American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, this week spearheaded discussions on faith and climate change at COP28 in Dubai. AJC, the only Jewish organization with an office in the United Arab Emirates, was also the only Jewish organization to sponsor a panel at the first-ever Faith Pavillion at a UN Climate Conference.
Press Releases and Statements
Find American Jewish Committee's latest press releases, official statements, and noteworthy announcements below.
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American Jewish Committee Calls on UN to Condemn Hamas Terrorism in Israel
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, is urging members of the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) to issue a condemnation of Hamas’s terror attack against Israel following the body’s emergency session Sunday. AJC welcomes statements from individual Member States expressing solidarity with Israel and urges key UN bodies and other multinational institutions to follow suit.
American Jewish Committee Working with Aid Groups to Support Morocco Relief Efforts
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, announced today donations to a range of organizations, including IsraAID, to deliver urgent aid to the people of Morocco following Friday’s devastating earthquake. AJC also saluted Israel for its offers to send a humanitarian relief delegation, a move that symbolizes the strong and growing ties between the two nations that in 2020 reestablished and upgraded relations.
AJC CEO Ted Deutch on Today's Announcement on Wrongfully Detained Americans in Iran
I am encouraged by the news that five Americans whose lives, and whose families’ lives, have been upended by Iran’s longstanding callous practice of political hostage-taking and wrongfully detaining foreign nationals for use as bargaining chips, are closer than ever before to coming home as a result of the agreement announced today.
American Jewish Committee Issues Statement on Israel's Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty Over Western Sahara
American Jewish Committee issued a statement following Israel's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
AJC CEO Ted Deutch Lauds Appointment of Ambassador Dan Shapiro as Regional Integration Envoy
AJC CEO Ted Deutch today issued this statement following the appointment by Secretary of State Antony Blinken of Ambassador Dan Shapiro to be Senior Advisor for Regional Integration: Ambassador Dan Shapiro is an excellent choice to lead America’s efforts to expand the circle of peace in the Middle East, from strengthening the Abraham Accords to working to normalize relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim-majority countries.
American Jewish Committee Video for Arabic Speakers Explains What Connects Jews to Israel
American Jewish Committee has released a video, "What Ties Jews to Israel?" (“Ma allathi yarbut al-yahud bi-Isra’il?” in Arabic), the 11th installment in the organization’s Arabic-language educational video series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), which has received more than 45 million views worldwide. The video released today emphasizes that the unique connection between Jews and the land of Israel does not negate those shared by other religions and peoples. The video is also available in English.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Bourita Says Abraham Accords Provide “Incredible Momentum” for Peace in Middle East
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita today said the Abraham Accords have created “incredible momentum” for peace and prosperity in the Middle East and helped create unprecedented growth in his country’s trade with Israel. In a video address to more than 1,500 attendees at AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv, Bourita also said the Kingdom of Morocco took deep pride in its Jewish heritage and support for its Jewish community and institutions.
AJC Leadership Delegation Conducts Meetings in United Arab Emirates
An American Jewish Committee (AJC) leadership delegation today conducted high-level consultations and events in the United Arab Emirates, continuing AJC’s 25-year-plus engagement with the UAE leadership and building on the 2020 Abraham Accords normalization agreement.
AJC Abu Dhabi Joins in Celebration of UAE Abrahamic Family House Opening
American Jewish Committee (AJC) joined in the celebration of the Abrahamic Family House opening in Abu Dhabi. With a mosque, church, and synagogue, along with exhibition space and conference facilities, the new interfaith center drives home the message of interfaith respect and cooperation that has long been a feature of Emirati culture and life. Ambassador (ret.) Marc Sievers, Director of AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding; Rabbi David Rosen, Director, AJC International Interreligious Affairs; and Reva Gorelick, Program Director, AJC Abu Dhabi, attended the opening ceremony yesterday.
AJC CEO Ted Deutch Applauds Iran’s Removal From UN Commission on Status of Women
American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch praised today’s landmark vote by UN member states to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “We applaud the 29 members of the UN's ECOSOC who declared today that they will no longer allow Iran, a country that relentlessly persecutes women and girls, to serve as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women. Its immediate removal for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term corrects a grave mistake,” said Deutch.
AJC Applauds UN Human Rights Council Decision to Investigate Abuses in Iran
American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the UN Human Rights Council’s decision to establish an “independent international fact-finding mission” on Iran that will “thoroughly and independently investigate” human rights violations committed by the regime in its deadly crackdown on escalating protests since September 16. “The Human Rights Council was created precisely for addressing the egregious human rights abuses the Iranian regime is committing with impunity,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “Today’s Council decision reflects the international community’s outrage at the regime’s conduct, its commitment to listen to the brave Iranian people, and its determination to hold accountable those responsible for the pervasive violence.”
AJC Praises Countries Calling for UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iran Human Rights Abuses
“The Human Rights Council has a responsibility to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its brazen, violent crackdown on its own citizens. The international community’s credibility is on the line,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “We salute Germany and Iceland for mobilizing 44 countries, including the 17 Council members required to ask Council President Federico Villegas to convene the special session on Iran.”
AJC Praises Countries Calling for UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iran Human Rights Abuses
American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Germany and Iceland for taking the lead in requesting a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters. “The Human Rights Council has a responsibility to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its brazen, violent crackdown on its own citizens. The international community’s credibility is on the line,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “We salute Germany and Iceland for mobilizing 44 countries, including the 16 Council members required to ask Council President Federico Villegas to convene the special session on Iran.”
AJC’s Rabbi David Rosen Addresses Global Interfaith Conclave in Bahrain
Rabbi David Rosen, American Jewish Committee (AJC) International Director of Interreligious Affairs, today addressed the Bahrain Dialogue Forum, a gathering of more than 200 interfaith leaders from around the world.
AJC Urges U.S. to Lead Efforts to Convene UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iran Human Rights Abuses
American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch, in a letter to President Biden, has urged the United States to mobilize the international community to convene a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters. AJC also launched today an online campaign, AJC.org/StopIranAbuses, encouraging individuals to sign a petition calling on the White House to take action detailed in Deutch’s letter to the president
American Jewish Committee Disappointed by Palestinian Response to Israeli Offer on Two-State Solution
Just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the United Nations he supports a two-state solution, it was regrettable that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reacted to this courageous overture with hostile rhetoric that prevents a meaningful dialogue.
American Jewish Committee Praises Israeli PM Lapid's Call for a Two-State Solution
American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s call, in his address to the UN General Assembly, for the search for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The leading global Jewish advocacy organization offered this statement:
Large American Jewish Committee Delegation, on Weeklong Arabian Gulf Visit, Marks Abraham Accords Anniversary and Opening of AJC Abu Dhabi Office
An American Jewish Committee delegation of 80 people from across the United States were joined last evening by Emirati government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, business leaders, and members of the local Jewish community to celebrate the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords and the official opening earlier this year of AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding.
New American Jewish Committee Arabic Video Highlights Jewish Commitment to Peace
American Jewish Committee (AJC) today released “What Do Jews Think About Peace?” (“kayfa yara al-yahud al-salaam”), an informative three-minute video in Arabic that elucidates the high value that Jews and Judaism place on the pursuit of peace. The video also is available in English. What Do Jews Think About Peace? is the ninth episode of AJC’s Arabic language educational web series, ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), launched in 2020. The new video explains the teachings about peace that are integral to Judaism and have underpinned Israeli society and policy since the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.