AJC Advocacy Anywhere Surpasses One Million Viewers Worldwide

NEW YORK, April 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than one million people have watched Advocacy Anywhere programs since American Jewish Committee (AJC) launched the online series on March 20.

"Advocacy Anywhere offers insightful, probing conversations with leading diplomats, political figures, and policy analysts on issues of top concern to Jews and others across the United States and around the world," said AJC CEO David Harris.

One-third of the programs to date have featured senior diplomats, including ambassadors to the United States from Austria, India, Italy, and Spain, as well as the UN Secretary General's envoy for dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The ambassadors of France and Germany are scheduled for this week's Advocacy Anywhere programs.

Registration for AJC Advocacy Anywhere is free and programs can be viewed via Zoom and Facebook. Previous programs are available for viewing on the AJC Facebook page.

Programs that aired last week included:

Fighting Antisemitism and Hate Speech: Is the UN an Ally or an Antagonist? The April 20 program, featuring Felice Gaer, Director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, has been viewed by more than 67,000 on Facebook. Gaer, a leading expert on UN human rights mechanisms and religious freedom, assessed the progress, potential, and enduring challenges of the UN's role in the fight against antisemitism.

An Intergenerational Yom HaShoah Commemoration, April 21, has been seen by nearly 52,000 on Facebook. Holocaust survivors Halina Peabody and Marian Turski recalled their experiences in a conversation with young American and German AJC staff members. U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Cherrie Daniels and AJC Director of International Jewish Affairs Rabbi Andrew Baker also offered their perspectives on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Ambassador of Austria to the United States Dr. Martin Weiss. In a conversation with AJC CEO David Harris, Ambassador Weiss discussed how Austria has handled COVID-19, why Austrian coronavirus cases and deaths have been quite low, compared to other European countries, and why Austria was one of the first European countries to begin easing restrictions. Ambassador Weiss, who before coming to Washington was Austria's immensely popular Ambassador to Israel, also discussed his country's deepening relations with the Jewish state. The April 21 program has garnered more than 54,000 views on Facebook.

Ramadan and Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Age of Coronavirus. Two members of the AJC-led Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, Imam Mohamed Magid, spiritual leader of ADAMS Center, and Rabia Chaudry, an attorney, advocate, podcaster, and author of the New York Times bestseller, Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, discussed challenges and innovations of celebrating the month of Ramadan during the pandemic crisis, as well as the state of Muslim-Jewish relations. The April 22 program, moderated by Ari Gordon, AJC's U.S. Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations, has been viewed by more than 50,000 on Facebook.

India and the Coronavirus: A Conversation with H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the United States, has been viewed by more than 27,000 on Facebook. Ambassador Sandhu, in an April 23 conversation with Jason Isaacson, AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer, discussed how the Modi government has been keeping a country of 1.3 billion people safe amid contagion without jeopardizing its long-term economic survival. The ambassador also shared information about the impact of the virus on India's social cohesion, growing pharmaceutical and medical devices industries, relations with neighboring states, and ties to both the U.S. and Israel.

Middle East Update: A Special Briefing with Nickolay Mladenov, on April 24, has been viewed on Facebook by more than 40,000. As the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Mladenov is in a unique position to engage with all the parties in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza on every level from political to humanitarian. Mladenov, who memorably addressed the AJC Global Forum when he was the Bulgarian Foreign Minister, assessed the latest developments in the region during the pandemic and three months after President Trump unveiled a detailed "Vision for Peace."

The New Israeli Government, featuring David Horovitz, Times of Israel founding editor, has garnered more than 29,000 Facebook views since the program aired yesterday. Horovitz, in a conversation with AJC's Jason Isaacson, provided thought-provoking insights into the efforts to form a durable national unity government, following the third election since the Knesset dissolved in December 2018. Horovitz also discussed Israel's handling of the coronavirus.

This week's lineup of Advocacy Anywhere offers programs daily, including:

Monday, April 27, 12:00 PM (ET): Coronavirus, Conspiracy Theories, and the Current State of Global Antisemitism. Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism; Nikita Malik, Director of the Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism at the Henry Jackson Society; and Holly Huffnagle, AJC's U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism, will discuss how to combat outlandish, hate-filled myths about Jews, as well as analyze the current state of global antisemitism.

Tuesday, April 28, 1:00 PM (ET): A Conversation with H.E. Philippe Etienne, Ambassador of France to the U.S. France has the fourth most COVID-19 infections in the world. As a leader in the EU, France is a key partner for the United States, an important player in Europe's ties with Israel, and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. It is also home to the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe.

Wednesday, April 29, 12:00 PM (ET): AJC Academy: AJC as a Jewish Organization with Dr. Steven Bayme. AJC has long believed that Jewish security presupposes active Jewish identification and interest in leading a creative and vibrant Jewish life. In this session, Bayme, AJC's long-time Director of Contemporary Jewish Life, will reflect on AJC's distinctive ethos as a Jewish organization, and how that has expressed itself over his four-decade long tenure with the agency. What has it meant to be a Jewish organization throughout AJC's history? Is AJC an American-Jewish organization or a Jewish-American organization? How have the Holocaust and the State of Israel factored into AJC's Jewish identity and work? How has AJC balanced individual Jewish identity versus Jewish communal life?

Thursday, April 30, 3:00 PM (ET): A Conversation with Emily Haber, German Ambassador to the United States. Germany, the only G-20 country whose leader is a scientist, has had a particularly low mortality rate from COVID-19 compared to some other European countries. As a central player in the transatlantic relationship, a key ally of Israel, and an economic powerhouse, Germany plays a critical role on the global stage.

Friday May 1, 12:00 PM (ET): AJC Academy: AJC Diplomacy and the Arab World. AJC's Jason Isaacson, Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer, and Benjamin Rogers, Associate Director for Policy and Middle East Initiatives, will discuss the changing dynamics in the Middle East and AJC's decades-long work to build trust and understanding among Americans, Israelis, and Arabs. The pair will also examine how the formation of the new Israeli government could affect future relations with Arab states.

The most viewed programs to date in the Advocacy Anywhere series have been AJC CEO David Harris: An Improbable Jewish Journey, with over 166,000 views; AJC CEO David Harris on the Soviet Jewry Movement (Part I), with over 136,000 views; and Coronavirus on the Eve of Easter and Passover: A Catholic-Jewish Conversation on Faith and Interreligious Cooperation in Trying Times, with New York Cardinal Dolan and AJC's Rabbi Noam Marans, with more than 88,000 views.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee