Seventy years ago, on November 9-10, 1938, the Nazis staged vicious pogroms - state sanctioned, anti-Jewish riots - against the Jewish community of Germany. These came to be known as Kristallnacht (now commonly translated as "Night of Broken Glass"), a reference to the untold numbers of broken windows of synagogues, Jewish-owned stores, community centers, and homes plundered and destroyed during the pogroms. Encouraged by the Nazi regime, the rioters burned or destroyed 267 synagogues, vandalized or looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, and killed at least 91 Jewish people. They also damaged many Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes as police and fire brigades stood aside. Kristallnacht was a turning point in history. The pogroms marked an intensification of Nazi anti-Jewish policy that would culminate in the Holocaust-the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews.

 

On Sunday night, Nov. 9 at 6 pm at the Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd., the program will feature Lutheran Bishop Mike Rinehart, above left, and Consuls General Rainer Muenzel of Germany, above right, and Asher Yarden of Israel.

Houston's America's Table on Nov. 21

Houston faith and ethnic leaders will come together for the Chapter's third annual America's Table: Thanksgiving breakfast on Fri., Nov. 21.  The program, in colloboration with Congressmen Al Green and John Culberson, features readings and personal immigrant stories from Houstonians.  For reservations and information click here.

Congratulating President-elect Obama
AJC sent a letter of congratulations to Barack Obama after his election to become the 44th president of the United States. READ LETTER. "AJC extends to you our warmest congratulations on your historic victory - and pledges our strong support as you assume the mantle of leadership of our great nation," wrote AJC. Senator Obama addressed AJC's Annual Meeting in 2006.

AJC Leads Vatican Meeting on Pius XII
Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of interreligious affairs, led an international Jewish delegation that met privately with Pope Benedict at the Vatican to discuss the beatification of Pope Pius XII and opening the Vatican archives covering the World War II period. Rosen said the exchange with Benedict was open, warm and constructive. Read news release.

Condemning Greek Newspaper's anti-Semitism
The front-page headline in Avriani, a daily newspaper in Greece, "draws on classic anti-Semitic canards of Jewish conspiracy and domination," said AJC in a statement. The headline read: "The anticipated victory of Obama in the U.S. elections signals the end of Jewish domination." AJC monitors European media and has a longstanding and close relationship with the Greek Jewish community.

AJC Praises Oceania Cruises' Retraction of Israel Criticism
In its formal reply to AJC, Oceania expressed its "most sincere apologies" and committed to "delete any and all political information of this nature from future publications." A newsletter given to passengers docking in Haifa accused Israel of systematic racial discrimination and illegal activities in Jerusalem. AJC brought the issue to Oceania's attention in September.

Leading German Journalists Visit AJC
Leading German TV and radio journalists visited AJC headquarters for a two-hour discussion about the American elections, U.S.-Israel relations, Iran, German attitudes toward Jews and the Holocaust, media treatment of Israel, and prospects for peace in the Middle East. The journalists were hosted in the U.S. by the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, which has introduced to AJC over the past decade several hundred of Germany's most influential media personalities. 

AJC Condemns German Hate Crimes
AJC's Berlin Office expressed shock about two hate incidents in Germany: an attack on a van carrying a rabbi and eight rabbinical students in Berlin, and the vandalism of a Muslim cemetery in Hamburg. "We denounce attacks of anti-Semitism and any aggression against religious figures and sites, and call upon law enforcement authorities to do their utmost to find and prosecute the perpetrators of such heinous crimes," said Deidre Berger, director of AJC Berlin.