Editor’s E-Mail Box: July 3, 2018 (4 items)

American Jewish Committee facilitates anti- Semitism discussion with United Nations representatives

The American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) convened a meeting of key UN human rights leaders and staff members together with experts on anti-Semitism from around the world.

Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, who co-convened the meeting, lamented the “scandalous lack of attention” paid by the UN human rights system to anti-Semitism and pledged to address the issue under his mandate.

Addressing the group, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein affirmed that the UN’s human rights expert mechanisms have historically “underserved” victims of anti-Semitism and called on the UN system to “do its part” to rectify the problem.

“This consultation was conceived as an important first step towards addressing a longstanding lack of familiarity, and even alienation, between organizations concerned with combating anti-Semitism around the world and the UN’s human rights mechanisms,” said JBI Director Felice Gaer.

Participants in the unprecedented meeting, held in Geneva on June 28, included Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs, who also is the Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission’s Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism.

UN human rights staff members in attendance urged the anti-Semitism experts to share their data with the UN and sought guidance from the experts on how to reach out more effectively to Jewish communities, particularly those living in countries that are visited by the experts.

“Notwithstanding the fact that representatives of many UN Member States, acting through the UN’s political bodies, regularly adopt resolutions and take other actions demonstrating overwhelming bias against Israel and hostility toward Jews, its independent human rights experts must nevertheless be reminded to devote appropriate attention to anti-Semitism,” said Gaer. “We are grateful to Dr. Ahmed Shaheed for expressing a desire to address anti-Semitism as a human rights issue in his new role as UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and for seeking the assistance of anti-Semitism experts in this effort.” -From American Jewish Committee

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98 new immigrants to Israel first wave of expected 2000

The Sheps family made aliyah to Israel from the United States

Nefesh B’Nefesh, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency, KKL-JNF and JNF-USA, welcomed 98 new Olim on Tuesday. Five different EL AL flights carrying Olim from Toronto, Miami, Los Angeles, JFK and Newark arrived throughout the day at Ben Gurion Airport. The Newark group flight contained 74 Olim, with the youngest Oleh being only 8 months old.

“The next eight weeks are our busiest and most exciting time of year as we work round the clock helping nearly 2,000 Olim realize their dream of Aliyah,” said Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass. “We wish each and every one of today’s 100 Olim, who are kickstarting our summer Aliyah season, a smooth acclimation as they build their new lives in the Jewish homeland.”

The new Olim come from a variety of cities from all over North America including Miami, Boulder, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Toronto, and New York. These group flights precede the two Nefesh B’Nefesh charter Aliyah flights, the first landing July 25th, and the second landing August 15th, as well as several more group flights scheduled during the summer months.

“My husband and I have been desperate to make Aliyah for the longest time. Suddenly, the end of the preparations just crept up on us, and now we’re finally here!” said Shira Lankin Sheps, who made Aliyah with her family from Fair Lawn, New Jersey. “The reality of the situation keeps hitting me in the little moments. I can’t believe how lucky I am, and I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to be here and to Nefesh B’Nefesh for making it so easy.”

Over 50 percent of new Olim move to Israel during the summer months, which is a natural transition period for them to settle into their homes and prepare for the upcoming year. –From Nefesh B’Nefesh

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U.S. Independence Day to be celebrated at National Museum of American Jewish History

The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia will celebrate the 4th of July, American Indepenence Day, with an actor portraying George Washington and reading the first President’s letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, in which he declared that the United States is a country which gives “bigotry no sanction.”

Additionally, the museum is featuring an exhibition titled “Leonard Bernstein: the Power of Music.”

For those fortunate enough to be in Philadelphia on the 4th, the museum offers from its 5th floor terrace a wonderful viewing point for Philadelphia’s Independence Day Parade.

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Congress asked to create a Holocaust education program with private funding

Over 70 Jewish organizations have called upon Congress to adopt the “Never Again Education Act,” formally known as House Resolution 5460, which would establish a public-private partnership for teaching about the Holocaust in the public schools.  While the government would administer the program to provide teachers with the resources and training to teach the Holocaust, it would be paid for by private donations.

“We face a stark contrast today: As the number of living Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses dwindles, Holocaust denial and ignorance are becoming much more prevalent,” a letter to Congress signed by leaders of the organizations  stated.
“Now, it is more important than ever that survivor stories be told to audiences around the globe. Unfortunately, far too many students in the United States grow up without basic knowledge of the events of the Holocaust. A survey released in April 2018 by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany shows that Americans are forgetting about the Holocaust, or are completely unaware it occurred. For instance, forty-nine percent of millennials cannot name a single concentration camp. Thirty-one percent of Americans believe that two million or fewer Jews were killed in the Holocaust, even though six million Jews and millions of others perished. Fifty two percent of Americans are unaware that Hitler came to power through a democratic election. We must do better and we need your continuing leadership to do so.”

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Preceding culled from news releases sent to editor@sdjewishworld.com