(Washington, D.C., April 23, 2020)--B´nai B´rith teamed up with Jewish organizations in Panama to make a new donation to the Ministry of Health and the Ombudsman Office.

The Ministry of Health received 50 donated oximeters, which measure heart rates and the oxygen levels in patients’ blood. Oximeters are urgently needed for the coronavirus emergency and will be distributed to hospitals all over the country. The Ombudsman Office received 150 beds to help the needs of the Center of Migrants, located in Panama City. The center is a shelter for migrants who come to Panama from other countries to find work. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, most of them are unemployed.

Alberto Levy, a B´nai B´rith leader in Panama and lay leader in the Jewish community, and Alberto Jabiles, executive director of B´nai B´rith District 23, delivered the donations on behalf of all of the community.
 
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., April 20, 2020)--B´nai B´rith teamed up with Jewish organizations in Panama to make an urgently needed donation to the Ministry of Health.

The donated materials include 5,000 N95 masks, which are suitable for medical workers; 50,000 special gloves; 30,000 caps for nurses and surgeons; masks for children; masks for adults; 20 wheelchairs; thousands of special kits for sinus analysis; and 1,000 protective suits for medical doctors working in intensive care.
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The donation was distributed to four public hospitals by the Ministry of Health.

Alberto Levy, a B´nai B´rith leader in Panama and lay leader in the Jewish community, delivered the donation to the Ministry of Public Health on behalf of all of the community.

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., April 13, 2020)-- In response to the coronavirus pandemic and with the vast majority of the country under quarantine, today B´nai B´rith Uruguay delivered one thousand baskets of food as a donation to the government. The donations were given to two organizations: Sembrando (Sewing,) chaired by the president´s wife Lorena Lacalle, and the National System of Emergencies.

The baskets will be distributed all over the country.

Lacalle and Director of the National System of Emergencies Colonel Sergio Rico received the donation. B´nai B´rith was represented by Vice President of B’nai B’rith Uruguay Andres Yusupoff. Other members of the B´nai B´rith Board stayed home in compliance with social distancing recommendations.
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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.

B’nai B’rith Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn attended several ceremonies in Uruguay where new government ministers were formally installed. Uruguay’s new president, Luis Lacalle Pou, took office on March 1st.
 
Among the installation ceremonies Kohn attended was that of Uruguay’s new interior minister, Jorge Larrañaga, who traveled to Israel in late 2018 as part of a mission organized by B’nai B’rith for Latin American political leaders. Kohn also attended the ceremony where Javier García took office as defense minister. The Uruguayan army has undertaken several peace missions as a member of the United Nations in the last 50 years. Two of them, in the Sinai and the Golan Heights, were in the Middle East.
 
Another ceremony Kohn attended was in the foreign ministry. There, Ernesto Talvi took office as minister and Carolina Ache as vice minister.
 
Kohn also attended the ceremony where German Cardoso became tourism minister. Cardoso also traveled to Israel in late 2018 in a mission organized by B’nai B’rith for political leaders of Latin America.
 
Later in the day, there was an interfaith ceremony in the Montevideo Cathedral hosted by Cardinal Daniel Sturla, who delivered a keynote speech at B’nai B’rith’s Kristallnacht commemoration in 2015, together with Christian pastors and Rabbis Daniel Dolinsky (Conservative) and Max Godet (Orthodox). More than 1000 people, including President Lacalle Pou and several ministers, packed the cathedral. The ceremony was a “interfaith prayer for the betterment and growing of Uruguay”. It was also an historical event that an Orthodox rabbi played the shofar in the Cathedral of Montevideo. In addition to Kohn, B’nai B’rith was represented by the executive committee.

B’nai B’rith Helped Coordinate Events in Various Countries
 
(Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International, in partnership with local Jewish communities, helped coordinate events across Latin America in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
 
Events were held in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
 
In Argentina, a commemoration event at the Foreign Ministry featured keynote speaker Foreign Minister Felipe Sola, who had also attended a global Holocaust remembrance ceremony with world leaders, including President Alberto Fernandez, at Yad Vashem. Solá underlined the importance of having attended the meeting in Israel, the fact that Argentina is the only full Latin American member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and that his government is fully committed to combating discrimination and anti-Semitism.
 
In Chile, the event was held in the Foreign Ministry and the keynote speaker was Foreign Minister Teodoro Ribera. The Chilean Foreign Minister recognized two Chilean Righteous Among the Nations: Maria Edwards McClure and Samuel del Campo, who "saved innocents from slaughter with bravery."
 
In São Paulo, Brazil, hundreds of attendees crowded one of the largest synagogues to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jewish organizations, including B´nai B´rith, organized the gathering, and the keynote speaker was São Paulo Gov. João Doria.
 
In Uruguay, Congress paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust in a special session and representatives of all political parties delivered a message. It was relevant news that on the same day, the Uruguayan government announced that Uruguay had adopted the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism.
 
Former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and former Iberoamerican Secretary General Enrique Iglesias delivered a very touching speech on national radio and TV on the night of Jan 27th. He will chair a commission of experts that will develop several educational activities during 2020 all over Uruguay, teaching the history of the Shoah and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
 
The National Assembly of Ecuador held a special session to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The Israeli Embassy in Peru is developing a week of events together with the Jewish community.
 
Irene Shashar, a Holocaust survivor and the wife of former B’nai B’rith-Peru President Dani Schydlowski, delivered her moving testimony about her experiences, at the United Nations in New York Shahar noted:  "I defeated Hitler; I survived."
 
The Nation Assembly in Panama held a special session, which was attended by B’nai B’rith-Panama President David Djemal and the Jewish community.
 
There is a week of events in Guatemala organized by Jewish and evangelical organizations, and the Jewish community of Venezuela held a special event with the French ambassador as keynote speaker.
 
The Mexican Jewish community held several events, including in both the Congressional House, and the Senate.
 
The Costa Rican Jewish community will commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day in February.
 
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., Nov. 20, 2019)--Throughout November, B’nai B’rith International held commemorations across Latin America to remember Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. In 1938, on Nov. 9 and 10, Nazis terrorized Jewish neighborhoods throughout Germany, Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia, killing almost 100 Jews, dragging 30,000 to concentration camps, vandalizing thousands of Jewish businesses and burning and destroying synagogues.

In Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil, Panama, Ecuador and Uruguay, B’nai B’rith held remembrance programs marking the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht.

For the last 26 years, B’nai B’rith Argentina has organized Kristallnacht memorial ceremonies. This year’s event took place in the capital city, Buenos Aires, where Christians and Jews shared a solemn interfaith and remembrance event in the San Ildefonso Church. Vice President of B´nai B´rith Argentina Susana Chalon spoke on behalf of B´nai B´rith. Secretary of Human Rights of Argentina Claudio Avruj, political leaders and members of the Jewish Christian Confraternity attended.

The Christian College Rhena in São Paulo hosted the commemoration and debuted an exhibit entitled “Never forget the lessons of the Holocaust.” President of B´nai B´rith Brazil Abraham Goldstein was one of the keynote speakers.

B’nai B’rith Uruguay hosted more than 600 people on Nov. 12 for its memorial ceremony. The keynote speaker was Rector of the Catholic University in Uruguay Julio Fernandez, who delivered a memorable speech about the necessity of education to face horrors like the Holocaust. The central candle of the menorah was lit by the country’s two presidential candidates who face off in a runoff election on Nov. 24: Daniel Martinez of Frente Amplio and Luis Lacalle Pou of the Blanco Party. The event was attended by former President of Uruguay Julio Sanguinetti, the current president of the Supreme Court of Justice and members of the Supreme Court, senators, Cardinal Daniel Sturla, bishops, congressmen, ambassadors from 12 countries and political leaders from all parties.

B’nai B’rith Costa Rica held a remarkable Kristallnacht commemoration ceremony with a great keynote speaker: Elizabeth Odio Beniti, judge in the Inter American Court of Human Rights and former Costa Rican vice president.

B´nai B´rith Venezuela hosted its commemoration of the Night of Broken Glass in its hall in Caracas. The keynote speaker was EU Ambassador Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa.

Foreign Minister of Ecuador Jose Valencia hosted event attended by 200 people at the foreign ministry in Quito. The core issue of the commemoration was the presentation of the book by Oscar Vela about Antonio Muñoz Borrero, who saved tens of Jews while he was an Ecuadorian consul in Stockholm between 1935 and 1942.

B´nai B´rith Panama hosted an event before hundreds of attendees. The keynote speaker was Gabriel Ben Tasgal, Israeli university professor, Director of the Hasbara program Hatzad Hasheni, who coordinated with Director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Alan Schneider a very recent successful mission of Latin American journalists and politicians to Israel.

In Santiago, Chile, there was a joint Jewish Christian commemoration and the keynote speaker was German Ambassador to Chile Christian Ellbach.

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

​Fourteen journalists from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and Panama traveled to Israel with B’nai B’rith from Sept. 20th to Sept. 27th to gain a better understanding of the Jewish state and the most pressing issues in the region. From politics to economics to high tech, the trip included a robust and complete picture of Israel for journalists who may previously had limited knowledge of Israel.
 
The journalists met with key political figures, attended journalism lectures, visited Israel’s contentious border areas, learned about the Israeli tech industry and went sightseeing in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tiberias and Haifa. Participants posted on their social media accounts, with more than 300,000 combined followers, throughout the trip. They appeared live on television in Brazil and Panama and wrote stories for daily newspapers in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. In the next few weeks, they are scheduled to speak about their experiences on several radio and television programs and will produce more written pieces.
 
The journalists met with Moshe Ya’alon, former minister of defense; Modi Ephraim, director of the Latin America division of the Foreign Ministry; Reuven Azar, political advisor to the prime minister; and Haim Jelin, a former member of the Knesset. The meeting with Jelin took place in his kibbutz, which is very close to the Gaza border.
 
Participants heard lectures from journalists Jana Beris and Sal Emergui about conflicts in the Middle East. Economist Danny Ben Simon gave a talk about Israel’s status as a start-up nation. Gabriel Ben Tasgal, who coordinated and guided the program, spoke about Israel’s political panorama and gave helpful explanations at every place included on the itinerary.
 
The schedule included visits to Christian sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Galilee, the Jordan River, Capernaum, Magdala and Jericho, as well as several politically contentious areas. In the Golan Heights, a captain in the Israel Defense Forces spoke to the group. Participants learned about the Jordanian border in Paduel and visited the borders with Gaza and Lebanon.
 
Journalists learned about Israel’s tech industry with visits to several important companies. In Herzliya, they interviewed the owner and founder of Watergen, which develops water-from-air solutions to combat water scarcity. They interviewed the owner of web development platform WIX.Com in Tel Aviv and interviewed the creator of a special wheelchair for children during a visit to Taglit. They also visited the enormous Sodastream factory, which is near Gaza, and interviewed the Jewish and Arab workers there.
 
In Jerusalem, journalists visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, and the Mamila neighborhood, which houses many boutiques. While in Tel Aviv, they received a briefing on Jaffa and visited several places there. Their visit also included the Bahai Gardens in Haifa and the Dead Sea in Tiberias. 

B’nai B’rith International Director of Latin American Affairs Eduardo Kohn spoke at the World Zionist Organization’s (WZO) Latin American Conference on Anti-Semitism in Santiago, Chile. The conference was held from Sept. 6 to Sept. 8.
 
Kohn delivered a presentation on “Anti-Semitism in Latin America and the Contexts Around It.” Some 150 Jewish professional and lay leaders from around the region also participated, including leaders affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
 
The conference was convened by WZO Vice President Yaakov Hagoel, who arrived from Israel to host the event.

NYC Snowstorm Forces Postponement of U.S. Event

Every year on January 27 the world recognizes United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Day, a date selected marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation and B’nai B’rith International was active throughout Latin America, commemorating this important day.

In Uruguay an exhibit on Anne Frank was created and inaugurated in Montevideo’s city hall, the capital and the country’s largest city. Uruguayan President José Mujica attended the event, addressing the audience and the entire nation in a speech broadcast on radio and television. Mujica’s remarks focused on the evils of the Shoah and the atrocities of genocide. Meanwhile, the General Assembly of Uruguay held a solemn session in which representatives of all parties addressed the legislature in commemoration of the Holocaust. B’nai B’rith, the overall Jewish community and the Ministry of Education also hosted an academic event titled “70 Years After Auschwitz was Closed” at Montevideo city hall.

With all the tensions swirling within Argentina following the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman—the man responsible for investigating the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building that killed 85 and wounded 300—Holocaust Remembrance Day in Buenos Aires was extremely emotional. Typically the commemoration ceremony is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice and the Undersecretary of Human Rights, but amid the questions surrounding Nisman’s death all Jewish organizations declined to attend. B’nai B’rith has formally declined an invitation for the past two years following Argentina’s signing of the “Memorandum of Understanding” with Iran, an agreement which purports to investigate the terror attack.

Instead, a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony was held at the AMIA building. The commemoration was a crowded, emotional scene as Holocaust survivors were present and the AMIA president spoke on behalf of the Jewish organizations present. B’nai B’rith Argentina President Mario Wilhelm lit the fourth candle on the menorah on behalf of partisans and Jewish fighters who died while resisting the Nazis.

B’nai B’rith sponsored a Holocaust Remembrance Day program in Santiago, Chile as well, where it was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with ministers, ambassadors, civilian, religious and military authorities, survivors and their families in attendance.  

Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz addressed the audience, highlighting the government’s commitment to protecting minorities in Chile and the urgent need to reject all types of discrimination pervasive in society.

Executive Vice President of the National Institute of Human Rights and winner of the Light and Memory Award Lorena Fries also spoke, as did B’nai B’rith Chile President Emma Finkelstein.

In her remarks, Finkelstein discussed the main threats to Israel, Jews around the world and to Chile. She acknowledged the success of the Anti-Discrimination Act that was enacted last year, but regretted the fact that anti-Semitism was not explicitly included as a means of discrimination. Finkelstein also called for a bill seeking to establish hate speech as a crime and for the Holocaust to be included in the official curriculum of the Ministry of Education. 

“On behalf of the Jewish community and as president of B’nai B’rith Chile,” Finkelstein said, “we know it is our obligation to raise our voice and condemn these actions that we hope will not be accepted by the international community. We owe it to the dead but, above all, we owe it to the living, to our children as well as to your children.”

In Brazil two ceremonies were held, including an interreligious ceremony with Christians and Muslims at the Congregação Israelita Paulista in São Paulo. The second ceremony was hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs at the Itamaraty Palace with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in attendance. 

Unfortunately, a snow storm in New York City forced the postponement of B’nai B’rith International’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program at the United Nations. This year’s program was to focus on Arturo Toscanini, one of the most renowned orchestral maestros of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Tuscanini was a staunch anti-fascist who publicly took a hard-line stance against the oppression and racism of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and supported the establishment of the orchestra now known as the Israel Philharmonic in 1936 in solidarity with young Jewish musicians escaping Nazi persecution. The B’nai B’rith program was to be held in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations. The event will be rescheduled.