Tidewater received a visit from the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Washington regional director, Alan Ronkin on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 22 and 23. As I prepared for Alan’s visit and mentioned AJC to community members, many responded with “what is AJC?”
I went online to AJC’s website and learned that their mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.
Alan’s visit proved to be both interesting and educational as we offered insight into AJC’s history and purpose.
In 1906, in the wake of the Kishinev pogroms, Cyrus Adler, Jacob Schiff, Mayer Sulzberger, Louis Marshall and other prominent leaders of the American Jewish community established the American Jewish Committee to advocate for the defense of Jews everywhere. One month after its establishment, AJC assisted in the rebuilding of Jewish institutions destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake, and over the next few years took on the responsibility of preparing the American Jewish Yearbook, lead a successful campaign to annul the American commercial treaty with the anti-Semitic Russian regime, advocated for legislation in New York to end discrimination in public accommodations, resorts and amusement parks resulting in the passage of a law that served as a model for other states, and more.
As Alan shared time and again during his visit, AJC is known for “global Jewish advocacy.” We see this through a variety of initiatives including global diplomacy (think of AIPAC knocking on the doors of the U.S. Members of Congress, and AJC knocking on the doors of Embassies in Washington and around the world), which leverages long-standing relationships, interreligious and intergroup coalition-building through establishing important local and global alliances among diverse ethnic and religious groups, and through a global media presence, generating awareness and providing expert resources to promote the well-being of the Jewish people and to advance human rights and democratic values for all.
Combating all forms of anti-Semitism is a top priority for AJC. After the wave of Islamist terror swept France, targeting journalists at a magazine and Jews at a kosher grocery, AJC Paris—the only office of an American Jewish organization in France—went into overdrive.
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, AJC Paris director, has been in close, consultative, contact with senior French officials, including Prime Minister Manuel Valls, during the crisis and in the days after, while simultaneously spreading the message, via The New York Times, NPR, CNN and other media, that the failure to protect Europe’s Jews also presents an existential threat to the continent’s democratic values. In fact, you might have read her piece in the Jan. 26 issue of the Jewish News without realizing that she’s a director of AJC.
With offices across the United States and around the globe, and partnerships with Jewish communities worldwide, AJC is the most global of Jewish advocacy organizations. They maintain 22 offices across the U.S., as well as offices/representatives in Berlin, Brussels, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, New Delhi, Paris, Rome, São Paulo, Tokyo and South East Asia. They have three regional institutes that cover Africa, Asi, and Latin America and 30 formal partnerships with international Jewish communities.
You see the amazing work and impact from it around the globe through the AJC Dispatch, their communication vehicle that I now receive via e-mail, and from what I understand at the AJC Global Forum, which takes place each year in Washington, D.C. This year, the Global Forum will take place June 7–9. I urge you to go to www. ajc.org and check it out. Boasting an intimate crowd of 2,500, the Global Forum is said to be a significant international platform that has been addressed by many presidents, foreign ministers, members of Congress and leading public figures.
I hope that this short article has peaked your interest in AJC and that you’ll take a few minutes to read more about them, perhaps consider attending the Global Forum in Washington, or even just keeping an eye out for an invitation to hear more, next time Alan Ronkin visits. If you’d like to learn more before that invitation arrives, please contact me—I’d be glad to put you in touch with Alan directly and to learn more about AJC.
by Robin Mancoll
Contact Robin Mancoll, director, Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at RMancoll@ujft.org.