The American Jewish Committee And Federation Of Jewish Communities In The Czech Republic Establish International Link

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 11 May 1999

The American Jewish Committee and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (Federation) have established a cooperative association to advance the interests of the Czech and American Jewish communities. Both organizations will retain full autonomy while collaborating on critical Jewish communal and international policy issues.

This is the fifth international agreement of association AJC has forged in recent years.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic is the representative voice for Jewish communities, agencies, and institutions speaking on behalf of the country's estimated 20,000 Jews.

"We are delighted to form this association with the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, which will enable us to work even more closely with an important Jewish community in an increasingly important part of the world," said AJC President Bruce M. Ramer. "We look forward with great anticipation to our collaborative efforts and the contributions they will make to the well-being of our respective constituencies and of world Jewry. "

In recent years, AJC has worked closely with the Czech Jewish community. An AJC analysis of Czech curricula on the Holocaust and Jewish themes was presented to the Education Minister and other government officials earlier this year, and an AJC representative now sits on the official Czech governmental commission addressing questions of looted Holocaust-era assets and property restitution.

Tomas Kraus, Executive Director of the Federation, said the association with AJC is "a perfect example of a mutually fruitful cooperation in which there will be an exchange of know-how and experience."

Both AJC and Federation seek to strengthen Jewish communal life; deepen bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and the United States; enhance Israel's security, peace and diplomatic normalization; combat anti-Semitic and other hate groups in their respective societies and strengthen the forces of democratic pluralism and mutual understanding; promote education and memory of the Holocaust and recovery of Holocaust-era assets, and counteract the dissemination of Holocaust revisionism; and encourage greater dialogue and understanding within the Diaspora and between Israel and the Diaspora.

AJC and Federation strongly believe that these complex issues can be successfully addressed only through a carefully honed strategy based on research and analysis, balance between private diplomacy and public advocacy, international cooperation among Jewish institutions and communities, and a commitment to the long term.

The collaboration between AJC and Federation will enable the routine exchange of research, analysis, archival data, and other materials. The association may include joint sponsorship of research and publications, conferences, exchange programs, and a link of Web sites.

AJC's other four international links are with Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), the Mexico-based Tribuna Israelita (TI), the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Committee (AIJAC), and the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).

In addition, AJC maintains offices in Berlin and Jerusalem, a representative in Warsaw, and sponsors the Asia and Pacific Rim Institute, based in Washington, DC.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org