Alan Jope
Chief Executive Officer
Unilever

Dear Mr. Jope:

On behalf of B’nai B’rith International’s more than 100,000 members and supporters in over 40 countries around the world, we write to express our deep dismay at the decision by Ben and Jerry’s to cease activities in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.  Ben and Jerry’s is participating in a discriminatory boycott aimed at weakening Israel’s security and isolating the Jewish state within the international community.

We understand that Ben and Jerry’s operates under an independent board, but Unilever remains the parent company of a brand that is now taking part in a global movement that is anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist.  BDS’ own founders have indicated that their goal is the elimination of the Jewish state.  The sole focus of their ire is not any of the world’s worst human rights abusers, but rather the Middle East’s only democracy.  Their denial of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state in the region not only threatens Israel’s security, but hinders the peace process.

B’nai B’rith calls on Unilever to reverse Ben and Jerry’s decision and resume the brand's business activities in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. Unilever should not allow such a vicious act of hatred and discrimination to take place under its name.

Respectfully,

Charles O. Kaufman                                                Daniel S. Mariaschin
President                                                                     Executive Vice President and CEO

(Washington, D.C., July 16, 2021)--B’nai B’rith International hosted a two-part virtual series—Hezbollah: Sowing Global Terror—in advance of the anniversaries of two deadly attacks on Jews.

The bombing of the AMIA building in Buenos Aires that killed 85 and wounded more than 300 took place July 18, 1994. Terrorists detonated a car bomb, killing and maiming those who worked at the AMIA (the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) building and destroying the structure that housed so many Jewish Agencies in Buenos Aires. It was the deadliest terror attack ever in Argentina.

In 2012 on the same date, a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus carrying Israeli tourists from Tel Aviv at the Burgas Airport in Bulgaria. The explosion killed the Bulgarian bus driver and five Israelis and injured 32 other Israelis.

Even though there is ample evidence that Hezbollah—a terrorist group that's a proxy of Iran—is behind both attacks, there is reluctance to tackle the terrorist organization head-on to this day.

In Part 1 of our series, “Commemorating AMIA,” we spoke with Luis Czyzewski, the father of a victim, about his search for justice. The interview, in Spanish with simultaneous English translation, was conducted by Adriana Camisar, B’nai B’rith’s Special Advisor on Latin American and U.N. Affairs from Argentina, with a special introduction by CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin. Czyzewski, whose 21-year-old daughter, Paola, was killed in the attack, has spent the last 27 years fighting for justice for his daughter and all of the victims of the attack. That unforgettable, tragic day was the first time Paola ever entered the AMIA building. She was visiting during a break from her law studies to assist her parents, who both worked at AMIA.

Czyzewski noted that there is no method, formula or book that says how to move forward after such a horrific loss. That the families of the victims have a burden they will carry throughout their lives. He said the many investigations into the bombing have revealed much about the attack, but that what we don’t have are convictions.

Camisar and Mariaschin commended Czyzewski for his courageous fight for justice.

In Part 2, “Shared Threads: AMIA, Burgas and Other Global Terror Attacks,” Mariaschin interviewed two experts about Iran’s proxy terror arm, Hezbollah, and its malign global reach. Guest Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Our 2nd guest was Gustavo Perednik, whose long resume includes writing two books dealing with the work of his friend, the late AMIA case prosecutor Alberto Nisman, “To Kill Without a Trace” and “To Die for Argentina.”

Perednik said that Nisman would have approved of combining AMIA and Burgas for commemoration, because he would have appreciated the connecting of the dots between multiple attacks and how the linked events expose Iran’s influence in terrorist attacks across the world—and by extension its guilt. Levitt said the Burgas attack didn’t happen in a vacuum and also observed that Hezbollah sees terror against innocent civilians as a legitimate path to achieving its objectives.
​
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 21, 2021)—B’nai B’rith President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
 
We vehemently reject a Congressional resolution aimed at preventing the sale of arms to our ally in the Middle East: Israel.

As Israel and Hamas announce a cease-fire agreement, efforts underway in Congress could hamstring the Jewish state in future defensive operations against Hamas and Hezbollah. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Mark Pocan (D-Wisconsin) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are spearheading this joint resolution to stop the sale of U.S. arms to Israel.

Israelis have endured 11 days of indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza targeting civilians. These sales, which President Joe Biden has already approved, keep Israel safe.

Support for Israel goes well beyond a military partnership with the United States. The partnership with “Startup Nation” means alliances in trade, technology, agriculture, health and medicine, water and cyber developments. It’s no wonder that Israel has proven itself in advancing civilization or extending a helping hand around the world in the face of natural disasters. Why would the U.S. Congress fail to bolster the security of such a country, a beacon of democratic principles?

We reject this resolution and reassert and reaffirm our support for Israel’s right to self-defense. This is an important moment for the United States to reassure its democratic ally in the Middle East of its staunch and unwavering commitment.

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.

Hamas Must Commit to Conclusive Peace

(Washington, D.C., May 20, 2021)—B’nai B’rith President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

We note the cease-fire in Israel, which is set to take effect in the coming hours. As Israel ends its defensive operations it expects “quiet would be met by quiet.”

The cease-fire agreement must be conclusive and definitive. This should not be seen as merely a pause for an ephemeral timeframe. Hamas must not be allowed to re-arm and reconstruct its infrastructure of terror.

International interlocutors must be vigilant in holding Hamas accountable for the violence and trauma it has inflicted on Israelis and on the residents of Gaza and must insist the terrorist organization immediately cease its goal of obliterating Israel.

The people of Israel deserve to live in peace in their sovereign democracy.

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 President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

The B’nai B'rith International Executive Board of Directors, including the Executive Committee, today passed a resolution expressing that the organization “stands in solidarity with our Israeli brothers and sisters as they face down a Palestinian terrorist onslaught, just as we always have and we always will in the future.”

The measure touched on Hamas rocket fire, ethnic strife, unbalanced media coverage, an admonition against vigilante justice and a call for international bodies to condemn Hamas war crimes, among other topics.

B’rith has been active in Israel since 1888 and inaugurated the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem in 1981.

The resolution specifies that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people and “once again finds itself forced to fight against rocket attacks launched by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza.”  In addition, specific mention was made that “ethnic strife is gripping the streets of Israeli cities with mixed Israeli Arab and Jewish populations, including the horrific torching of synagogues in Lod, which reminds us of dark times in Jewish history.”

The resolution also was particularly mindful of media coverage of the current conflict that “often relies on false moral equivalencies, if not blatant bias and outright lies.” It was also noted in the resolution that “Israeli civilians have lost their lives or been injured for no other reason than that they are Jews who dare to live in our ancient homeland.”

Support for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli police was also expressed, and the resolution stated members of the “international community, including U.N. Security Council members, are rushing to unfairly condemn Israel while paying scant attention to Hamas war crimes, including firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli towns and cities from the midst of Palestinian civilian areas in Gaza.”

B’nai B’rith has opened its Israel Emergency Fund to help Israel during this crisis.

Read the full resolution here.

(Washington, D.C., May 11, 2021)—B’nai B’rith President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

In light of ongoing Hamas terror attacks against Israel and Fatah’s incitement of violence against Israelis, we call on the White House to abandon plans to open a consulate in East Jerusalem and to rescind any permission for the PLO to open an office in Washington, D.C.

The clear support for these attacks that has come from Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas shows, without question, that the PA gives approbation to those using violence in Jerusalem.

Abbas has declared this uprising “the battle of all battles; that the long struggle against a satanic colonialist force” is at hand.

A more peaceful and certain result would be to come to the negotiating table to discuss a real, tangible outcome.

Central to Hamas’ doctrine is a call for Israel’s destruction. It is becoming increasingly clear that the PA refuses to choose a path toward resolving this conflict. In light of that, keeping these offices closed would send a strong message that promoting violence against Israel is a dead end.

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., March 3, 2021)--B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

We are outraged by outgoing International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s announcement that she is opening an investigation into allegations of “war crimes” by Israel.

It does not suffice that the prosecutor is also open to probing Palestinian war crimes. There is no moral or legal equivalence whatsoever between Israel, a democratic state seeking responsibly to protect the lives of its diverse civilian population, and Palestinian terrorist groups openly committed to indiscriminate atrocities and the very destruction of the Jewish state.

As we have previously affirmed, the Court has no jurisdiction in the Palestinian areas, and “Palestine” is not a state and thus not one that can bring legal claims—something made fully apparent in the Palestinians’ own ongoing pursuit of statehood and refusal of sovereign obligations in the meantime. Additionally, Israel’s legal system—certainly unlike that of the Palestinians, all the more so in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip—is internationally renowned for its independence and capacity to investigate and respond to criminal offenses. This by itself removes any place for the ICC to scrutinize Israeli personnel.

Above all, the acquiescence of the prosecutor to politicize the ICC and exploit it as a propaganda tool not only batters the standing of the court and distracts it from truly grievous and systematic crimes around the world, but also intolerably stands to handicap law-abiding nations’ abilities, rights and fundamental duties to combat the brutal asymmetric warfare of terrorist organizations. Such infringement cannot stand, and democratic countries will be obligated to do whatever possible to protect service-members engaged in entirely legitimate and necessary defensive activity.

We demand that the ICC discontinue any prosecution of the single most humane military in a most dangerous region.

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., Feb. 5, 2021)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

We reject a ruling out today by the International Criminal Court (ICC) giving itself the power to investigate Israel and the Palestinians for supposed “war crimes” stemming from the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, where Israel defended itself from Hamas terror attacks. The ruling also determined that “Palestine” is a state.

With this ICC decision, we see again that Israel is subject to systemic bias in multilateral organizations. The ICC puts Hamas and Israel on the same playing field, even though Israel’s actions were defensive in the face of Hamas attacks.

We concur with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu’s assessment: “The ICC ignores the real war crimes and instead pursues the State of Israel,” and further: “In this decision the ICC violated the right of democracies to defend themselves against terrorism, and played into the hands of those who undermine efforts to expand the circle of peace.”

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.