Today, German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a ban on the activities of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) for its illicit activities on behalf of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. American Jewish Committee (AJC), which for years has raised concern over the misuse of this religious center for malign purposes by the Iranian regime, praised the decision as good for all Germans, including the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Press Releases and Statements
Find American Jewish Committee's latest press releases, official statements, and noteworthy announcements below.
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AJC Welcomes Ban on Activities of Iranian Outpost in Hamburg, Calls for Comprehensive Strategy Against Iranian Threats
AJC Joins Argentinian Jewish Community in Remembering AMIA Bombing 30 Years Later
An American Jewish Committee (AJC) leadership delegation traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina this week to mark 30 years since the terror attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center, which killed 85 people and injured 300 others when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into the six-story building. The 1994 bombing was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists linked to the Iranian regime.
AJC Statement on the ICJ's Advisory Opinion on Israel and the Palestinian Territories
American Jewish Committee (AJC) strongly criticized the non-binding advisory opinion released today by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The opinion was issued at the request of the UN General Assembly. The ICJ advisory opinion is not only factually and legally problematic; it jeopardizes the prospects for peace and could remove the basis for the existence of the Palestinian Authority.
AJC Statement on Israeli Knesset Resolution on Palestinian Statehood
Yesterday’s passing of a symbolic resolution opposing Palestinian statehood in the Israeli Knesset – with more than a third of the body absent – reflects the Israeli people’s understandable fear and deep skepticism of a Palestinian state in the aftermath of October 7, the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and 240 taken hostage, 120 of whom remain in Hamas captivity. Israelis are rightly concerned that Hamas or another terrorist movement could at some point take over the Palestinian Authority, and that the realities of October 7 could repeat. The resolution should not be misinterpreted as the Israeli people’s rejection of peace with their Palestinian neighbors. It must be understood in the context of this moment.
AJC Welcomes New Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism
Today, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor And Combat Antisemitism, announced new Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism. This pledge, signed by representatives of more than 30 countries and international organizations, includes many of the action items for governments listed in American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Global Call to Action Against Antisemitism, unveiled last month at AJC Global Forum 2024.
AJC CEO Ted Deutch Lauds NATO for Creating Path to Membership for Ukraine
American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch issued the following statement welcoming the NATO Summit declaration on Ukraine:
“The NATO Summit represents a watershed moment in the fight for democracy and freedom. AJC applauds NATO’s vital and ongoing show of solidarity with Ukraine and its commitment to provide Ukraine with continued military support and security assistance in the face of Russian aggression. The decision by NATO’s secretary general to send a senior representative to Ukraine also sends a strong message."
“The NATO Summit represents a watershed moment in the fight for democracy and freedom. AJC applauds NATO’s vital and ongoing show of solidarity with Ukraine and its commitment to provide Ukraine with continued military support and security assistance in the face of Russian aggression. The decision by NATO’s secretary general to send a senior representative to Ukraine also sends a strong message."
AJC Urges Retraction of Lancet Letter with Unsubstantiated Projected Gaza Death Toll
American Jewish Committee (AJC) is deeply concerned by The Lancet's publication of a letter, "Counting the Dead in Gaza: difficult but essential," which makes the unsubstantiated and outrageous claim, “in the coming months and years…it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”
AJC Welcomes Meta Policy Cracking Down on Antisemitic and Anti-Israeli Hate Speech
American Jewish Committee (AJC) has worked and consulted with Meta on issues relating to antisemitism for several years and was proud to continue this partnership by participating in Meta’s Policy Forum. As part of these discussions, AJC shared how the word “Zionist” is often used as coded language to attack Jews and Israelis and about the offline harm this proxy language has on Jewish life around the world.
AJC Welcomes Dept. of Education Agreement with Brown University
American Jewish Committee (AJC) today welcomed the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that it has entered into a resolution agreement with Brown University to ensure that Jewish students’ rights are protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agreement also includes protections for students with Palestinian, Arab, and/or Muslim ancestry.
AJC Welcomes Supreme Court Decision Reaffirming Social Media Platforms’ Right to Exclude Antisemitic Speech
American Jewish Committee (AJC) firmly believes that social media companies have a legal right and moral obligation to exclude hateful speech from their platforms. AJC welcomes yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in the two NetChoice cases examining this right.
American Jewish Committee Seattle Criticizes Washington Democrats' Resolutions on Ceasefire, U.S. Aid to Israel
In response to a June 23 vote at the Washington State Democratic Party convention to approve resolutions calling for an Israeli ceasefire in the war against Hamas and for the U.S. to end aid to Israel, American Jewish Committee Seattle Director Regina Sassoon Friedland issued this statement: "The Washington State Democratic Party must remember that resolutions like those passed can serve as a dog whistle to those who demonize Jews in Washington and around the world."
AJC Rejects UN Commission’s Blindness to Hamas’ Contempt for International Law and Civilian Lives
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today categorically rejected an appalling report by an independent UN panel that baselessly asserts Israel’s defensive military campaign in Gaza against the perpetrators of the October 7 terror attacks violates international law and turns a blind eye to Hamas’ continued flouting of that law and disregard for civilian lives.
AJC Thanks New York Prosecutors for Commitment to Aggressively Prosecute Antisemitic Hate Crimes
American Jewish Committee and its three New York-based regional offices today welcomed a joint statement from New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York’s 62 district attorneys acknowledging the alarming jump in antisemitic hate crimes and their commitment to aggressively prosecute those crimes.
“Positive Step Forward:” AJC CEO Ted Deutch Reacts to Agreement Between University of Michigan and U.S. Education Dept. to Address Campus Antisemitism
American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch, an alumnus of the University of Michigan, released a statement after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced Monday an agreement with the university following a Title VI investigation. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
AJC Statement on Agreement Between CUNY and U.S. Department of Education to Address Rampant Campus Antisemitism
American Jewish Committee welcomes the efforts by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to hold CUNY accountable for its woefully inadequate efforts to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff from discrimination, intimidation, and harassment.
AJC CEO Ted Deutch Tells Congress: Antisemitism Cannot Be Normalized on College Campuses
American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch today testified at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” Deutch previously served as a Member of Congress from Florida and was the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and was a founding co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.
AJC Creates Center for Education Advocacy to Advance Jewish Interests on Campus Amid Surge in Antisemitism
Amid a massive surge in anti-Zionist and antisemitic incidents at colleges and K-12 schools around the country, American Jewish Committee (AJC) today announced at AJC Global Forum the establishment of the Center for Education Advocacy. The Center will work to transform educational spaces for Jewish students by preparing young Jews to be leaders in high school, college, and beyond; working with university presidents, trustees, and faculty as well as K-12 administrators to create academic environments where Jews and Zionism can thrive; and by empowering parents to advocate for their children and for the Jewish community.
AJC Launches Center for a New Middle East
After more than 30 years of active engagement in the Arab world, American Jewish Committee (AJC) today announced the establishment of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East, an initiative that will bolster the organization’s decades of work to build trust, understanding, and interconnectedness throughout the Middle East.
AJC Establishes Ofir Libshtein Bridge Builder Award Named After Diaspora Visionary Murdered by Hamas on 10/7
American Jewish Committee (AJC) today established an award to honor Ofir Libshtein, a beloved kibbutz leader and Israeli advocate for stronger ties with the Jewish Diaspora community, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7.