More than 2.2 Million View AJC Advocacy Anywhere Programs

NEW YORK, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — More than 2.2 million people have watched AJC Advocacy Anywhere programs since the leading global Jewish advocacy organization launched the online series of programs on March 20. The first eight weeks have featured conversations with diplomats, political figures, policy analysts, religious leaders, and AJC staff experts on timely, topical issues.

“Our ever-expanding audience is logging on for probing discussions with decision-makers and thought-leaders, consistent with AJC’s mission as the front-line global Jewish advocacy group,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “Notably, AJC is honored this week to host Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou, the first head of state to participate in an AJC Advocacy Anywhere program, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the first incumbent mayor in our series. Both are alumni of AJC’s Project Interchange seminars in Israel.”

Registration for AJC Advocacy Anywhere is free and programs can be viewed via Zoom and Facebook. Previous programs are available for viewing on the AJC Facebook page.

Programs last week included:

Transatlantic Dialogues: Rep. Brian Mast and MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopolou, May 11, has garnered more than 31,000 views on Facebook. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism, and European Parliament member Anna Michelle Asimakopolou, representative from Greece and Vice Chair, Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), discussed with Daniel Schwammenthal, Director, AJC Transatlantic Institute, issues that the United States and the European Union must tackle together, including support for Israel and opposition to Iran’s expansionist policies.

Fighting Antisemitism while Protecting Free Speech on Campus, May 11, has gained more than 28,000 views on Facebook. Holly Huffnagle, AJC Director for Combating Antisemitism, and Marc Stern, AJC Chief Legal Officer, were the featured speakers. Moderated by Zev Hurwitz, AJC Director, Campus Affairs.

Identity Politics, Polarization, and the Collapse of the Center: The Changing Political Landscape of the United States and What’s At Stake for American Jews, May 12, has been seen by more than 28,000 on Facebook. Seth Mandel, Washington Examiner Executive Editor, and Batya Ungar Sargon, Forward Opinion Editor, discussed the issues in conversation with Seffi Kogen, AJC Global Director of Young Leadership.

Einat Wilf: Updates from Israel and the Path to Israeli-Palestinian Peace, May 14, has been seen by more than 27,000 on Facebook. She discussed her acclaimed new book, The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace, and the formation of the new unity government in Israel. Einat Wilf and co-author Adi Schwartz argue that for the Israel-Palestinian conflict to end with a durable peace agreement, Palestinians must finally come to terms with the reality that there will be no “right of return.” Wilf, a Member of Knesset (2010-2013), has addressed numerous AJC audiences in Israel and the U.S.

The Resurgence of Antisemitism: A Frontline Perspective 2000-2020, May 15, has been viewed by more than 32,000 on Facebook. In 2000-1, AJC CEO David Harris spent a year in Europe as Chair of UN Watch, in Geneva, and a Visiting Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, in Bologna. He was the first American Jewish leader to alert the world to the resurgence of antisemitism in Europe, and to identify its multiple sources. Harris discussed the front-line battle against antisemitism over the past two decades, especially in Europe and, more recently, the U.S. — the strategies, successes, failures, and frustrations.

AJC Advocacy Anywhere programs for this week include:

Monday, May 18, 1:00 PM (ET) – Religion During and After Coronavirus: Will We Ever Be the Same? Rabbi David Wolpe, named “America’s Most Influential Rabbi” by Newsweek, and Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, the first woman to head the venerable 184-year-old Union Theological Seminary (UTS), discuss the experiences of loss during the pandemic and the ability of religious institutions to adapt. Will our houses of worship and faith communities be transformed by this crisis? The conversation will be moderated by Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations.

Monday, May 18, 2:00 PM (ET) – Challenges to Democracy and Stories of Jewish Communal Resilience in Latin America. As countries adapt to changing political dynamics against the backdrop of COVID-19, what is at stake for the Jewish communities in Latin America? Mariana Salem, AMIA, Argentina; Heni Ozi Cukier, São Paulo State legislator; and Adela Smeke, Founder, Mexican Federation of Young Jews (FeMeJJ), will discuss challenges to democracy in Latin America before and during the current crisis, and the differences between pandemic-induced antisemitism in the U.S. and Latin America. Moderated by Muriel Asseraf, AJC Representative, São Paulo.

Wednesday, May 20, 11:00 AM (ET) – Europe, Iran, and the Transatlantic Partnership, featuring Anna Fotyqa, Member of the European Parliament; Omir Nouripour, Member of the German Federal Parliament; and Mark Dubowitz, CEO, Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Moderated by Daniel Schwammenthal, Director, AJC Transatlantic Institute, and Remko Leemhuis, Acting Director, AJC Berlin. While Europeans and the U.S. still don’t see eye to eye on the merits of the 2015 nuclear deal, both sides recognize the need to contain the regime’s regional aggression and global terror network. With the arms embargo on Tehran expiring this October, and actors like Russia and China poised to supply Iran with advanced weaponry, forging a unified transatlantic strategy to counter Iran’s quest for the bomb and regional hegemony is as urgent as ever.

Wednesday, May 20, 12:00 PM (ET) – A Conversation with H.E. Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay. As a country committed to human rights and democracy, Uruguay is a longstanding partner of the United States and Israel. In fact, Uruguay was one of the first nations to recognize the newly-formed Jewish state in 1948. In February 2019, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. President Pou, an AJC Project Interchange alumnus, took office on March 1, just before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Uruguay. Moderated by Dina Siegel Vann, Director, AJC Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs.

Thursday, May 21, 12:00 PM (ET) – On the Frontlines of America’s Cities: A Conversation with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Moderated by Melanie Maron Pell, AJC Managing Director, Regional Offices.

Friday, May 22, 11:00 AM (ET) – YomYerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) with Yossi Klein Halevi, Author of several widely-praised books, including Like Dreamers and Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor; Senior Fellow, The Shalom Hartman Institute. Moderated by Myra Clark Siegel, Director of Communications and Senior Strategic Counsel, AJC Project Interchange.

To date, the three most viewed programs in AJC’s Advocacy Anywhere series are:

AJC CEO David Harris: An Improbable Jewish Journey, with more than 196,000 Facebook views.

David Harris on the Soviet Jewry Movement (Part 1), with more than 136,000 views on Facebook.

Coronavirus on the Eve of Easter and Passover: A Catholic-Jewish Conversation on Faith and Interreligious Cooperation in Trying Times, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and more than 89,000 views on Facebook.

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee