On November 28th, AJC Washington rededicated our conference room in celebration of the life and legacy of Hyman "Bookie" Bookbinder.  

 

Around 60 people attended the event that began with the hanging of a mezuzah by Rabbi Andrew Baker and continued with remarks from family, friends, and colleagues including Ida Leivick, Rose and Amy Bookbinder, Former Ambassadors Alfred Moses and Stuart Eizenstat, Senator Daniel Inouye, and David Harris.

 

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AJC Washington, joined by over 50 of our community partners from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds, celebrated American pluralism at our Annual America's Table Thanksgiving Luncheon on November 16th.

  

The keynote speaker, The Honorable J. Walter Tejada, elected member of the Arlington County Board, discussed his own journey to America and the fight for equal rights. 

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  As part of the JCC of Greater Washington's 42nd Annual Book Fair, AJC Washington sponsored Award winning jouranlist Marvin Kalb and his daughter, Deborah, as they presented their book Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama on November 8th at the JCC of Greater Washington.

AJC Washington Board Executive Committee member, Bruce Gitlin, introduced Marvin Kalb and Deboarh Kalb.

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On Thursday, October 27th, AJC Washington presented R. Bruce McLean with the prestigious Judge Learned Hand Award.

 R. Bruce McLean, chairman at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. An attorney of remarkable talent and integrity, Bruce is a recognized leader who is dedicated to the advancement of the legal profession and to the enhancement of the communities in which Akin Gump practices across the country. In addition to his active support of Akin Gump’s pro bono and diversity programs and his stewardship of his substantial management responsibilities, Bruce has devoted time to civic engagement through his leadership of the Federal City Council, the Neighborhood Legal Services Program and the Lawyers Have Heart race, among others.

Vernon Jordan delivered the keynote address. Mr. Jordan spoke of Bruce McLean's many contributions to the community and AJC's incredible work on Civil Rights throughout the years. 

From left: AJC Washington Board Member John Nannes, AJC Washington President David Farber, AJC Washington Immediate Past President Andy Marks

  AJC’s Judge Learned Hand Award was established in memory of a legendary figure, Judge Learned Hand, who served as federal district judge from 1909 to 1924 and then as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1924 until his death in 1961. Widely admired as a dean among American jurists, Judge Hand was famous for the extensive range of decisions which he tendered in more than two thousand cases. In his view, the pursuit of justice rested not only in a lawyer’s practice of the legal profession but also in his or her conduct as a citizen. This Award is presented to outstanding leaders of the legal profession who exemplify the high principles for which Judge Hand was renowned.

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On October 6th, AJC Washington hosted David Makovsky, the Washington Institute's Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process. 

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On June 23^rd, AJC Washington welcomed incoming President David Farber and heard from renowned expert on American Judaism, Jonathan Sarna. 

Dr. Sarna gave an enaging and informative presentation on the future of American Jewry and answered questions from the audience. According to AJC Washington Director Melanie Maron Pell, “This is a particularly important topic to address as concerns are mounting that this generation of young American Jews will not identify as strongly with Judaism and Israel as their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.”

AJC and the DCJCC hosted  a timely and interesting discussion about “The Changing Face of Israeli Society” on May 17^th at 7:30 pm at the DCJCC with Professor Yoram Peri from the University of Maryland.

 

Following AJC's successful Global Forum, ACCESS embarked on a historic conference bringing together Israel activists to focus on delegitimization of Israel, and youth activists of diverse backgrounds to discuss civility. For more information, click here.

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On Thursday March 24th, AJC, JCRC, AAJLJ co-sponsored a brown bag lunch that featured Robbie Diamond, Founder and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing America’s dependence on oil by educating policy makers and advocating for comprehensive energy reform.

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 On Tuesday March 15th, the "Around the World with AJC" program featured Joshua Goodman, Program Director of AJC's Transatlantic Institute, and AJC's representative in Brussels, Belgium, the headquarters of the European Union and NATO.

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011, AJC hosted a lunch discussion at the AJC Offices, Gobal Voices: China’s Relationship with Israel and The Jewish Community,with Xu Xin, Professor of the Department of Religious Studies and Dean of the Institute of Jewish Studies at Nanjung University, China. Professor Xu is one of the leading scholars of Jewish studies in China and one of the leading friends of the Jewish people in China.

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Friday, March 4^th, 2011, AJC-Washington hosted a brown-bag lunch and briefing on Anti-Semitism in Europe with Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs.

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Thursday, March 3^rd, 2011, at the DCJCC, AJC and the Embassy of India co-sponsored with the WJFF and the New York Sephardic Film Festival presented Next Year in Bombay, a documentary which explores the Jewish community in India. A discussion with guest speaker Nissim Reuben, Program Director of Indian-Jewish American Relations at AJC, and Dr. Maina Chawla Singh, Associate Professor at the University of Delhi and Clendenen Scholar-in-Residence at American University followed the film.

On March 1st, “Around the World with AJC” series continued with AJC Berlin/Ramer Institute Director Deidre Berger. The video recording of her program is now available at the live website: http://live.ajc.org.

This unique program, funded by AJC President Bob Elman, brings AJC’s global access to your laptop or home computer.

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Sunday, February 27, 2011, 1:00-5:00 pm AJC co-sponsored a grass roots program, Advocacy Training Institute: Shaping the Debate with JCRC, The Federation of Greater Washington, and many others. The event featured four key-note speakers: Dr. Robert Satloff, Executive Director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Jonathan Peled, Spokesperson for the Embassy of Israel to the United States, Hilary Krieger, Washington Bureau Chief for The Jerusalem Post, and Steve Rabinowitz, Media Consultant and President of Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications. These speakers were followed by several workshops.

AJC Director of the Office of Government and International Relations Jason Isaacson, AJC Washington Director Melanie Maron Pell, and AJC Board of Governors member Peter Rosenblatt attended a dinner at the residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Pavlos Anastasiades, in honor of His Excellency Ambassador Nicholas Emiliou, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. 

Director Melanie Maron Pell spoke to a group of Jewish and Hindu leaders about Jewish-Hindu relations and India-Israel relations at the Durga Temple in Fairfax Station, VA.

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