Articles by David Harris

In this farewell piece as American Jewish Committee CEO, David reflects on what led him to begin work at AJC in 1979, and he reflects on key lessons learned over the past 47 years, 43 of them at AJC, as a professional in the Jewish world. "My biggest takeaway from 47 years of global Jewish advocacy is to delete the word 'impossible' from the vocabulary. Time and again, the impossible has become possible. Despite the unrelenting threats, the Jewish people are better off, more free and more secure in 2022 than in 1975. And the main reason is that Jews have determined we will no longer allow ourselves to be either victims or bystanders of history, but rather seek to become participants, indeed authors, of history."

Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish identity. How painfully sad! In response, and with the High Holy Days just around the corner, AJC CEO David Harris shares what being Jewish means to him.

Gorbachev's record wasn’t perfect. But, then again, his legacy is extraordinary. The Cold War came to an end. The USSR went into the dustbin of history. And the Jewish world, including Israel, was given a once-in-a-lifetime boost.

AJC CEO David Harris’ Letter from a Forgotten Jew revisits an often-forgotten history of Jewish refugees from the Arab world.

Read this powerful essay by AJC CEO David Harris (1990-2022) on the history and meaning of Israel’s remarkable journey.

What might have seemed unimaginable to many American Jews just a few years ago has now become all too frequent. Anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and antisemitic incidents are being reported near and far. Those who thought that threats faced by Jews occurred elsewhere in the world, but not here at home, have woken up to new realities. The overarching question is how to respond. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are ten ways to fight back.

Fifty-five years ago this month, the Six Day War broke out. Without an understanding of what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today — and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world.

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his current invasion of Ukraine by asserting the country needed to be denazified. It was a rather odd assertion, to say the least. Ukraine is led by a proud, democratically-elected Jew, Volodymyr Zelensky, chosen by nearly three-quarters of the voters in 2019. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Jews were enjoying a vibrant religious and communal life until the Russian assault, and the government had adopted one of the toughest measures anywhere against antisemitism.
Ironically, this was a perfect example of “the pot calling the kettle black.” Indeed, it was Putin’s regime drawing from the Nazi playbook, not Ukraine.

With the brazen Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is important to try to understand how this happened and how to respond. This act of war didn’t occur in a vacuum. Russian President Vladimir Putin had said as early as 2005 that the “collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.”

AJC CEO David Harris called out Russia’s brazen act of war against Ukraine and reiterated American Jewish Committee’s long standing commitment to an independent Ukraine.

There are as many as 300,000 Jews living in Ukraine today. Whatever happens in the weeks and months ahead, they know they don’t have to face the prospect of homelessness. And that’s because, thankfully, Israel is a reality.

AJC CEO David Harris, responding to a Wall Street Journal essay by Israeli historian Benny Morris, points out that the mission of UNRWA, set up in 1949, made no reference to refugee resettlement, and its definition of a Palestinian refugee included future generations without any time limit. Question is why Unrwa is not under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The fundamental problem with the Amnesty International report is that it is disconnected from reality. Israel has nothing to do with apartheid, and apartheid has nothing to do with Israel.

January 27 has been designated by the United Nations as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Holocaust defies imagination. Its aim was the Endlösung, or Final Solution, of the Jewish people. In pursuit of this goal, a new alphabet of genocide was created — from A for Auschwitz to Z for Zyklon-b, the nerve gas used in the gas chambers. Every Jew was a target, including 1.5 million children. The Jews were pursued for one reason— they were Jews and, according to Adolf Hitler’s demented worldview, all Jews had to be eliminated. Seventy-seven years after the war’s end, why should these events still matter?

American Jewish Committee David Harris remarks on the Ukraine crisis.

In his latest interview with Germany’s BILD, the most-read newspaper in Europe, AJC CEO David Harris discusses Germany-Iran ties, Germany-Israel relations, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, Holocaust relativization and other current issues.

Surveys reveal a disturbingly large number of American Jews who feel disconnected from their Jewish identity. How painfully sad! In response, let me share the essence of what being Jewish means to me.

As United Nations secretary-general, you said more than once you were a friend of Israel. But then I read your oped in the Financial Times on June 29th. Could this really be the same Ban Ki-moon writing such a one-sided assault on Israel, raising questions about whether you truly are a friend or, still worse, if you are even committed today to Israel’s very existence.

All Jews ignore at their peril rising antisemitism.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has a Jewish problem. Despite her repeated denials and the rush to circle the wagons from some left-wing Jews, there's an undeniable pattern.