🌍 AJC Around the World
Bringing you the very latest in American Jewish Committee’s global efforts to create a world in which Jews and Israel thrive.
From Start-Up Nation to Africa’s Fields: Growing Israel-Africa Relations
Following the opening of Israel’s embassy in Zambia, AJC hosted its second annual Agritech Summit in the country. The summit brought together more than 100 delegates from 16 countries, including representatives of major American agritech companies, Gulf investors, high-level Zambian government officials, Israeli diplomats, and several AJC Project Interchange alumni from across the continent.
Participants explored Israel’s agricultural innovations, Middle East engagement in Africa, and strategies for financing Africa’s agricultural revolution.
🎯 Why it Matters
AJC is advancing economic diplomacy that strengthens Israel’s global ties, promotes food security, and builds partnerships across Africa, the U.S., and the Middle East, all central to building a more integrated and peaceful world.
AJC’s First Delegation to West Africa Advances U.S.-Israel-Africa Relations
AJC’s Africa Institute led its first mission to West Africa with a delegation of AJC leaders to deepen understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities and advance U.S. and Israel relations.
In Ghana: The delegation met with President John Mahama to discuss ways to advance cooperation and shared prosperity across the region, as well as with several high-level officials, including the Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, and Local Government and Religious Affairs. The group also engaged with senior opposition leaders and former President John Kufuor.
In Togo: The first-ever West African Francophone country to feature an AJC mission, the delegation met with Foreign Minister Robert Dussey, among other officials. AJC has committed to holding the 2027 Agritech Summit in Ghana and will convene a special workshop on AI and disinformation for leaders in Togo.
🎯 Why it Matters
Ghana was the first African country to forge diplomatic ties with Israel and remains a key player in advancing Israel-Africa relations today. Togo is a strategic West African country, which links the coast with the Sahel. It has longstanding ties with Israel and the U.S., and AJC’s support is key as the country counters militants in the north of the country and to bordering countries in the Sahel.
AJC Secures Historic Partnership with Japan’s Jewish Community
AJC signed a historic partnership agreement with the Jewish Community of Japan (JCJ), formalizing the longstanding collaboration between AJC and JCJ through AJC’s Asia Pacific Institute (API) and AJC’s William Petschek Global Jewish Communities Department.
The signing took place during AJC CEO Ted Deutch’s visit to Japan with AJC lay leaders, who met with the Jewish community and with high-level government officials, including at the Foreign and Defense Ministries, as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and with National Security Advisor Ichikawa Keiichi, an AJC Project Interchange alumnus.
As part of the trip, the delegation visited the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima to remember and honor lives lost and to reflect on the human cost of war and nuclear proliferation.
🎯 Why it Matters
As AJC’s first formal partnership in Asia, and our 41st in total, this alliance opens new opportunities for exchange, joint programming, and advocacy.
🔑 Key Background
Founded in Tokyo in 1953, the Jewish Community of Japan serves as a spiritual, cultural, and educational center for Jewish life in Japan.
🗨️ What AJC CEO Ted Deutch is Saying
“This agreement reflects both the vitality and the diversity of Jewish life in Japan and around the globe. This formalized partnership between AJC and JCJ will help us to deepen bonds across continents and ensure that the voices of smaller Jewish communities are heard on the global stage.”
AJC’s 5 Key Recommendations to Protect Jewish Communities Across the OSCE Region
At the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw last month, AJC Director of Antisemitism Policy Holly Huffnagle urged participating states to strengthen their efforts to combat antisemitism through five key recommendations.
▶️ Watch Huffnagle’s Testimony🔦 What is the OSCE
The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization, with 57 participating states from Europe, North America, and Central Asia, including the U.S., Canada, and all European countries. The OSCE takes a comprehensive approach to security, addressing political-military, economic, environmental, and human dimensions.
🎯 Why it Matters
Antisemitism is surging across Europe, and the numbers are staggering:
67%
Rise in Poland (2024)
1,570
Incidents in France (2024)
1,521
UK Incidents (Jan-Jun 2025)
6,236
German Offenses (2024)
At the Vatican: AJC Marks 60 Years of Catholic-Jewish Partnership
AJC Director of Interreligious Affairs Rabbi Noam Marans met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican for the second time since his inauguration as part of AJC’s year-long, global commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate.
This groundbreaking Vatican declaration transformed Catholic-Jewish relations by rejecting collective Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death and calling for genuine interfaith dialogue. As a key partner in shaping the original 1965 document, AJC continues this essential work today.
🎯 Why it Matters
Amid rising antisemitism around the world, the foundation that Nostra Aetate established allows our communities to navigate difficult conversations, including those around Israel’s defensive war with Hamas, productively and in good faith, ensuring that six decades of progress continues to protect global Jewry in an increasingly dangerous time.
AJC’s Times Square Billboard: Release the Hostages Now
Earlier this month, AJC unveiled a powerful video billboard in Times Square calling for the return of hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, more than two years after the October 7 massacre. Hamas continues to hold the bodies of three hostages, in defiance of the terms agreed to under President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
🎯 Why it Matters
The families of those still held in Gaza cannot begin to heal until their loved ones are laid to rest in peace. Displaying this video billboard on one of the world’s most visible stages is part of AJC’s longstanding advocacy for the hostages and their families–which totals more than 600 meetings with high-level officials across society–amplifying their stories and demanding their release.
🗨️ What AJC CEO Ted Deutch is Saying
“Times Square is an American icon, a place that should be associated with fun and frivolity and the New Years Eve ball drop. But today we use this megaphone to call for the return of hostages…so their families can finally have closure. AJC will continue amplifying their voices until every last hostage is home.”
AJC in Bahrain: Strengthening Ties with Key Abraham Accords Partner
Last week in Manama, Bahrain, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson and Vice President of AJC’s Center for a New Middle East Anne Dreazen met with government officials and civil-society leaders at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue.
The discussions underscored Bahrain’s pivotal role as a regional convener, hosting the U.S. Fifth Fleet, advancing security cooperation, and serving as a founding member of the Abraham Accords.
🎯 Why it Matters
As AJC works to strengthen the Abraham Accords and expand the circle of peace in the Middle East, Bahrain is an essential partner. AJC’s Center for a New Middle East is building transformative relationships and dialogue to foster security partnerships, pluralism, and diplomatic breakthroughs that benefit Israel and the region.
AJC Brings Entertainment Executives to Israel to Build Understanding
In partnership with Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), AJC Project Interchange hosted a delegation of entertainment industry leaders from the U.S. and United Kingdom in Israel earlier this month, giving them the opportunity to experience Israel’s cultural, historical, and political landscape firsthand.
The group met with a former hostage and survivors of the October 7 massacre, members of the Druze, Israeli Arab, and Palestinian communities, as well as Israeli entertainment professionals.
🎯 Why it Matters
Entertainment professionals wield enormous influence in today’s media ecosystem. With antisemitism and anti-Zionism on the rise, this trip provided the delegation with exposure to Israel’s vibrancy and diversity, helping to combat widespread misinformation.
🗨️ What a PI Participant is Saying
“Life changing and incredibly educational. It is one thing to read about and watch videos and debates on Israel, quite another to experience in person and be able to feel the truth about Israel as well.”
AJC Leads Ibero-American Communities in Fighting Antisemitism
At its Strategic Forum last month, AJC’s Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA), together with 15 communities across Ibero-America, issued the Madrid Declaration.
The declaration is a unified call to action urging governments to take concrete steps to protect local Jewish communities, which have faced increased targeting since Hamas’ October 7 massacre, and to prioritize rebuilding diplomatic relations with Israel.
🎯 Why it Matters
Since October 7, there has been a dramatic rise in antisemitism across Ibero-America, leaving Jewish communities increasingly vulnerable and isolated. Through BILLA and the Madrid Declaration, AJC is coordinating a regional response to protect Jewish communities and strengthen ties with Israel.
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