American Jewish Committee Establishes Partnership With Costa Rican Jewish Community

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 3 August 2000

The American Jewish Committee and the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica (the Jewish Zionist Center of Costa Rica) have established a cooperative association to advance the interests of the Costa Rican and American Jewish communities.

"The American and Costa Rican Jewish communities share not only our rich Jewish heritage, but also a deep commitment to democratic values and human rights," said AJC President Bruce M. Ramer. "This agreement emphasizes our shared communal interests and the importance of Costa Rica to the United States as well as Israel." Costa Rica is one of only two countries to maintain its embassy in Jerusalem.

This is the American Jewish Committee's sixth international partnership. The others are with Jewish organizations in Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Slovakia. In addition, the AJC maintains offices in Berlin, Geneva, Jerusalem and Warsaw.

The agreement with Costa Rica's central Jewish organization came about after the AJC Board of Governors met earlier this year in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Julio Klerszenson, President of the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica, which represents Costa Rica's 2,500 Jews, expressed deep appreciation for the AJC leadership visit, and for AJC's donation to help build a new community center in San Jose.

"Our new relationship with the American Jewish Committee is an expression of support for our own task as well as an acknowledgement of the historic commitment that the Costa Rican community has been fulfilling," said Mr. Klerszenson.

Under the agreement, both AJC and the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica will retain full autonomy while collaborating on critical Jewish communal and international policy issues.

Both will work together to strengthen Jewish communal life; deepen bilateral relations between Costa Rica 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.

They also will jointly advance the cause of human rights; promote education and memory of the Holocaust and counteract the dissemination of Holocaust revisionism; and encourage greater dialogue and understanding within the Diaspora and between Israelis and Jews in other lands.

AJC and the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica strongly believe that these complex issues can be successfully addressed only through a carefully honed strategy based on research and analysis, a well-calibrated balance between private diplomacy and public advocacy, the fullest international cooperation among Jewish institutions and communities, and a commitment to the long term.

The collaboration between AJC and the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica 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.

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