January 13, 2020 — New York
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization, is supporting IsraAID, the Israeli humanitarian relief group, in providing urgent aid to victims of a major new earthquake in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. territory is also still recovering from the extensive damages from powerful Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“Once again, our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico are in dire need of assistance due to a major natural disaster,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “Our longstanding involvement with the citizens of this American Commonwealth — and our ties with Puerto Rican communities — move us to act with compassion.”
AJC, through its Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA), maintains close, cooperative links with Puerto Rican communities across the U.S. In November 2010, American Jewish and Puerto Rican leaders visited the island together on a trip co-sponsored by AJC, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, the Hispanic Federation, and the Jewish community in Puerto Rico.
Following Hurricane Maria, AJC’s Latino Jewish Leadership Council (LJLC) visited Puerto Rico in May 2018 on a fact-finding and solidarity mission to express solidarity and assess the status of aid delivery and reconstruction.
Aiding Puerto Rico now, as well as in 2017, are part of a long series of arrangements between AJC and IsraAID to help alleviate the impact of humanitarian crises and disasters around the world, via the Israeli organization’s vast on-the-ground experience.
