AJC ANNUAL REPORT 2011
A WORLD OF IMPACT: GLOBAL JEWISH ADVOCACY
1
CONTE NTS
1
W E LCO M E
2
G LO BA L D I P LO M AC Y
4
G LO BA L A DVO C AC Y: PA L E S TI N I A N U N I L AT E R A LI S M
6
G LO BA L A DVO C AC Y: I R A N
8
G LO BA L A DVO C AC Y: E N E R GY S EC U R IT Y
10
BUILDING BRIDGES:
I N T E R R E LI G I O U S A N D I N T E R G R O U P COA LITI O N S
12 B U I L D I N G B R I D G E S : P R OJ EC T I N T E R C H A N G E 14
G LO BA L D I P LO M AC Y: A J C ’ S G LO BA L FO R U M
16
A J C ’ S G LO BA L R E AC H
18
N E W G E N E R ATI O N : A J C ACC E S S
20 G LO BA L I N FLU E N C E : AWA R DS A N D R ECO G N ITI O N 22 G OV E R N A N C E S T R U C T U R E 23 B OA R D O F G OV E R N O R S 24 H O N O R I N G C I V I C CO N C E R N 25 I N M E M O R I A M 26 N ATI O N A L S TA FF 27 R EG I O N A L O FFI C E S A N D I N T E R N ATI O N A L PA R T N E R S 28 T R E A S U R E R ’ S R E P O R T 29 FI N A N C I A L R E P O R T
We have deleted the names of the donors to protect their privacy.
www.ajc.org 2
W E LC O M E
The year 2011 was transformative for AJC. The unilateral Palestinian drive for statehood recognition, the Iranian nuclear threat, and Western nations’ increasingly perilous addiction to foreign oil threatened the security of Jews worldwide. From Washington to Jerusalem, from Jewish communities in Europe to those in Latin America, our friends turned to us for support. AJC responded to each challenge, using our unparalleled access as the global Jewish advocate to achieve on-the-ground outcomes. Our agency-wide campaign in 2011 to thwart the Palestinian gambit for statehood recognition via the UN General Assembly mobilized all our regional, national and international offices. AJC conducted hundreds of diplomatic meetings and coordinated a media campaign to explain why a negotiated two-state solution is the only path to achieve lasting peace. Today, the Palestinian effort at the UN thankfully remains stalled. AJC also continued to build international consensus against the mounting Iranian nuclear threat, a challenge that takes on even greater importance in 2012. In a related initiative, AJC sought to enhance our nation’s security by advocating for an energy policy that lessens U.S. dependence on foreign oil, a source of profit for nations hostile to America and its interests. Beginning in the 1970s, AJC has played a leadership role in advocating for a comprehensive U.S. energy program. Each year, AJC’s Project Interchange brings groups of influential leaders to experience Israel for themselves and sows the seeds for future initiatives. Through Project Interchange the relationship between Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology was strengthened. In 2011 they announced a partnership to build an 11-acre applied science and engineering campus in New York City.
AJC President Robert Elman (left) and Executive Director David Harris welcome Greek Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos to AJC head quarters in New York. “We value his commitment to strengthening Greek-U.S. and Greek-Israeli defense cooperation, as befits these three democratic nations,” Harris said of the minister’s visit.
The impact of AJC’s work in interreligious and interethnic relations is also widely recognized. For the third year in a row, the Ford Foundation awarded AJC a major grant to create momentum for substantive immigration reform and, thereby, forge new Latino-Jewish initiatives in support of a key domestic priority. Through our multimedia communications program and our global advocacy campaigns on issues ranging from energy security to Middle East policy, AJC reaches more people—and in more languages—than any other Jewish organization. But this is no time to rest on our laurels. As long as our world remains unstable, AJC pledges to work unwaveringly to fulfill our global mission: to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and to advance human rights and democratic values for all.
Robert H. Elman President
David Harris Executive Director
1
A J C F O S T E R S R E G I O N A L , N AT I O N A L A N D G L O B A L R E L AT I O N S H I P S
AJC continued to intensify its efforts to
in Tunisia and Morocco, where AJC works
expand relationships with Arab governments
closely with existing Jewish communities.
and civil society. In the wake of the Arab uprisings of 2011, AJC sought new partners in
“At a time of historic transition, with old al
the quest for regional stability and enduring
liances under review and regional fault lines
Arab-Israeli peace.
exposed, there is no substitute for direct engagement with key Arab states,” said
High-level meetings were held in Jordan,
Jason Isaacson, AJC director of Government
Egypt and several Gulf nations, as well as
and International Affairs.
2
G LO B A L D I P LO M AC Y
AJC’s global advocacy agenda during 2011 primarily focused on the Palestinians’ uni lateral bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations, Iranian nuclear ambitions, and energy security. While AJC national and regional offices supported these advocacy campaigns, lay leaders and staff strategized worldwide with presidents, foreign ministers and other top officials—from Argentina to South Korea—and representatives of foreign governments in the United States. Highlighting the impact of AJC’s global diplomacy were back-to-back sessions in January 2011 with two major European leaders. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to AJC officials that Germany would oppose the Palestinians’ unilateral bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations, a promise she kept. During the meeting, AJC awarded Merkel its prestigious Light Unto the Nations Award. A day later, an AJC delegation conferred in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the Iranian nuclear threat. France, a leader in European efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons progress, joined forces with Britain in 2011 to impose sweeping EU sanctions. Throughout 2011, AJC continued its frequent exchanges with top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials and diplomats. The dialogue focused on efforts to maintain a robust U.S.-Israeli strategic partnership, counter attempts to delegitimize the Jewish state, and adapt to the Middle East’s evolving political landscape. AJC also drew upon other global diplomatic relationships to achieve its goals. It consulted closely with the Greek government, which banned a planned flotilla of ships heading to Hamas-ruled Gaza from leaving its ports. AJC also urged governments to withdraw from “Durban III,” the 10th anniversary commemoration of the UN World Conference Against Racism, which had been hijacked by antiIsrael elements. The United States and well over a dozen other countries boycotted the program, and anti-Israel statements were withdrawn.
An AJC delegation met privately with King Abdul lah II (right) and senior Jordanian officials on is sues of Middle East peace. Jason Isaacson (left), AJC director of Government and International Affairs, also directly addressed diplo matic cadets for the first time at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, as part of an outreach program to future Arab leaders.
To further ties across Latin America, an AJC leadership delegation held private meetings with the leaders of Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Late in 2011, AJC appointed a representative in São Paulo, in recognition of Brazil’s increasing political and economic prominence. To affirm AJC’s long-standing ties in East Asia, AJC conducted a 10-day diplomatic mission to Japan, South Korea and China to discuss regional and global security issues and urge these governments to decrease their reliance on Iranian oil.
3 AJC advocates with government officials and world leaders.
A J C O F F I C E S S T R E N G T H E N G L O B A L A DVO C AC Y C A M PA I G N
AJC’s regional and international offices
ropean Parliament members for a compel
mounted a global campaign, meeting with
ling letter it drafted on the issue to EU High
hundreds of high-level officials to turn back
Representative Baroness Catherine Ashton.
the Palestinian unilateral bid for statehood recognition.
AJC’s Ramer Institute in Berlin produced a policy paper distributed to all members of
In the United States, 67 Jewish groups came
the German Parliament. And AJC’s office in
together to counter Palestinian efforts with
France conducted meetings with senior ad
a “Campaign for True Peace” organized by
visers to the French president and foreign
AJC’s Boston office.
minister, and organized parliamentarians of both major parties to oppose the Palestin
In Brussels, the AJC Transatlantic Institute enlisted the support of more than 100 Eu
4
ians’ effort.
G LO B A L A DVO C AC Y
As the Palestinians concentrated their efforts in 2011 on a unilateral bid for state hood recognition in the United Nations, AJC took action. AJC launched a highly coordinated global advocacy campaign, effectively mobilizing all its global resources—regional offices across the United States, outposts around the world, international strategic partnerships, and longtime relationships with scores of heads of state and foreign ministers—to help thwart the Palestinian effort. “The campaign to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table was a ‘watershed moment’ for AJC,” said David Harris, executive director. “AJC’s coordinated effort highlighted to the world the risks of the Palestinian attempt at an end-run around face-to-face negotiations with a willing partner.” In the run-up to the UN General Assem bly session in September 2011, AJC held more than 350 high-level meetings around the world with senior officials and diplomats of more than 100 nations. AJC forcefully advocated a negotiated twostate solution as the only path to a meaningful and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. AJC focused particular attention on the UN Security Council, which must approve any new member-state. The
Palestinians’ unilateral attempt at UN statehood recognition remains stalled. The AJC global advocacy campaign broadcast a clear message on the dangers of Palestinian circumvention of direct talks with Israel. While AJC endorses Palestinian statehood, it insists that this goal can only be reached through negotiations and compromise. “It is only at the bargaining table that Israel and the future state of Palestine will establish secure borders; swap land necessary to accommodate the demographic and transportation and security realities of both entities; assure the protection of religious sites…in short, create a viable, democratic, non-militarized, secure Palestinian state that is a peaceful neighbor to democratic Israel, and a contributor to peace across the region,” testified Jason Isaacson, AJC director of Government and International Affairs, before the European Parliament in June 2011. U.S. and Israeli officials acknowledged that AJC diplomacy led to on-the-ground change. “I’ve seen AJC’s real impact in meeting after meeting with my counterparts around the world,” said Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.
AJC Executive Director David Harris and U.S. Per manent Representative to the United Nations Ambas sador Susan E. Rice joined in conversation at a meeting of the AJC National Board of Governors. Rice assured the Board that changes in the UN Security Council’s composition “won’t help the Palestinian statehood bid.”
350
meetings were convened by AJC with top officials from 100 foreign govern ments, including all 27 EU member-states, in efforts to stop the Palestinians’ unilateral move toward
statehood recognition at the United Nations.
5 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations in September 2011.
J B I T R AC K S C H I L L I N G A B U S E S I N I R A N
AJC’s acclaimed Jacob Blaustein Institute
JBI also pressed successfully in 2011 for the
for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI)
United Nations to appoint a special invesÂ
continued in 2011 to sponsor authoritative
tigator to monitor and report on human
reports on women, minorities and others in
rights in Iran.
Iran targeted with violence and discrimination. JBI helps to create documentation on the
E. Robert Goodkind, a prominent attorney
chilling human rights situation in Iran.
and former AJC president, serves as JBI chair.
6
G LO B A L A DVO C AC Y
For more than a decade, AJC has warned of the danger to world peace and stability posed by a nuclear Iran. In 2011 and 2012, as Iran moved closer to nuclear weapons capability, AJC intensified its advocacy in the United States and around the world. AJC held hundreds of meetings with top policy-makers and diplomats—across America, in Europe, the Arab world, Latin America and in Southeast Asia—to shift sentiment further against Iran’s nuclear aspirations and line up a firm and united international response. The diplomatic campaign included informational forums, advocacy for legislative responses, the publication of compelling articles, and the presentation of official testimony. Throughout 2011, AJC stressed the threat Iranian military nuclear capability would pose to global security, not just to Israel and other U.S. allies and interests. “While there is not yet complete international consensus on how to confront Iran, we have seen in the past year greater agreement among governments on the danger of a nuclear Iran and the urgency of applying effective tools to counter it,” said Jason Isaacson, AJC director of Government and International Affairs. In meetings with world leaders on the Iranian threat, AJC pressed for adoption and implementation of crippling finan-
cial and energy sector restraints, combined with diplomatic isolation and wide exposure of Iran’s brutal human rights violations. Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute, pressed the Iranian issue in meetings with leaders of South and Central American nations, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Guatemala—the latter two UN Security Council members.
Daniel Schwammenthal (second from left), director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, and
In the United States, AJC national and regional leadership actively supported new Iran-sanctions legislation, including the Kirk-Menendez Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which applies sanctions against Iran’s central bank, and the Iran Threat Reduction Act, which imposes tough financial restrictions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Joshua Goodman (left), its communications director, testified in November 2011 before the European Parlia ment on strategies to coun ter Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capability.
AJC regions pressed state legislatures across the country to send a strong message to Iran. Based on legislation pioneered by AJC Los Angeles, AJC St. Louis worked to achieve unanimous passage of the Iran Energy Divestment Act in the Missouri Senate. The measure bans companies invested in Iran’s petroleum sector from doing business with Missouri or its local governments.
7 Iranian ships participate in military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: REUTERS/Ebrahim Norouzi
A J C H E A D Q UA R T E R S AC H I E V E S L E E D C E R T I F I C AT I O N
AJC puts its energy priorities into practice
ing systems and operations, and improved
at home. In June 2011, AJC became the first
building controls.
national Jewish organization to achieve LEED Gold certification, after retrofitting its
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
New York headquarters as an environmentally
praised AJC for its efforts, stating, “We
friendly, energy-efficient office building.
look forward to AJC’s national headquar ters serving as a green design model for
To achieve the LEED (Leadership in Energy
more non-profits and corporate citizens
and Environmental Design) certification,
across the five boroughs.”
AJC carried out a major overhaul of build
8
G LO B A L A DVO C AC Y
In the 1970s, as awareness of the risks of energy dependence grew, AJC began work toward a comprehensive U.S. energy program aimed at reducing America’s need for imported oil. AJC realized that this unhealthy reliance on oil from often-hostile Middle East governments enriches nations and groups that oppose the United States and Israel. Reducing energy dependence remains a critical focus of AJC’s advocacy agenda. In 2011 alone, AJC held scores of highlevel meetings on this urgent priority with U.S. and foreign officials. “Our reliance on foreign oil halts progress toward democracy and human rights in oil-rich nations and empowers undemocratic regimes to isolate the United States and Israel in the international community,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “It also undermines national security by sending billions of dollars to support regimes that pose a direct, strategic threat to the United States.” In the United States, AJC’s primary legislative focus in 2011 was the Open Fuel Standard Act. The measure would expand the number of vehicles running on flex-fuels, adopt more stringent vehicular fuel economy requirements, invest in more efficient forms of transportation, and expand the exploration and develop-
ment of energy resources in the United States and friendly nations. “The increased use of alternative fuels will have a salutary impact on our national security interests by reducing our dependence on imported oil, and—if coupled with movement toward hybrid vehicles that also operate on electricity—benefit the environment and address climatechange concerns,” said Richard Foltin, AJC director of National and Legislative Affairs. As another step toward strengthening America’s energy security, AJC urged President Obama to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to facilitate access to oil from Canada, a strong U.S. ally. Although the initiative was deferred in 2011, AJC will continue to advocate for an environmentally sound plan to build the pipeline.
AJC Director of National and Legislative Affairs Richard Foltin (second from right) leads AJC’s National Energy Committee in presenting its targeted energy plan to leaders in Washington, D.C.
25%
reduction by 2020 in U.S.
dependence on foreign oil: the target called for in AJC’s energy plan.
Many of AJC’s regional offices focused on energy security in their advocacy initiatives. In New Jersey, AJC was invited by Upendra Chivukula, a state lawmaker and a Project Interchange alumnus, to testify before the state Assembly on the need for electrification of vehicles. AJC Metro NJ members also met with the Commission of Transportation and sponsored two public forums emphasizing the need for electric vehicles.
9 AJC advocates for increased use of alternative energy sources.
The Bridging America Project’s Immigration Sum mit, funded through a Ford Foundation grant, was held in June 2011 in Washington, D.C. Pictured are Andrew Mack (left), AJC Board member, and Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO, Immi
For the third year, the Ford Foundation awarded AJC a $500,000 grant to strengthen Latino-Jewish relations and create momentum for substantive immigration reform. This initiative, known as the Bridging America Project, is overseen by the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Center for American Pluralism, which advances the basic principles of democracy and pluralism through a range of innovative programs. In addition to strengthening ties between the two communities, the project facilitates cooperative advocacy efforts on issues of common interest—specifically focusing on immigration policy reform.
grationWorks USA.
120
business leaders; labor
union activists; faith lead ers; and government, law enforcement, and health care officials attended the Bridging America Summit.
“AJC understands that the Jewish historical memory and tradition provides appreciation for what it means to be an immigrant and, as the Latino community represents the fastest-growing immigrant group in the U.S., we need to build bridges and promote greater mutual understanding,” said Ann Schaffer, director of the Belfer Center. In many U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Miami and New York, AJC convened workshops for groups of Latino and Jewish leaders to foster mutual understanding and strengthen the coalition for advocacy of immigration reform. Together with members of the U.S. House of Representatives, AJC helped to launch the Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus,
10
comprising 16 lawmakers and chaired by Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). “The caucus will provide for further collaborative engagement between U.S. Latinos and Jews on domestic and foreign policy issues that range from ensuring democratic values to political empowerment to security and prosperity at home and abroad,” Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute, said of the June 2011 initiative. AJC’s intergroup work extends far beyond Latino Americans. AJC builds bridges with the Indian community in the United States, enhancing relations with the world’s most populous democracy and its diaspora. In Washington, D.C., the Indian Embassy hosted AJC at its annual Hanukkah reception, while AJC regions nationwide held events that featured Indian leaders. In Palm Beach, an AJC event was headlined by Arun Singh, deputy chief of mission for India, who highlighted the growing U.S.-India-Israel alliance. In India, AJC’s Rabbi David Rosen, director of International Interreligious Affairs, led a series of groundbreaking meetings with leaders of the Hindu, Jain, Muslim and Sikh communities. AJC maintains representation in Mumbai and, as of 2012, in New Delhi.
BUILDING BRIDGES
Archbishop of New York Timothy Michael Dolan was elevated to cardinal in early 2012 at the Vatican, and AJC director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations, Rabbi Noam Marans, was one of a handful of Jews who witnessed the event. Since being named archbishop in 2009, Dolan has maintained close ties to the Jewish community in New York—and with AJC, in particular. In 2010, he joined AJC in Germany to view the controversial Oberammergau Passion Play, a ritual drama of the last days in the life of Jesus. In October 2011, Pope Benedict XVI invited Rabbi David Rosen, AJC director of International Interreligious Affairs, to address a historic gathering of religious leaders in Assisi, Italy. Rosen was the only Jewish spokesperson at the event. Rosen and Rabbi James Rudin, AJC’s senior adviser on Interreligious Affairs, were the primary Jewish speakers at the 21st International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee biennial meeting in February 2011 in Paris, where Vatican representatives and leaders of world Jewry met in dialogue. Also during 2011, as vocal minorities within American liberal Protestant groups ramped up their anti-Israel discourse and attempts to divest from Israel, AJC repeatedly engaged with American Christian leaders. In advocating aban-
donment of these anti-Israel efforts and taking a long-term perspective, Marans said, “AJC is hoping to influence the next generation of Christian leaders.” Marans attributes success on this front to AJC’s ongoing initiatives: at the national level, AJC co-facilitates a ChristianJewish roundtable it founded in 2004; at the regional level, it conducts outreach to clergy and lay leaders.
Rabbi Noam Marans (right), AJC director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations,
The unparalleled AJC Christian Leadership Initiative, supported by Berkman family charitable funds, annually brings a dozen top American Christian scholars and leaders, including seminary presidents and regional bishops, to study in Israel at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Over a 13-month cycle, they study Jewish texts from a Jewish perspective.
attended the Vatican cer
One participant, the Rev. Dr. Sheryl KujawaHolbrook, a professor at the Claremont School of Theology in California, said of her experience, “I came away with a more concrete sense of the diversity within the Jewish community and the importance of Israel, especially to those in the Diaspora. I also appreciate the need not to reduce Judaism to the Holocaust and/or Israel, as important as those narratives are.”
Photo: Henry Plimack
emony that elevated New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to cardinal. “Dolan follows in the footsteps of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI as men who have reached out to the Jewish community to bond these two communities together,” Marans said.
11
P R O J E C T I N T E R C H A N G E R E L AT I O N S H I P S E N D U R E A N D F L O U R I S H
Leading biblical scholar Yiyi Chen of China
Interchange trip was sponsored by the
was so moved by his Project Interchange
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation.
experience in 2011 that he helped to organize a separate visit to Israel in February
Chen emphasized that he was indebted
2012 for Chinese business and financial
to Project Interchange for improving his
leaders to explore investment and partner
understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict
ship opportunities.
and for opening his mind to new possibili ties. “Before the trip, I saw no hope for any
Chen was part of a 10-person delegation of
kind of peace in the area. After the trip, I
Chinese academics in 2011, whose Project
see hope,” he said.
12
BUILDING BRIDGES
Project Interchange, an AJC educational institute that brings established and future leaders from diverse groups to Israel, provides an up-close look at the Jewish state and its people, facilitating new relationships and understanding. Since its inception in 1982, Project Interchange has brought more than 6,000 political, civic, ethnic and religious leaders from 68 countries for tailor-made, week long educational seminars in Israel. They come from government, business, journalism and academia to meet with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, government officials, and civic leaders across the political and social spectrum, and experience modern-day Israel in all its complexity. In 2011 alone, Project Interchange sponsored 26 trips to Israel, including a dozen from the United States. “Project Interchange fosters bridges of understanding among current and future thought-leaders from diverse sectors,” said Sam Witkin, director of the program. “These trips serve as part of a broader initiative by Project Interchange and AJC to deepen bilateral ties between countries.” As a testament to the strengthening relations between Greece and Israel, Project Interchange for the first time brought a delegation of Greek leaders to Israel in November 2011. The experience encouraged George Kalantzis, general secretary of the Greek Education Ministry, to look
forward to the creation of Jewish study centers in Athens and Thessaloniki. That same month, Houston Mayor Annise Parker led a bipartisan delegation of five U.S. mayors and senior staffers to Israel. The group shared best practices with political and civic leaders, as well as industrialists. Highlights of the trip included meetings with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Palestinian Authority Prime Minster Salam Fayyad. After the trip, AJC representatives appeared before the Houston City Council to hear accolades for the Project Interchange experience from council members and the mayor. Several leaders of India’s celebrated film industry, known popularly as “Bollywood,” came to Israel in July 2011. The filmmakers explored joint ventures, scouted sites, met with leaders in the Israeli film industry, and learned about Israeli society. Vinod Kumar, managing director of Nirvana Motion Pictures, said the trip inspired him to explore “the idea of creating a platform to encourage deeper participation between the Indian and Israeli film industries.”
When Cornell University President David Skorton led an AJC Project Interchange trip to Israel for university presidents in 2010, he noted in the Cornell University Chronicle Online that Presi dent “Peretz [Lavie, of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology] and I hit it off, and then we reconnected over the NYC Tech Campus proposal” for an applied science and engineering campus. (Artist rendering, above)
6,000
global leaders have
participated in Project Interchange since its creation in 1982.
Project Interchange also routinely brings Latino and Latin American delegations to Israel. “It is like looking into a mirror and seeing your twin,” said Mikki Canton, a prominent Cuban-American attorney from Florida, reflecting on her experience.
13 Caribbean government ministers and senior officials visit an Israeli greenhouse on a Project Interchange trip.
A J C ’ S H O N O R E D G U E S T S I N C L U D E D PA N A M A N I A N P R E S I D E N T
Scores of Panamanian Jews traveled to the
only Latin American country to vote against
Global Forum to see the president of their
the UN Security Council resolution to accept
country, Ricardo Martinelli, receive AJC’s
the findings of the controversial Goldstone
prestigious Light Unto the Nations Award.
report, which sharply condemned Israel for
AJC President Robert Elman presented the
actions it allegedly took during the Gaza
award to Martinelli.
crisis of late 2008 and early 2009.
Panama, whose Jewish community is an
“President Martinelli has made it abundantly
AJC international partner, continues to
clear that he stands by the side of a fellow
boost its ties with Israel. Panama was the
democracy, Israel,” AJC’s David Harris said.
14
G LO B A L D I P LO M AC Y
With more than 1,500 highly engaged participants from some 50 nations in attendance, the 2011 AJC Global Forum presented an array of world-class panels, provocative discussions and face-to-face meetings with global leaders and powerful influentials. The sessions provided compelling analy ses of the most crucial global issues affecting the Jewish people and Israel. AJC Executive Director David Harris opened the Global Forum as moderator of a conversation with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. In addressing the topic, “The Changing World Order: What Role for the U.S. and Europe?” both Albright and Fischer encouraged a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a separate event, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov emphasized that his nation, which has a vibrant Jewish community and is strategically important to Israel, was “very sensitive to any attempt to deny the Jewish people the right of a homeland and a state.” Underscoring the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, then White House Chief of Staff William Daley, in his first speech to a Jewish audience in his new position, said: “The president’s support for Israel’s security has been, and will be, unshakable.”
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), received AJC’s Congressional Leadership Award for his role in combating anti-Semitism, rescuing Soviet Jewry, defending human rights and, most recently, influencing the Helsinki Commission to establish an ongoing process for monitoring antiSemitism globally. And in a particularly compelling session, well-known journalists Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, and Yossi Klein Halevi, contributing editor for The New Republic, debated the concept of liberal Zionism. Beinart argued that many young Jews are alienated when American Jewish leaders blindly back Israeli policies. Halevi countered that Israel’s security dilemmas were too complex for simplistic judgments and urged those eager to castigate Israel to demonstrate some understanding of the real dangers the country confronts. The powerful impact of AJC’s 2011 Global Forum was best summarized by Chicago Rabbi Aaron Petuchowski. “I’ve attended countless Jewish conferences and conventions…and I found the Global Forum to be the most intellectually honest. I appreciate the willingness of AJC to provide and respect speakers representing a wide range of opinions,” he said.
AJC President Robert Elman (left) presented the presti gious Light Unto The Nations Award to Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli. Previous recipients of the AJC award for distinguished leadership include Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. President Bill Clinton.
1,500
participants attended the
2011 AJC Global Forum, rep resenting the United States and 50 nations.
15 Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shared her insights at AJC’s Global Forum 2011.
AJC Diplomatic Outreach
AJC Regional Offices Arizona Detroit
Palm Beach
Atlanta
Houston
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Kansas City
St. Louis
Boston
Long Island
San Francisco
Chicago
Los Angeles Seattle
Cincinnati
Miami
Washington, D.C.
Cleveland
New Jersey
Westchester
Colorado
New York
West Coast, FL
Dallas
Orange Co.
AJC International Offices Belgium (Brussels) India (Mumbai, New Delhi) Brazil
(S達o Paulo)
France
(Paris)
Israel (Jerusalem) Italy
(Rome)
Germany (Berlin) Switzerland (Geneva) AJC International Strategic Partnerships
(As of April 2012)
16
29
114
27
countries were
international strategic
countries maintain
partnerships have been
ongoing high-level
represented at AJC’s
formed with Jewish
diplomatic relations
ACCESS 2011 Global
communal organizations.
with AJC.
Conference.
17
AC C E S S L E A D E R S B U I L D I N T E R G R O U P R E L AT I O N S
When Daniel Pincus first received an invita
where he saw how AJC fostered positive
tion to an ACCESS meeting in 2006, he was
change in German-Jewish relations.
not involved in organized Jewish communal activities. Yet the event’s topic, U.S. energy
He has since decided to make his own
policy, intrigued him. And the sense of com
impact on Muslim-Jewish relations. In 2009,
munity he found delighted him.
he was the only Jew invited to a Muslim leadership conference in Qatar; he also
Months later, Pincus experienced a defining
maintains close ties with New York’s young
moment on an ACCESS trip to Germany,
Muslim community.
18
N E W G E N E R AT I O N
For the second consecutive year, Slingshot, an annual resource guide for Jewish innovation, named ACCESS, AJC’s new generation program, one of the 50 most cutting-edge Jewish non-profits in North America.
German-Jewish history, including the role of corporations during World War II. In a separate trip to Berlin, ACCESS leaders learned about Christian and Muslim communities in Germany, and engaged in a purposeful dialogue about Israel.
ACCESS, which operates in 12 American cities as well as in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, recognizes the younger generation’s increased role in shaping global public opinion and policy, and aims to position young Jewish professionals at the forefront of this engagement.
“ACCESS provides powerful learning opportunities to exponentially improve our leadership skills,” said Alicia Chandler, a founder of the Detroit ACCESS group and co-chair of the Global ACCESS Steering Committee. “It also provides a unique space for conversation, dialogue and bridgebuilding with diverse communities that are critically important allies for the Jewish community now and in the future.”
“ACCESS offers Jews in their 20s, 30s and 40s direct, unique involvement with the world’s most pressing issues,” said Matthew Bronfman, chair of ACCESS. “Our members are part of a network that will have a voice in effecting change worldwide.” Through face-to-face meetings with global leaders, international conferences, and travel missions, ACCESS empowers its members to engage meaningfully on such timely concerns as challenges to Israel’s legitimacy, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the need for energy security. In cooperation with Germany Close-Up, ACCESS continued a five-year historic partnership with Allianz SE, Germany’s largest insurance company, to bring together an ACCESS delegation with young Allianz employees. They explored
Now a member of the National Board of Governors and co-chair of the Global ACCESS Steering Commit tee, Daniel Pincus said, “My hope is that by the time I’m 65, we’re looking at MuslimJewish relations the same way we look at relations between Germans and Jews
Always exploring new initiatives, in 2011 ACCESS launched an innovative strategy game to train young leaders to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people. Participants in the game, Strategic Crossroads, identify possible diplomatic solutions to realitybased scenarios involving Israel’s security. “I came to appreciate AJC for giving me the chance to explore the Arab-Israeli conflict from different sides,” said Jessie Callahan, a new ACCESS member who took part in the exercise in New York.
today.”
1,700
ACCESS members took part in 2011 in dozens of U.S. and international programs that focused on building bridges with key non-Jewish com munities, such as Latinos, Muslims, African-Americans, East Asians and Indians.
ACCESS is a division of AJC’s Helen and Martin Kimmel Young Leadership Institute.
19 Members of AJC’s new generation program participate in the ACCESS 20/20 weekend.
AJC professionals are highly acclaimed in their respective fields, frequently sought out for expert testimony and honored for their outstanding achievements. The critical, groundbreaking work of these experts is routinely featured in the world’s leading media outlets. Some of the most noteworthy in 2011: Felice Gaer, director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, testified in June 2011 before a European Parlia ment body, calling for religious freedom to be part of EU global human rights policy, including for women. Photo: European Union 2011 PE-EP
R A B B I A N D R E W B A K E R , director of International Jewish Affairs, was reappointed for the fourth time as personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security body, comprising 56 nations. In this role, Baker directly appealed in December 2011 to the U.S. Helsinki Commission to help combat anti-Semitism fueled by media and politicians in Europe, and to prevent the deadly violence such rhetoric can spur. Y E H U D I T B A R S K Y,
director of AJC’s Division on Middle East and International Terrorism, was invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, which held hearings in March 2011 on how al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations seek to radicalize Muslims in the United States.
20
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini decorated AJC Executive Director DAV I D H A R R I S in July 2011 with the Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. The honor recognizes Harris as a “privileged partner for deepening the dialogue between the Jewish community and Italian institutions.” Italy is the eighth European country to honor Harris. Throughout 2011, F E L I C E G A E R pressed hard in advocating globally for human rights as director of AJC’s renowned Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI). In addition to her JBI role, Gaer was re-elected in 2011 to the UN Committee Against Torture for an unprecedented fourth four-year term, becoming the longest-serving American expert elected to any UN human rights body. J A S O N I S A AC S O N ,
AJC director of Government and International Affairs, testified in June 2011 before a European Parliament body that the Palestinians’ unilateral bid at the United Nations for statehood recognition can in no way replace direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. To pursue such recognition now, “before viable borders and other essential elements of statehood have been defined through negotiated compromises with Israel, is political theater, not statecraft,” Isaacson said.
G LO B A L I N F L U E N C E
H I L L E L N E U E R , executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based affiliate of AJC, testified in January 2011 before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the state of human rights at the United Nations. He emphasized that instead of responding to severe abuses around the world, the UN Human Rights Council “has reserved its moral outrage for demonizing one single country, Israel, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.” R A B B I DAV I D R O S E N ,
AJC’s director of International Interreligious Affairs, headed the Jewish delegation at Pope Benedict XVI’s historic gathering of world religious leaders in Assisi and delivered remarks on behalf of the Jewish people. In early 2012, Rosen was the only Jewish voice to urge the UN General Assembly to protect the quest for Arab-Israeli peace from extremist assaults by giving more power to “religiously responsible voices.”
The director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute, DA N I E L S C H WA M M E N T H A L , and J O S H UA G O O D M A N , its communications director, addressed a body of the European Parliament in November 2011 on the Iranian nuclear threat. Schwammenthal also crafted opinion pieces on several issues including Iran, the dangers of recognizing a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, and the Goldstone Report for The Wall Street Journal Europe. MARC STERN,
AJC general counsel and an expert on the law of church and state, received the First Freedom Center’s prestigious National First Freedom Award for his groundbreaking contributions to promoting religious liberty. Stern played a leading role in developing guidelines that the Clinton administration used to clarify the place of religion in public schools and in the federal workplace.
AJC’s unparalleled global media presence reaches more people in more coun tries and in more languages than any other Jewish organization. Staff experts and lay leaders regularly appear worldwide in traditional print and electronic media, and in prominent blogs.
30 million listeners across the United
States tune in each week to Executive Director David Harris’ commentaries on the CBS Radio Network.
21
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
G OV E R N A N C E S T R U C T U R E PRESIDENT
Robert Elman C H A I R , B OA R D O F G OV E R N O R S
Stanley Bergman CHAIR, PROGRAM CO O R D I N AT I N G CO M M IT T E E
Jane Silverman
VICE PRESIDENTS
Marion Bergman Milton Cooper Bonnie Fuller Ruth Lapidus Jack Levin Karen Levy Daniel S. Och Peter Rosenblatt Debra Smith Saidoff Steven Wisch
C H A I R , B OA R D O F T R U S T E E S
Michael Gould A S S O C I AT E C H A I R S , B OA R D O F T R U S T E E S
Joel Mogy Roy Zuckerberg CHAIR, LEADERSHIP D E V E LO P M E N T
Marvin Israelow C H A I R , O R G A N IZ AT I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T
David Rousso C H A I R , P U B L I C A F FA I R S
Sherry Weinman T R E A S U R E R /S E C R E TA RY
Richard Berkman A S S O C I AT E T R E A S U R E R / B U D G E T CO M M IT T E E
Michael M. Davis E X E C U T I V E CO U N C I L M E M B E R S -AT- L A R G E
René-Pierre Azria Ned Dubilo Suzanne Denbo Jaffe Harris L. Kempner, Jr. Martin Krall Kenneth Levine Linda Mirels John M. Shapiro E X E C U T I V E CO U N C I L O B S E RV E R
H O N O R A RY V I C E P R E S I D E N T S
Rhoda Baruch Robert A. Belfer Shoshana S. Cardin Richard H. Davimos Stuart E. Eizenstat Edith Everett Howard A. Gilbert Jerome R. Goldstein Brindell Gottlieb Leonard Greenberg Barbara Hirschhorn Charlotte G. Holstein Gershon Kekst Edward Meyer Walter Nathan Morris W. Offit Louis Perlmutter Charles I. Petschek Elaine Petschek S. Stephen Selig III Harold Shapiro Carol Siegler Morton Siegler Shale Stiller Richard Volpert Bernard Wallerstein
I N S TIT U T E S
CO N T E M P O R A RY J E W I S H L I F E
A F R I C A I N S T IT U T E
Dov Zakheim, Chair Jerry Ostrov, Vice Chair
Stanley Bergman, Founder and Chair Marion Bergman, Founder and Chair Eddie Bergman, Founder and Chair
I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E L AT I O N S
Allan J. Reich, Chair Andrew Marks, Vice Chair I N T E R R E L I G I O U S A F FA I R S
Jerry H. Biederman, Chair David Inlander, Vice Chair N AT I O N A L P O L I C Y
Carol Gown, Chair Robert Weinberger, Vice Chair CO M M IT T E E S A N D TA S K FO R C E S E N E R GY CO M M IT T E E
Henry Dubinsky, Chair G OV E R N A N C E CO M M IT T E E
Billie Gold, Chair I M M I G R AT I O N TA S K FO R C E
Roberta Baruch, Chair N AT I O N A L CO M M IT T E E O N R U S S I A N J E W I S H A F FA I R S
Daniel Igor Branovan, Co-Chair Cheryl Fishbein, Co-Chair N AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P D E V E LO P M E N T CO M M IT T E E
Marvin Israelow, Chair N AT I O N A L L E G A L CO M M IT T E E
Robert E. Lapin, Chair N O M I N AT I N G CO M M IT T E E
Richard Volpert, Chair
CHAIR, PRESIDENT’S CABINET
Lester Crown C H A I R , N AT I O N A L A DV I S O RY CO U N C I L
Alfred H. Moses
P L A N N E D G I V I N G CO M M IT T E E
Lawrence D. Ginsburg, Co-Chair E. Robert Goodkind, Co-Chair Alfred P. Stern, Co-Chair R E G I O N A L O F F I C E S CO M M IT T E E
David Rose
H O N O R A RY C H A I R , B OA R D O F G OV E R N O R S
H O N O R A RY P R E S I D E N T S
Jack Lapin
Howard I. Friedman E. Robert Goodkind Alfred H. Moses Bruce M. Ramer Robert S. Rifkind Richard J. Sideman Harold Tanner Maynard I. Wishner*
CO M M I S S I O N S
ARTHUR AND ROCHELLE B E L F E R C E N T E R FO R A M E R I C A N P LU R A L I S M A S I A PAC I F I C I N S T IT U T E
Gary Jacobs, Chair DOROTHY AND JULIUS KOPPELMAN I N S T IT U T E O N A M E R I C A N J E W I S H - I S R A E L I R E L AT I O N S
Harold Shapiro, Chair HARRIET AND ROBERT HEILBRUNN I N S T IT U T E FO R I N T E R N AT I O N A L INTERRELIGIOUS UNDERSTANDING JACO B B L AU S T E I N I N S T IT U T E FO R T H E A DVA N C E M E N T O F HUMAN RIGHTS
E. Robert Goodkind, Chair L AT I N O A N D L AT I N A M E R I C A N I N S T IT U T E
Thomas Kahn, Chair L AW R E N C E & L E E R A M E R I N S T IT U T E O N G E R M A N -J E W I S H R E L AT I O N S
Lawrence Ramer, Co-Chair Prof. Dr. Rita Sussmuth, Co-Chair P R OJ E C T I N T E R C H A N G E
Robert Peckar, Chair T H A N K S TO S C A N D I N AV I A
Laurie Netter Sprayregen, Chair T R A N SAT L A N T I C I N S T IT U T E
Harold Tanner, Chair U N WATC H
Alfred H. Moses, Co-Chair David Harris, Co-Chair A D M I N I S T R ATI V E CO M M IT T E E S
Alan Melamed, Chair AU D IT CO M M IT T E E S H O LO M CO M AY F E L LOWS H I P S E L E C T I O N A N D E N G AG E M E N T CO M M IT T E E
Leslie Chatzinoff, Chair S T R AT E G I C P O L I C Y G R O U P
Peter Rosenblatt, Chair WO M E N ’ S C A M PA I G N B OA R D
Cori Berger, Chair
Henry Dubinsky, Chair B U D G E T CO M M IT T E E
Michael M. Davis, Chair HUMAN RESOURCES AND CO M P E N SAT I O N CO M M IT T E E
Martin Krall, Chair I N V E S T M E N T CO M M IT T E E
Andrew Melnick, Chair *deceased (As of January 1, 2012)
22
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
Lawrence M. Adelman
Bryant Frank
Martin Krall
David R. Pedowitz
Tracy Stein
Stanford M. Adelstein
Lois Frank
Judah Kraushaar
Barbara Perlmutter
Carlyn Steiner
Honey Kessler Amado
Gerald E. Franks
Marjorie Kuhn
Louis Perlmutter
Sylvia Steiner
RenĂŠ-Pierre Azria
Lawrence J. Freundlich
Stephen Kurzman
Charles I. Petschek
Alfred Stern
Henry Bamberger
Beatrice Friedman
Richard Lampen
Elaine Petschek
Shale D. Stiller
Rhoda Baruch
Howard I. Friedman
Bruce Lane
Kim Pimley
Jeffery Stone
Roberta Baruch
Bonnie Corwin Fuller
David Lang
Daniel Pincus
Harold Tanner
Julie Baskes
Beth Furman
Ruth Lapidus
Bonnie Podolsky
Michael Tichnor
Janine M. Behrman
Laurence Geller
Robert E. Lapin
Fred Pressner
Stephen J. Trachtenberg
Stephen Beiner
Howard A. Gerard
Jack Lascar
Michael P. Price
Thomas Tropp
Robert A. Belfer
Lawrence D. Gilbert
Jack S. Levin
Stanley A. Rabin
Thomas Unterberg
Paula Bennett
Susan Ginsburg
H. Fred Levine
Amy Ragen
Marco Veissid
Marion Bergman
Billie Glass
Kenneth R. Levine
Bruce M. Ramer
Richard Volpert
Stanley Bergman
Adam Gold
Florence C. Levitt
Lawrence J. Ramer
Bernard Wallerstein
Richard L. Berkman
Alexander Goldman
Karen Levy
Nanci Rands
Louis (Buzz) Warren
Roger M. Bernstein
Dorian Goldman
Mont S. Levy
Fred M. Rawicz
Leonard B. Weinberg
David R. Berz
Clifford Goldstein
Sally Levy
Allan J. Reich
Robert Weinberger
Gary Betensky
Jerome R. Goldstein
Steven D. Levy
Barbara Reiss
Sherry A. Weinman
Jerry H. Biederman
Todd Goodglick
Kenneth Lewis
Guy Reiss
Stephen A. Weinstein
Gail Binderman
E. Robert Goodkind
Eva Lichtenberg
Arleen Rifkind
Margaret E. Weinstock
Francine Blum
Brindell Gottlieb
Frank E. Linde
Stephen Robert
Howard Weiss
Hyman Bookbinder*
Candy Gould
Frank Lipsman
Elliott Rose
Ellen Werther
Daniel Igor Branovan
Leon Gould
Carol F. Lowenthal
Deborah Rosen
Leonard Wien
Martin I. Bresler
Michael Gould
Stephen Lowey
Peter R. Rosenblatt
Steven J. Wisch
Marcia Burnam
Carol Gown
Dolly Maass
Robert H. Rosenthal
Elaine L. Wishner
Shoshana S. Cardin
Martin Gradman
Kenneth D. Makovsky
David Rousso
Maynard Wishner*
Leslie Chatzinoff
Eugene M. Grant
Fred Mardell
Lawrence Ruben
Donald Yale
Matthew Coen
Leonard E. Greenberg
Jesse Margolin
Martine Trink Rubenstein
Allan Zachariah
Charles Cogut
Robert D. Gries
Andrew Marks
A. James Rudin
Dov S. Zakheim
Estelle Comay
Leonard E. Grossman
Bertram K. Massing
Jacques Safra
Steven Zelkowitz
Milton Cooper
Marshall B. Grossman
Scott C. Matasar
Debra Smith Saidoff
Marshall Zolla
Betty Cotton
Joseph Harari
Thomas Meier
Naty Saidoff
Roy J. Zuckerberg
Lawrence M. Cutler
Leonard M. Harlan
Alan Melamed
Benjamin Samuels
Alan Dana
David Harris
Andrew Melnick
Harriet P. Schleifer
Richard H. Davimos
Frances A. Hess
Donald Meltzer
Linda Selig
Michael M. Davis
Robert T. Hexter
Anthony Meyer
S. Stephen Selig
Alisa Robbins Doctoroff
Barbara Hirschhorn
Edward Meyer
David Sesserman
Andrew Doctoroff
Harriet Hochman
Anne Meyers
Walter Shapero
Ned Dubilo
Charlotte Holstein
M. Richard Meyers
Harold T. Shapiro
Stephen V. Dubin
Benjamin Hulsey
Edward J. Miller
John M. Shapiro
Henry Dubinsky
David Inlander
James A. Miller
Lawrence Shelley
Stuart E. Eizenstat
Marvin Israelow
Lee I. Miller
Richard J. Sideman
Robert Elman
Gary Jacobs
Scott L. Miller
William D. Siegel
William D. Epstein
Sue Jacobson
Barbara Mines
Carol Siegler
Michael Ettinger
Susan O.W. Jaffe
Linda Mirels
Morton A. Siegler
Edith B. Everett
Suzanne Denbo Jaffe
Joel R. Mogy
Jane Silverman
Patricia Falkenberg
Thomas S. Kahn
Belinda Morris
Lenny Silverstein
David Farber
Arthur S. Karafin
Alfred H. Moses
Donald Simon
Jack Farber
Judi Kaufman
Walter Nathan
Ken Smith*
Joseph Farcus
Manette D. Kaufmann
Lawrence Neubauer
Richard Sokolov
Stephen L. Feinberg
Gershon Kekst
Robert Newmark
Daniel J. Spiegel
Jerry Fine
Harris Kempner, Jr.
Daniel S. Och
James Sprayregen
Jo Renee Fine
Bernita King
Morris W. Offit
David F. Squire
Cheryl Fishbein
Philip Kirsh
Jerome Ostrov
Michael Srulovitz
Samuel Fishman
Samuel C. Klagsbrun
Beth Paradies
Paul Stanzler
Martine Fleishman
Benedict M. Kohl
Robert Peckar
John Stein
*deceased (As of January 1, 2012)
23
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
Leaders from business, law, entertainment and other fields serve as pillars of support for AJC’s projects and programs.On these pages are photos of some of the extraordinary people whose generosity and involvement have made a difference.
Fashion industry leaders joined AJC to honor Frank Doroff, Vice Chairman, Bloomingdale’s; and Paula Sutter, President, Diane von Furstenberg. L-R: Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO, IAC, and Chairman, Expedia; Frank Doroff; Paula Sutter; and Michael Gould, Chairman and CEO, Bloomingdale’s, and Chairman, AJC Board of Trustees.
At our Learned Hand Award Dinner, AJC paid tribute to Franci J. Blassberg, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. L-R: Charles “Casey” Cogut, Senior Corporate Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Franci J. Blassberg; Mary Jo White, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; and Donald J. Gogel, President and CEO, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC.
Our Los Angeles Regional Office presented its Ira E. Yellin Community Leadership Award to Leslie and Cliff Gilbert-Lurie. L-R: Dick Wolf, producer, “Law & Order” franchise; Leslie and Cliff Gilbert-Lurie; and Cliff Goldstein, AJC Los Angeles Regional President.
AJC presented its International Human Relations Award to Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oreal. L-R: Frederic Roze, President and CEO, L’Oreal USA; Sir Lindsey Owen-Jones, former Chairman, L’Oreal; Jean-Paul Agon; Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO, Macy’s Inc.; and Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Group S.A.
AJC’s Dorothy and Julius Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations presented its Avraham Harman Leadership Award to Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey. L-R: Robert Elman, AJC President; Harold T. Shapiro, former President, Princeton University and the University of Michigan, and Chair, AJC’s Koppelman Institute on American Jewish–Israeli Relations; Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey; David Harris, AJC Executive Director; and E. Robert Goodkind, Partner, Pryor Cashman LLP, and AJC Honorary President.
Our Herbert H. Lehman Human Relations Award was presented to John L. Furth, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Klingenstein, Fields & Co. L-R: Roy J. Zuckerberg, Senior Director, Goldman Sachs Group, and Associate Chairman, AJC Board of Trustees; Morris W. Offit, Chairman, Offit Capital Advisors LLC, and AJC Honorary Vice President; Alan C. Greenberg, Vice Chairman Emeritus, Bear Stearns, a division of J.P. Morgan; John L. Furth; and John M. Shapiro, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Chieftain Capital Management, Inc., and AJC At-Large Officer.
24
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
We honor the visionary leaders whose dedication to AJC will be remembered for generations to come. J O R DA N B A R U C H
Jordan Baruch was a longtime member of AJC’s Board of Governors and the founding supporter of the AJC Transatlantic Institute in Brussels. Baruch and his family were visionaries who understood the importance of enduring U.S.-European ties. As Assistant Secretary of Commerce during the Carter administration, Baruch helped to strengthen business links with China. “His steadfast and principled At our Wall Street Reception, AJC honored Carol Einiger, President, Post Rock Advisors, LLC; and Roger Einiger, former Vice Chairman, Oppenheimer & Co. L-R: John M. Shapiro, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Chieftain Capital Management, Inc., and AJC At-Large Officer; Carol Einiger; Roger Einiger; and Alan C. Greenberg, Vice Chairman Emeritus, Bear Stearns, a division of J.P. Morgan.
commitment to the Jewish people, to democratic values, and to human rights was evident in his lifetime of philanthropic work,” said AJC President Robert Elman.
HYMAN BOOKBINDER
Hyman Bookbinder, affectionately known as “Bookie,” headed AJC’s Washington office for 19 years and was considered the dean of Jewish representatives on Capitol Hill. Although he retired in 1986, he served as AJC’s Washington representative emeritus until his passing. “The impact of his advocacy efforts, the relationships he built with ethnic, faith and political leaders, and his tireless passion to serve the Jewish people will forever leave an indelible Our Chicago Regional Office presented its Judge Learned Hand Award to Sanford Perl, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and AJC Regional Board Member. L-R: Ronald J. Gidwitz, Principal, GCG Partners, and AJC Chicago Campaign Chairman; Illinois Senator Mark Kirk; Sanford Perl; Jack S. Levin, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and AJC Chicago Regional President; and Congressman Robert J. Dold.
mark on American society and beyond,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.
M AY N A R D W I S H N E R
Maynard Wishner, a prominent civic and Jewish leader from Chicago, served as AJC national president from 1980 to 1983. He continued at AJC as honorary president and on the Board of Governors. “His passionate, lifelong activism should always serve as a model of leadership for the American Jewish community,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. Wishner, a Chicago attorney and business leader, was a vocal proponent AJC presented its National Human Relations Award to Leonard M. Harlan, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Castle Harlan, Inc. L-R: The Honorable Cory A. Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey; Jules B. Kroll, Chairman and Co-Founder, K-2 Global Consulting LLC, and Chairman and CEO, Kroll Bond Ratings, Inc.; Leonard M. Harlan; and Ronald S. Lauder, former U.S. Ambassador to Austria.
of advancing cooperative intergroup relations to strengthen American society, build enduring friendships for the Jewish community and advance Israel’s well-being.
May their memory always be for a blessing.
25
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
OFFICE OF THE E X E C U TI V E D I R E C TO R
O F F I C E O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N T E R N ATI O N A L A F FA I R S
David Harris, Executive Director Victoria E. Schonfeld, Associate Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer Jason Isaacson, Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth Planet, Assistant Executive Director Mindy Ross, Assistant Executive Director for Marketing, Strategic Communications Janet Becker, Director, Strategic Implementation John Thomason, Assistant Chief Operating Officer Ellisa Sagor, Chief of Staff Shayne Adler, Senior Assistant to the Associate Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer
Jason Isaacson, Director Aaron Jacob, Associate Director, International Affairs Andrew Baker, Director, International Jewish Affairs Richard Foltin, Director, National and Legislative Affairs Dina Siegel Vann, Director, Latino and Latin American Affairs Juan Dircie, Associate Director, Miami, Latino and Latin American Affairs Stephanie Guiloff, Associate Director, Latino and Latin American Affairs Eliseo Neuman, Director, Africa Institute John Thomason, Chief Administrative Officer of OGIA Chelsea Hanson, Immigration Policy Specialist Julie Fishman, Assistant Legislative Director Maia Blume, Assistant to the Director Lauren Kimmel, International Affairs Advocacy and Research Coordinator Michelle Rood, Legislative Assistant
R E S O U R C E D E V E LO P M E N T
Julie Schair, National Director Cathy Bezozo, Director, Foundation Relations Michael Gilbert, Director of Regional Office Advancement Debra Rubenstein, National Director, Planned Giving Amy Althoff, Assistant Director, Donor Relations Leonard Myron, Senior Development Director Susan Tanenbaum, Senior Development Director Gary Spruch, Director, Development Communications Michelle Kroll, Donor Relations Coordinator L E A D E R S H I P D E V E LO P M E N T & B OA R D E N G AG E M E N T
Nadine Greenfield-Binstock, Director D E PA R T M E N T O F REGIONAL OFFICES
Elizabeth Planet, Director Kim Kamen, Assistant Director Eli Lipmen, Communications Strategist Amanda Mishler, Coordinator M A R K E TI N G A N D S T R AT E G I C CO M M U N I C ATI O N S
DIVISION OF MIDDLE EAST & I N T E R N ATI O N A L T E R R O R I S M
I N T E R N ATI O N A L I N T E R R E L I G I O U S A F FA I R S
David Rosen, Director James Rudin, Sr. Consultant INTERRELIGIOUS & I N T E R G R O U P R E L ATI O N S
Noam Marans, Director Emily Soloff, Associate Director Ann Schaffer, Associate Director/ Director, Belfer Center For American Pluralism Dalit Ballen-Horn, Assistant Director Intergroup Relations and Belfer Center For American Pluralism Ephraim Gabbai, Assistant Director Nissim Reuben, Program Director, Indian American-Jewish Relations Ellen Carmell, National Project Coordinator, Bridging America Project ACC E S S : A J C ’ S N E W G E N E R ATI O N P R O G R A M
M E D I A R E L ATI O N S
N ATI O N A L E V E N T S
26
Steven Bayme, Director D O R OT H Y & J U L I U S KO P P E L M A N I N S TIT U T E O N A M E R I C A N J E W I S H - I S R A E L I R E L ATI O N S
Steven Bayme, Director B L AU S T E I N C E N T E R FO R J E W I S H R E S E A R C H
Charolotte Bonelli, Director P U B L I C ATI O N S
Lawrence Grossman, Director P R OJ E C T I N T E R C H A N G E
Samuel Witkin, Director Ida Singelenberg, Assistant Director Nisha Shrier, Assistant Director Keren Naveh, Director, External Affairs Miriam Ganem Rosen, Assistant Director, International Programs Allison Tenenbaum, Assistant Director, U.S. Programs Myra Clark-Siegel, Director of International Communications and Marketing Christopher Townsend, Operations/ Office Manager
Yehudit Barsky, Director
Mindy Ross, Director Lisa Hoff, National Director, Direct Mail and Membership David Marks, Marketing and Web Strategist Linda Krieg, Art Director Sharon Schwartz, Production Supervisor
Kenneth Bandler, Director
WILLIAM PETSCHECK CO N T E M P O R A RY J E W I S H L I F E D E PA R T M E N T
Alexis Frankel, Acting Director, Global ACCESS Idon Natanzon, Assistant Director and Campus Strategist Maggie Fried, Assistant Director, ACCESS NY/ Associate Director, TTS
Leslie Klion, Director Joanna Lieberman, National Coordinator, Events Leadership Initiatives
JACO B B L AU S T E I N I N S TIT U T E FO R T H E A DVA N C E M E N T O F HUMAN RIGHTS
Felice Gaer, Director Christen Broecker, Associate Director Marra Guttenplan, Advocacy/ Editorial Officer A S I A PAC I F I C I N S TIT U T E
Patricia Marcus, Director Neil Sandberg, Consultant/Director Emeritus Yael Amit, AJC Southeast Asia Representative ISRAEL/MIDDLE EAST OFFICE , J E R U SA L E M
Edward Rettig, Interim Director Tzippi Barnea, Director of Operations and Administration Ayelet Zelig, Director of Programs BERLIN OFFICE
Deidre Berger, Director Lena Altman, Public Affairs Director D I V I S I O N O F A N TI - S E M ITI S M & EXTREMISM
Kenneth Stern, Director RUSSIAN JEWISH CO M M U N IT Y A F FA I R S
Samuel Kliger, Director
T R A N SAT L A N TI C I N S TIT U T E , BRUSSELS
Daniel Schwammenthal, Director Joshua Goodman, Program Director U N WATC H , G E N E VA
Hillel Neuer, Director Leon Saltiel, Assistant Executive Director CO U N T RY R E P R E S E N TATI V E S
Muriel Asseraf, São Paulo, Brazil Smita Jassal, New Delhi, India Lisa Palmieri-Billig, Rome and the Holy See Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Paris Priya Tandon, Mumbai, India L AW
Marc Stern, General Counsel Betty Robbins, Special Counsel Avital Blanchard, Assistant Counsel F I N A N C E , IT, O F F I C E S E RV I C E S , & C A M PA I G N R E CO R D S
Richard Hyne, Chief Financial Officer Tailin Chen Brecher, Controller Jeffrey Gass, Deputy Controller Romeo Dapito, Senior Accountant Jane Sia, Senior Accountant Valerie Blair, Accountant Carolina Segovia, Account/Systems Coordinator Sharon Chiu, Payroll Administrator Susan Manoukis, Supervisor, Donor Services/Financial Analyst David Farron, Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer Ruth Harenchar, Chief Information Officer Yukihiro Urisaka, Network Administrator Adam Sundel, Technical Services Administrator Derrick Shearer, Senior Business Analyst Candice Price, Managed Desktop Administrator Joel Grossman, RE Database Manager Simcha M. Druck, RE Application Analyst Linda Lansky, Director, Office Services Amy Magdalin, Assistant Director, Office Services Michael Picozzo, Mailroom/ Printshop Manager HUMAN RESOURCES
Valerie Burett, Director Shifra Sharbat, Human Resources and Employee Relations Manager Sala Schmigelski, Human Resources and Benefits Manager Sarah Page, Human Resources and Benefits Associate (As of May 15, 2012)
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
H E A D Q UA R T E R S
Jacob Blaustein Building 165 East 56 Street New York, NY 10022 REGIONAL OFFICES A R IZO N A
Steve Bressler, Liaison AT L A N TA
Leonard Silverstein, President Dov Wilker, Regional Director Itai Tsur, Assistant Director Amanda LaKier, Director, Development B A LT I M O R E
Howard Weiss, President B O S TO N
Michael L. Tichnor, President Rob Leikind, Regional Director Daniel Levenson, Assistant Director, Advocacy and Leadership Rebecca Keys, Assistant Director, Communications C H I C AG O
Jack Levin, President Daniel Elbaum, Regional Director Jonathan Schweitzer, Assistant Director, Communications Jane Charney, Assistant Director Myrna Frankel, Director, Development
LO S A N G E L E S
WA S H I N G TO N , D.C .
EUROPE
Clifford P. Goldstein, President Gary Greenebaum, Interim Director Gosia Weiss, Assistant Director Randall Brown, Assistant Director, Interreligious Affairs Karen Stone, Director of Development Janice Pitler, Assistant Director, Development Chanelle Ohayon-Crosby, Leadership Development Coordinator
David Farber, President Melanie Maron Pell, Regional Director Jamie Kamlet, Assistant Director Ivy Fields, Director, Development
Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS)
W E S TC H E S T E R
GREECE
Elliott Rose, President Scott Richman, Regional Director Jill Friedman, Associate Director Vicki Kline, Leadership Development Associate
Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS)
G R E AT E R M I A M I A N D B R OWA R D CO U N T Y
Leonard Wien, President Brian Siegal, Regional Director Michael Winograd, Assistant Director
W E S T COA S T F LO R I DA
NEW JERSEY
I N D E P E N D E N T A F F I L I AT E S
Kim Pimley, President, Central New Jersey Buzz Warren, President, Metro New Jersey John Rosen, Regional Director Ferne Hassan, Associate Director Amy Hollander, Assistant Director, Communications and Outreach Allison Sachs Klein, Assistant Director, Development N E W YO R K
Barbara Reiss, President Michael Schmidt, Regional Director Danielle Cohen, Assistant Director/ Director of International Relations Shira Lowenberg, Associate Director
Susan Glass, President Marc Dworkin, Regional Director PA L M B E AC H CO U N T Y
Gary Betensky, President Rachel Miller, Regional Director/ Development Director Alex Rosenberg, Associate Director
CO LO R A D O
Donald Yale, President Don Schlesinger, Regional Director Matthew Leebove, Assistant Director DA L L A S
Scott L. Miller, President Anna Popp, Regional Director D E T R O IT
Bryant Frank, President Kari Alterman, Regional Director H O U S TO N
Jack Lascar, President Randall Czarlinsky, Regional Director Matthew Kahn, Assistant Director
PHILADELPHIA/ SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY
Morton Simon, President Mark Robbins, Regional Director Marcia Bronstein, Director, Development Vlad Khaykin, Assistant Director
LO N G I S L A N D
Michael Ettinger, President Lilli Platt, Regional Director
P IT T S B U R G H A R E A J E W I S H CO M M IT T E E
Deborah Fidel, Director Susan Simons, Director of Youth Programming
Benjamin Hulsey, President Nancy Lisker, Regional Director SA N F R A N C I S CO
William D. Epstein, President Mervyn Danker, Regional Director Jennah Craig, Assistant Director Jonathan Dove, Director, Development S E AT T L E
Amy Ragen, President Wendy Rosen, Regional Director Kathleen Crowell, Seattle Film Festival Development Director Pamela Lavitt, Seattle Film Festival Manager
Comunidad Judia de Guatemala L AT I N A M E R I C A
Federación de Universitarios Sionistas de América Latina (FUSLA) L AT V I A
Jewish Community of Latvia M E X I CO
Tribuna Israelita M O R O CCO
Conseil des Communautés Israélites du Maroc PA N A M A
Consejo Ejecutivo de la Comunidad Judia de Panamá
OREGON AREA JEWISH CO M M IT T E E
PERU
Emily Georges Gottfried, Executive Director Amy Geoffroy, Development Coordinator
POLAND
ARGENTINA
Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) AU S T R A L I A
Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) B U LG A R I A
Shalom C A N A DA
Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS) CHILE
S T. LO U I S
K A N SA S C IT Y
Frank W. Lipsman, President Marvin Szneler, Regional Director
Harriet McKinney, Director
O R A N G E CO U N T Y
CLEVELAND
Seth Briskin, President Lee C. Shapiro, Regional Director Laura White, Programming and Development Assistant
M I LWAU K E E A R E A J E W I S H CO M M IT T E E
I N T E R N ATI O N A L PA R T N E R S
C I N C I N N AT I
John M. Stein, President Barbara Glueck, Regional Director
Sue A. Jacobson, President Brian Lipton, Regional Director/ Development Director
G UAT E M A L A
Comité Representativo de Entidades Judías Chile (CREJ) CO LO M B I A
Centro Israelita de Bogota CO S TA R I C A
Centro Israelita Sionista CZECH REPUBLIC
The Federation of Jewish Communities E L SA LVA D O R
Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador E S TO N I A
Jewish Community of Estonia
Asociación Judía del Perú
Union of Jewish Religious Communities PORTUGAL
Comunidade Israelita de Lisboa (CIL) ROMANIA
Federation of Jewish Communities S LOVA K R E P U B L I C
Union of Jewish Religious Communities SOUTH AFRICA
South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) S PA I N
Federación de Communidades Israelitas de España S W IT Z E R L A N D
Fédération Suisse des Communautés Israélites TUNISIA
Communaute Juive de Tunisie TURKEY
Turkish Jewish Community (TJC) V E N E ZU E L A
Confederación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela (CAIV) WO R L DW I D E
World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) (As of May 15, 2012)
27
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
As Treasurer of AJC, I am pleased to submit this report of AJC’s financial condition and financial activity for 2011. We are grateful to our new and long-standing donors who have generously supported the important mission of AJC. AJC’s unrestricted contributions, membership dues, and legacies and bequests in 2011 of $34.2 million increased by $1.9 million over 2010, which together with continued tight control over expenses resulted in an operating surplus of $3.1 million before non-operating charges. AJC’s Balance Sheet is healthy and strong with net assets of $100.3 million at December 31, 2011. Current assets of $38.8 million exceeded current liabilities of $9.2 million by $29.6 million, indicating a favorable liquidity position. Total net assets decreased by $6.6 million in 2011. Two non-operating items totaling $5.1 million contributed to the decrease, including $3.2 million of net investment losses on endowments due to market performance, and a non-operating charge
Richard L. Berkman Treasurer
28
of $1.9 million for increased pension and other benefit obligations. The $1.9 million charge was required primarily to increase the underfunded pension plan liability recorded on the books due to a combination of lower interest rates used to calculate the obligation and low returns on the investments that will fund the obligation. Net assets released from restrictions of $10.2 million exceeded new temporarily restricted contributions of $5.7 million by $4.5 million, which reduced net assets. The above-mentioned operating surplus increased net assets. The agency continues to focus its financial efforts on pursuing revenue growth from all sources, which will further enhance its financial strength and allow for expansion of the vital work it does every day. We will continue to act in a fiscally responsible manner to safeguard the assets of AJC. We thank you for your supporting the vital work of AJC. AJC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, tax ID #13-5563393.
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
A SS E TS
2011
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 13,412
Contributions receivable, net
2010 $
10,117
12,858
17,103
Investments, at fair value1 93,420 97,400 Prepaid expenses and other assets
650
881
Fixed assets, net
6,406
6,809
Total assets
$ 126,746
$ 132,310
2
CHANGES IN UNRESTRICTED
2011
2010
NET ASSETS O P E R ATI N G R E V E N U E
Contributions and special events, net $ 31,299
$ 29,037
Membership dues 2,262 2,531 Legacies and bequests
595
669
503
821
Investment income and net gains on investments
Other income 1,222 1,409
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS L I A B I L ITI E S
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
5,138
5,161
19,220
18,208
Accrued pension and
Net assets released from restrictions 10,225
7,521
Total operating revenue
41,988
46,106
O P E R ATI N G E X P E N S E S
Program services (33,330) (30,838)
other benefit obligations Liability under
Supporting services
(9,697)
(9,877)
Total operating expenses
(43,027)
(40,715)
3,079
1,273
split-interest agreements
2,048
1,961
Excess of operating revenue
Total liabilities2
26,406
25,330
over operating expenses
NET ASSETS
N O N O P E R ATI N G IT E M S
Unrestricted
8,189
7,050
Increase in accrued pension
Temporarily restricted3
33,360
41,120
and other benefit obligations (1,940) (1,135)
Permanently restricted (corpus)
58,791
58,810
Reclassification of net assets4
- (6,682)
Total net assets
100,340
106,980
Total nonoperating items
(1,940)
(7,817)
Total liabilities and net assets
$ 126,746
$ 132,310
Increase/(decrease) in 1,139
(6,544)
1 Includes investment funds that invest in 1-3 year U.S. Treasury index funds. 2 Current assets of $38,799 exceed current liabilities of $9,150 by $29,649 in 2011. 3 Includes accumulated appreciation on corpus of permanently restricted funds.
unrestricted net assets C H A N G E S I N T E M P O R A R I LY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
C O M B I N E D E X P E N S E A L LO C AT I O N S , YE AR ENDED DECEMBER 3 1 , 2011 (in thousands)
Contributions 5,678 6,757 Investment return on endowments (3,185)
8,287
Net assets released from restrictions (10,225) (7,521) Reclassification of net assets4 - 6,682 Other
(28)
-
(7,760)
14,205
Increase/(decrease) in temporarily restricted net assets T O TA L
T O TA L EXPENSES
$43,027
PROGRAM
C H A N G E S I N P E R M A N E N T LY
SERVICES
RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
$33,330
Contributions Other
50
14
(69)
-
permanently restricted net assets (19)
14
Increase/(decrease) in corpus of 77% Total Program Services 14% Fundraising 9% Management
and Administration
42% Regional Office Community
Services and Membership
35% Government and
International Affairs
9% Public Education, Information,
Research and Publications
6% Domestic Policy 5% Interreligious Affairs 2% Contemporary Jewish Life 1% Thanks to Scandinavia
SU M MARY OF N ET ASSETS
Change in net assets (6,640)
7,675
Net assets at beginning of year
106,980
99,305
Net assets at end of year
$ 100,340
$ 106,980
4 Reclassification resulting from the enactment of the New York Prudent Management of Institutional Funds (NYPMIFA) act, which took effect in 2010.
29
Written by: Alissa Kaplan Michaels/Michaels Communications Designed by: Big Duck Cover Photo: The inspiring view from the exit of the Holocaust History Museum, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem (www.yadvashem.org) by Yossi Ben David/Yad Vashem. This report was printed on FSC-certified paper containing 10% post-consumer recycled material. 30
AJC’S MISSION TO E N H A N C E T H E W E L L- B E I N G O F T H E J E W I S H P EO P L E A N D I S R A E L , A N D TO A DVA N C E H U M A N R I G H T S A N D D E M O C R ATI C VA LU E S A R O U N D T H E WO R L D.
Jacob Blaustein Building 165 East 56 Street New York, NY 10022 www.ajc.org 31