American Jewish Committee, European Council Of Jewish Communities Establish Cooperative Association

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 6 June 2001

The American Jewish Committee and the European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) have established a cooperative association.

"Partnering with the European Council of Jewish Communities, representing communities in 37 countries, advances Jewish peoplehood by deepening the American Jewish Committee's collaboration with Jewish communities in Europe," said David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee.

"Issues confronting the Jewish community are often the same in the United States and Europe, and we can both benefit from each other's experiences," said Jacob Cobi Benatoff, president of the European Council of Jewish Communities.

The agreement was announced at the Second General Assembly of European Jewry, organized by ECJC and held in Madrid from May 31 to June 3.

The AJC-ECJC link will encourage greater dialogue and understanding between American and European Jewish communities in particular and between Israel and the Diaspora in general. Both AJC and ECJC believe that issues confronting the Jewish people require the fullest possible international cooperation among Jewish institutions and communities.

AJC has long led pioneering cooperative initiatives with Jewish communities worldwide. More than 150 Jewish leaders from some 40 countries attended the recent AJC Annual Meeting in Washington, and then attended AJC's International Leadership Conference, the ninth annual AJC-sponsored conclave for Jewish communal leadership.

The AJC – ECJC association will include joint publications, conferences, and programming collaboration on issues of mutual concern. AJC and ECJC will seek to complement each other's efforts in their respective communities.

AJC's other international links are with the Asociation Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), the Mexico-based Tribuna Israelita (TI), the Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica, the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in the Slovak Republic, and the Communaute Juive de Tunisie in Tunis.

In addition, AJC maintains offices overseas in Berlin, Geneva, Jerusalem and Warsaw.

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