Supporting & Defending Israel

Our World Center in Jerusalem keeps us well connected to events and leaders in Israel.

In an extraordinary show of solidarity with the people of Israel, a six-member mission consisting of members of the newly-elected executive committee of B’nai B’rith Europe visited the country in the midst of continuous rocket attacks from Gaza over the summer. Senior government officials briefed mission participants and the delegation saw first-hand the realities faced by Israelis during an extensive visit to the most heavily shelled areas. The mission provided an opportunity to directly convey the organization’s message of unity and solidarity with the people of Israel.

Now marking its 22nd year, the B’nai B’rith World Center bestowed its award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage in memory of Wolf and Hilda Matsdorf.

Winners of the award for 2014 were Matan Hodorov, chief economic correspondent for Channel 10 News and Judy Maltz, senior writer for Ha’aretz. A Lifetime Achievement Award in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky was presented to David Horovitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel and former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Report for his dedication to extended Diaspora reportage over a 30-year career. A special citation for fostering Israel-Diaspora relations through the arts was presented to musician and composer Nurit Hirsh. For more than two decades, the award has recognized excellence in reportage on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations today in Israeli print, broadcast and electronic media.

The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) held a unique joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah). This is the only ceremony to commemorate the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust. The Jewish Rescuers Citation was established in 2011 to bring more attention to the thousands of Jews who were active in rescue efforts throughout Europe, putting their own lives at risk in order to save other Jews. Nearly 100 citations have been presented to rescuers who operated in France, Germany, Holland, Greece and Hungary.

Photo of Berta Davidovitz Rubinsztejn and Meir Brand

This year’s event in Israel memorialized the rescue activities of Jonas Eckstein (1902-1971) who was an active member of the Jewish community and a successful wrestler in “Hakoach” Jewish sport club in Bratislava, Slovakia.

In the fall, B’nai B’rith International conferred the Jewish Rescuers Citation upon Berta Davidovitz Rubinsztejn, who rescued Jewish children in Budapest.
One of the children she saved from certain death, Meir Brand, journeyed from his home in Israel to attend the ceremony in New York.

The B’nai B’rith World Center welcomed Dr. Rodney Colina, director of the virology lab at La Republica University in Salto, Uruguay, and winner of the B’nai B’rith Uruguay "Light and Truth Award" for 2013. The trip combined tours of historical sites—such as Jerusalem’s Old City, the Israel Museum and Masada—and meetings with peers from major Israeli research institutions.

For some 30 years, B’nai B’rith Uruguay’s Light and Truth Award and Fraternidad Award have brought dozens of accomplished artists and scientists from Uruguay on their first visits to Israel, providing an opportunity for them to learn first-hand about the country’s history, people and ethos, and to expand relations between Israeli and Latin American scholars.

Israel’s defensive war in Gaza seemed to further isolate the Jewish state in the court of public opinion. B’nai B’rith publicly condemned four MERCOSUR (the South American trade bloc) members after the group issued a special release castigating Israel for “the use of disproportionate force” during its defensive military incursion into the Gaza Strip and insinuating Israel might be guilty of violating international humanitarian law. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela all signed the special release. We also praised the principled stance of Paraguay, the fifth member of MERCOSUR, for refusing to sign the special release and thus denying it resolution status.

During the war in Gaza against Hamas, anti-Semitism and vitriol against Israel percolated in academia, media and social media throughout Latin America. Some government leaders from countries including Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela also spoke publicly against the Jewish state.

B’nai B’rith Latin America condemned this anti-Israel animus through a series of op-eds in newspapers in those countries, intense and ongoing follow-up on social media and in meetings with governmental officers and lawmakers.

The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem hosted a mission of high level executives from the Argentinian branch of Securitas, a multinational security company with 300,000 employees in 53 counties. B’nai B’rith Argentina spear-headed the mission thanks to its long relationship with the company through its extensive corporate responsibility programs.

A five-person mission of top executives from Argentina’s leading medical insurance company, OSDE (Organizacion de Servicios Directos Empresarios), traveled to Israel for a five-day visit initiated by B’nai B’rith Argentina, which has partnered with the OSDE Foundation for the past 12 years to provide humanitarian assistance to Argentinians in need. One of the ongoing aid projects, our Communities in Crisis program, has resulted in the donation of 480 wheelchairs plus more than 19,600,000 units of medicine provided by our partner, the Pittsburgh, Pa., based Brother’s Brother Foundation. B’nai B’rith and OSDE work together to distribute the donated items.