Mideast Briefing: Ramifications of Iran's Election Fallout
"The Iranian Revolution has been shown to be much more fragile than many thought," writes Eran Lerman, director of AJC's Israel/Middle East Office. "And when the turmoil in Tehran is added to the humiliation of Hezbollah in the Lebanese elections, the spell is broken and the rise of Iran and her proxies to dominance does not seem quite as inevitable as before." READ BRIEFING
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Coming up
Saturday- Sunday,
August 29-30
Mexican-American Emerging Leaders Workshop
America's Table
Friday, Nov. 20
AJC's Max Nathan Award Dinner
honoring
Joe Williams
Thurs., Dec. 10
at the Omni Houston Hotel
Board Meetings
Sept. 17; Jan. 21; March 18 and Apr 22. An October meeting will take place.
Annual meeting May 20
Executive Committee
Sept 3; Nov. 5; Jan. 7 and
March 4
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Joe Williams to receive AJC's Max Nathan Award
Long time community leader Joe Williams will receive the Chapter's Max Nathan Award on Thursday evening, Dec. 10. Williams, a former president of Congregation Emanu El and the Jewish Federation, headed the search committee for Emery/Weiner's new head of school. A partner with Pozmantier Consulating, he has been active in the general and Jewish communities. Irving Pozmantier is serving as the chair of the event.
AJC files amicus brief on Texas religious practice case with coalition
AJC joined an interfaith coalition on Thursday in submitting an amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of A.A. v. Needville Independent School District, involving a Texas school district's refusal to allow a five-year-old American Indian student to wear his hair in braids to school in accordance with his religious beliefs.
The brief, filed jointly by AJC, the Hindu American Foundation, the Interfaith Alliance, the Sikh Coalition and United Sikhs, took aim at the school district's assertion that the child's religious practice should not be honored because it is not compelled by a central religious authority. Noting that variations and minority practices abound in many religions, the brief argues that "it would be not only unwise but impossible for the state to take on the task of evaluating religious orthodoxy by any standard other than an individual's sincerity."
As adherents to the Jewish faith know well, there are multiple ways to observe. Our civil courts should not be in the business of deciding which observances are sufficiently orthodox to warrant religious liberty protection.
AJC Radio Message: Iran's Rigged Elections Reveal Regime's True Nature
In his national radio commentary, David Harris speaks about Iran's recent elections, which revealed that President Ahmadinejad's assertions about Iranian democracy and freedoms are tragically untrue. Harris's weekly messages on the CBS radio network air during the Osgood File. All AJC radio commentaries since 2001 are available at www.ajc/radiocommentary.
AJC Praises Senate Majority Leader Reid's Firm Support for Israel
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, AJC expressed admiration for his reaffirmation of strong support for Israel's quest for peace and security, expressed in a public letter to President Obama. "Under your leadership, the Senate has commendably celebrated the historic connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Unfortunately, the rejection of Israel's legitimacy as a Jewish state--and of its very right to exist--persists throughout the Middle East," wrote AJC.
AJC Responds to Tony Judt's New York Times Op-Ed
NYU academic Tony Judt argues that "Israel is drunk on settlements" and corrupted by an "illegal occupation," and that the United States should punish Israel as a result. In reality, he is "drunk on anti-Zionism," said AJC. "The 'real question' is not the future of the settlements, but the aspirations of Judt and his ideological bedfellows for the future of Israel and the Jewish people. As one of the world's leading exponents of the one-state solution-an allegiance he and the New York Times both failed to point out-Judt denies Israel's right to exist as the state of the Jewish people envisioned by the UN in 1947." READ NEWS RELEASE
AJC Briefing: Historical, Legal, and Political Aspects of Israeli Settlement Policy
This backgrounder provides detailed information about the history of Israeli settlement policy after the 1967 Six-Day War, and the international legal and political aspects of settlements, that together make the case for why settlements are not the primary obstacle to peace. The paper was written by Aaron Jacob, associate director of AJC's Office of Government and International Affairs. READ
AJC Holocaust-Era Film Reaches 300,000 Views on You Tube
The highly acclaimed AJC film, "Live from Aachen: The Jewish Service Heard Around the World," has now been viewed by more than 300,000 on YouTube. The short film depicts the event in 1944, when NBC radio, together with AJC, broadcast the first Jewish service from occupied Germany. VIEW. Also view the gallery of acclaimed and topical AJC films available on YouTube. VIEW They also can be seen in the Media Center on AJC's website. VIEW
ACCESS Attends Catholic-Jewish Conference in Italy
A delegation from ACCESS, AJC's New Generation Program, is in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, participating in the Catholic-Jewish Emerging Leadership Conference. As part of this four-day conference, the AJC delegates are participating in seminars about the history of Catholic-Jewish relations and training sessions for Catholic-Jewish engagement, and discussing current issues in Catholic-Jewish relations. Another AJC ACCESS group was recently in Germany examining alternative energy projects. AJC ACCESS provides young American Jews with unparalleled opportunities to explain AJC's agenda and become skilled global diplomats.
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Behind the Scenes
AJC is actively engaged in the domestic and international scene as a GLOBAL JEWISH ADVOCACY organization.
Dena Palermo, Iris Mushin and Jack Lascar met with staff this week to create a consular corps team concept for the International Affairs Commission. This summer, AJC will create four to six person teams for each consulate.
The Chapter's executive committee met this week to discuss and to prioritize for the coming year. Participants included: Susan Altschuler, Reva Edison, Mark Friedman, David Goldstein, Jack Lascar, Nat Levy, Iris Mushin, Dena Palermo, Marc Sharpe, Richard Shaw, Martin Siegel, Tracy Stein, and staff.
Max Nathan honoree Joe Williams and event chair Irving Pozmantier met with David Goldstein, Tracy Stein and staff this week to initiate plans for the Dec. 10 award dinner.
Thanks to board members Susan Altschuler, Jack Lascar, Nat Levy, and Carol Nelkin for getting together to discuss AJC individually this week.
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