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As the two nations prepare to mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship, the AJC Asia Pacific Institute spoke with Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen about the evolution of the Israel-Japan relationship. 

U.S. mayors across the country are joining an AJC initiative calling on their European counterparts to publicly address and take concrete actions against rising antisemitism.

Let’s be absolutely clear. Any attack on a synagogue is an expression of antisemitism. Full stop. The Colleyville synagogue is not on a major thoroughfare. It’s not a place one finds by accident. Malik Faisal Akram sought out a Jewish house of worship. He took out his gun and began the standoff during a Shabbat service, while participants were literally facing Jerusalem for the Amidah — the liturgical heart of the Shabbat service. Clarity on recognizing antisemitism whenever it happens, unequivocally calling it out, and mobilizing effective responses are essential to confronting this age-old hatred that continually threatens not only Jews but all of society.

Last Saturday, during Judaism’s Sabbath, an armed intruder at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue held hostage the rabbi and three of his congregants for nearly 12 hours. This is not the first attack on a synagogue in the United States. Memories of the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 and the shooting at the Chabad House in Poway, California, in 2019 are still fresh.

We have been battling violent antisemitism through so many generations that the effort can sometimes feel disheartening and lonely. But along with finding hope in the heroics of Rabbi Cytron-Walker and his congregants, I find solace in our relationships with allies who stand with the Jewish community in solidarity, and in finding paths to healthier communities and a safer future for all.