Direct air service on tap between Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv
The Israeli-American Council announced Wednesday that it successfully spearheaded a lobbying effort with a broad coalition of organizations to introduce a direct flight between an airport in the greater Washington, D.C. area and Israel.
United Airlines will offer nonstop service from Washington Dulles International Airport to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport starting May 22, 2019, pending government approval. United has offered service to Israel for 20 years, but this will be their first-ever nonstop flight offering between the U.S. capital and the State of Israel.
“We are very proud to have led a broad coalition of business and community groups that succeeded in advocating for a direct flight between Washington, D.C. and Tel Aviv. The IAC commends United Airlines for the leadership and foresight that they have shown in adding this route,” IAC CEO Shoham Nicolet said. “this development demonstrates how Israeli-Americans are uniquely positioned to serve as a living bridge that strengthens ties between people in the U.S. and Israel.”
United currently offers twice-daily service from New York, daily service from Miami and Tel Aviv, and seasonally has daily service from San Francisco. This new route will include three flights in each direction every week. -From Israeli-American Council
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AJC calls on Chile to be aware of growing anti-Semitism in local Palestinian community
An American Jewish Committee (AJC) delegation, led by AJC CEO David Harris, met with senior Chilean officials, including a private dinner with Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero, and separately with Minister of the Interior and Public Security Andrés Chadwick; Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hernán Larraín; President of the Senate Carlos Montes; and Members of Parliament during a three-day visit to Santiago, Chile.
The delegation also met with key diplomats stationed in Chile, including U.S. Ambassador Carol Perez and Israeli Ambassador Eldad Hayet.The visit featured numerous discussions with members of the Chilean Jewish Community, with which AJC has enjoyed a long-standing association agreement, along with the Federation of Jewish Students and Jewish business leaders, as well as with Chilean alumni of AJC Project Interchange and Dr. Ennio Vivaldi, President of the University of Chile.
Among the principal topics discussed were: (i) the rise of anti-Israel attitudes in Chile; (ii) challenges in relations between the Jewish and Palestinian communities of Chile; (iii) Chilean-Israeli and Chilean-U.S bilateral ties; and (iii) legislative efforts to counter incitement and hate speech, as well as possible terror-related activities, in Chile.
Chile is home to approximately 350-400,000 people of Palestinian Arab descent, almost all of whom are Christians who immigrated over a century ago, as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing. The community is reportedly the largest outside of the Middle East. The once cordial ties between the Jewish and Palestinian populations have become increasingly discordant, as anti-Zionist, pro-BDS sentiment in the principal Palestinian organization has intensified.
“In meetings with government officials, we conveyed the need to pay close attention to the impact of sometimes hostile, even intimidating, behavior on the lives of Chilean Jews, including on campuses,” said Harris. “As a vital part of the fabric of Chile, the Jewish community should not be made to feel insecure for expressing its support for the State of Israel.”
The delegation was comprised of Dina Siegel Vann, Director of AJC’s Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA); Mario Fleck, Chair of BILLA; and leaders of the Chilean Jewish Community. -From American Jewish Committee
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