and featured:

• Irwin Cotler, Canadian Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism
• Ellen Germain, United States Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues
• Fernando Lottenberg, the Organization of American States Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
• Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life

Cotler said, “Anti-Semitism is toxic to democracies. Holocaust distortion is toxic to democracies. We need a global constituency of conscience to combat it.”

Panel II focused on best practices from other diverse fields and featured experts:

• Kathrin Meyer, Secretary General, IHRA
• Daniel Lörcher, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Borussia Dortmund
• Tracey Petersen, Manager of The United Nations and the Holocaust Outreach Programme
• Tibi Galis, Executive Director, Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide
• Omar Al Busaidy, CEO, Sharaka USA

Meyer warned: “Holocaust distortion desensitizes people to anti-Semitic acts… and it’s a disgrace toward the victims and the survivors.” She added, “To remember the Holocaust… is a responsibility of humankind.”

Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, provided a concluding message, introduced by B’nai B’rith U.N. Affairs Chair Millie Magid. Dayan said, “I leave this program encouraged. It’s clear we have an effective, a committed world-wide community of Shoah remembrance.” He stressed the importance of documentation and research. “Documentation is ultimately the testimony of the six million” who were not able to give physical testimony.

B’nai B’rith President Seth Riklin closed the program, thanking the guests for “your insights and your critical work,” and urging support for B’nai B’rith’s ongoing efforts on Holocaust memory, combating anti-Semitism and other key objectives around the world.

The complete program, “Holocaust Remembrance: Responsibilities for All Society” can be found here: https://youtu.be/SsmvSUvii_c.

B’nai B’rith—which has led Jewish communal engagement with the United Nations since the world body was founded in 1945—played an active role in U.N. adoption of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2005, and has held yearly events since then at the U.N.’s world headquarters in New York and online.
 
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., Jan. 15, 2022)--B’nai B’rith President Seth Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

We are relieved that the harrowing hostage situation at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas ended with all the hostages safe. The four hostages were released unharmed, after being held for some 12 hours.

With synagogue attacks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Poway, California fresh in our minds, we are well aware of how this could have turned tragic.

We are immensely grateful to local and federal law enforcement for their efforts to peacefully and safely end the situation.

The hostage taker reportedly demanded the release of convicted terrorist and anti-Semite Aafia Siddiqui, who is now serving 86-years for attempted murder and assault of U.S. service members.

Threats and violence against Jews—at places of worship, at restaurants, walking down a street, online—have grown at an alarming pace in recent years. We will continue to work within our communities, with local law enforcement and with state and federal officials to help protect Jews wherever they are.

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., Sept. 24, 2021)--B’nai B’rith leaders, led by President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, have concluded meetings with dozens of world leaders on the sidelines of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, B’nai B’rith has continued its longtime leadership of Jewish communal engagement at the U.N., arranging direct discussions with heads of state and government, foreign ministers and other senior officials from countries including Greece, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Russia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Colombia, Italy, Spain and Romania, among an array of others.

In the consultations, organized by B’nai B’rith’s Office of United Nations Affairs, among the issues discussed were Iran’s destabilizing policies, Arab-Israeli ties, U.N. treatment of Israel, transatlantic relations and global anti-Semitism. Countries were urged to decline participation in the U.N.’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the notorious Durban conference on racism—held on Sept. 22—or commended for doing so.

B’nai B’rith has been exceptionally active at the U.N. since the body’s very founding in 1945, holding official status at multiple U.N. arms since soon after then.

​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., Dec. 9, 2019)--B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin will participate in a panel entitled “U.S. Influence in the Mediterranean: Why It Still Matters” on Dec. 10 at the Hudson Institute in cooperation with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and B’nai B’rith International.
 
The panel will focus on U.S. influence in the Mediterranean even as other actors - including Iran, Turkey and Russia - vie for influence and for strategic control of the region’s energy resources, increasing tensions and threatening to upset the area’s delicate power balance. Panelists will discuss how the U.S. can promote stability and American interests in this challenging atmosphere and will draw on the Hudson Institute’s report “The Eastern Mediterranean in the New Era of Major Power Competition.”
 
The event is open to the press. Members of the media can register 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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Preeminent Jewish Studies Scholar Jonathan Sarna Joins the B’nai B’rith International Podcast to Discuss a Heretofore Unknown Jewish Novelist
 
(Washington, D.C., Nov. 1, 2019)--For more than 150 years, Jewish author Cora Wilburn’s work went largely unnoticed. Jewish Studies scholar Jonathan Sarna published her coming-of-age novel “Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny” after re-discovering the novelist in the course of his research. The book explores the lives of American Jews in the 19th century.
 
Sarna joined B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin on the B’nai B’rith Podcast to talk about the unique significance of Wilburn’s work. “Cosella Wayne: Or, Will and Destiny” is “a very early American Jewish novel full of interest and it teaches us about poor Jews; we often hear about rich Jews…Cora Wilburn teaches us about the other side of the economic spectrum.” The book is an “early novel dealing with Central European Jews,” as opposed to later novels that dealt primarily with Eastern European Jews. “And of course, this is a novel by a woman about a woman, and those are few and far between in the middle of the 19th century, and that makes this novel especially interesting and important.”
 
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
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After careful study, B’nai B’rith International has concluded that the Iran nuclear agreement is unlikely to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. We therefore call on Congress to reject the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

As we noted when the deal was announced on July 14, it is impossible to look at Iran’s track record and trust the regime to adhere to the terms of this pact.

The JCPOA requires an unprecedented suspension of disbelief that Iran has only peaceful intentions for its nuclear program. Given its decades of dissembling, it is infeasible to conclude that Tehran will honor its obligations under this agreement.

To be sure, the P5+1 (the United States plus China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany) worked hard during the long negotiating period to secure a deal. The goal of preventing an Iran with nuclear weapons is one shared by much of the world. But this deal is unlikely to fulfill that ambition.

B’nai B’rith appreciates the opportunities given us to meet with administration officials, to hear their explanation of the plan's details and to understand the reasoning behind some of the provisions of the agreement.

How to respond to Iran's nuclear weapons program is one of the most significant national security questions to face the United States in the past decade. It is unsurprising, therefore, that the issue has aroused such passion among so many. We respect that both Democrats and Republicans have approached this issue with great seriousness and have reached varying conclusions that sometimes cut across party lines. We further acknowledge that those who share the goal of blocking Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons may differ about the policy most likely to achieve that outcome.

Still, our reading of the agreement and our understanding of the political and historical context in which the JCPOA would be implemented have heavily influenced our decision to oppose it. 

“We listened, we read, we analyzed and we have concluded that we cannot support this deal with Iran,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “We have doubts about elevating the international status of Iran, which has done nothing to prove it will keep its word.”

Even in the days leading up to the agreement, on “al-Quds Day,” government supported crowds shouted, “death to America” and "death to Israel," as U.S. and Israeli flags were burned across the country. These are not the actions of a nation ready to find common ground with the world’s democracies.

Our concerns about the lifting of sanctions also have not been adequately resolved. Iran is the largest state-sponsor of global terror with its proxies such as Hezbollah the world over. Tehran is likely to use the cash that will flow from the absence of sanctions to fund the regime's ongoing terrorist ambitions. The specter of "snapback sanctions" provides little comfort, as measures that took the international community years to coalesce around are unlikely to be rejuvenated once they have been dismantled.

Nor are our questions about the verification process satisfied by the JCPOA. Verification remained a sticking point throughout the labored negotiating process and, in the final document, is still not addressed to our comfort. In light of the deal's significant verification loopholes and Iran’s history of concealing its nuclear program and turning away inspectors, it is logical to conclude that inspectors will never obtain the unmanaged, unfettered or spontaneous access necessary to monitor Iran’s nuclear sites.

“There is no middle ground here. Iran’s credibility is illusory. The stakes are far too high to ignore Tehran’s history of deception by accepting this deal,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said.

At no point during the nearly two years of negotiations has Iran lessened its support for terrorist organizations, its goals of hegemony in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East or its continued abuse of human rights.

Just days after the deal was announced, Iran again invoked its practice of deception. News reports indicate that Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the secretive, terror-orchestrating Iranian Quds Force, met with senior Russian leaders in Moscow, even though he was barred from leaving Iran by a U.N. Security Council resolution. The Quds Force reports directly to Iran’s supreme leader and has exported terror throughout the Middle East and beyond.

These are not the actions of a regime capable of demonstrating the transparency and cooperation required of it by the terms of this deal. 

We firmly reject the notion that the only alternative to this agreement is war. We have long advocated that the best means of ensuring Iran's compliance with international demands is pressure—in the form of ever-tightening sanctions, combined with diplomatic isolation and the credible threat of military force. The international community should respond to Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons by increasing, rather than relieving, pressure on the regime until it has produced meaningful results.

 B’nai B’rith International urges Congress to vote next month to disapprove of the agreement. 

Summer 2015 Issue Also Examines Integrated Jewish-Arab Schools in Israel

The roots of American-Jewish theater spring from Yiddish immigrant culture. Recent headlines, however, have focused on controversies in the Washington, D.C. scene.

But there is much more to the story. Today, the art form is thriving and evolving into new forms. Increasingly, efforts like the Jewish Plays Project competition search for emerging artists and plays seek to engage the Jewish community. Writer Barbara Blank explores the past, present and future of American-Jewish theater.

State-supported Hand in Hand operates five Israeli schools with 1,100 Jewish and Arab students learning together.  Writer Michele Chabin examines the challenges the schools face as they continue their mission of creating a more inclusive society.
B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs explains the organization’s ongoing role at the United Nations to counter the U.N.’s blatant bias against Israel.

Through the use of personal stories, B’nai B’rith Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin reminds us to honor Holocaust survivors and to keep alive the memories of those we’ve lost.

Joined by a similar love for country, Christian and Jewish Zionists in Israel seem to find a common bond. While some Christians in Israel seek to convert Jews, most see their mission as one of religious purpose and cultural understanding. Writer Hillel Kuttler tells the stories of these Christian Zionists living in Israel, shining a light on their incredible journeys.