Fifth Consular Corps Tour of Jewish Los Angeles AJC's annual tour brought over 70 diplomats, Jewish community leaders, and their spouses together for an inspiring look at Jewish LA. Organized by Director of International Relations Steve Addison and Consular Corps Co-Chairs Jack Fine and Marc Kessler, as well as a host of AJC layleaders, this year's tour focused on 'Hollywood', AJC's priority issues for 2008, and understanding Jewish denominations.
The tour began with a presentation on AJC's role in Hollywood - diplomats learned that AJC's founders include Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B Mayer (of MGM) and the Warner Bros. AJC Chapter President Fredrick Levin spoke of AJC's current Hollywood projects to help spread the organization's message of tolerance and human rights, using the recent film 'Darfur Now' as an example.
The tour then hopped on a bus to see the history of the Jewish community and Hollywood first hand through a unique panel of experts and a walking tour of the Sony Studio lot led by Dr. Steve Ross, USC Department of History Chair, Dr. David Kaufman, HUC Contemporary American Jewish Studies Professor, and the staff at Sony Studios. Diplomats heard the 'behind the scenes' presentation on Jews in Hollywood and a tour of the historic studio lot, formerly the MGM studios, which included a set tour of some upcoming films.
Next stop was a presentation of AJC's national priorities for 2008 through a look at the Jewish community's efforts to ensure America's energy security by 'going green' and its celebration of Israel@60. Ron Jacobsohn, President of the Hollywood Connection, gave a high paced presentation on Israel and its booming film, tv, advertising, and music industries while representatives from local Jewish synagogues and organizations talked about 'green' being a Jewish value.
The tour's final stop was at the Sephardic Synagogue, where the group learned about the Sephardic religious tradition while eating a traditional lunch with the synagogue's Rabbi, Daniel Bouskila. The tour drew to a close with a presentation in the synagoguge's beautiful sanctuary with Rabbi Mark Diamond from the Southern California Board of Rabbis, who provided insight into the different religious and cultural denominations of Judaism.
Want to get involed? Email Steve to help organize the 2009 Tour. See you next year!
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International Relations Program
AJC/LA is building bridges with the Los Angeles Consular Corps (foreign diplomats posted here) and international visitors by sustaining and explaining our diplomatic outreach and long term relationships. AJC provides itsmembers with access to Ambassadors and high level diplomats, as well as experts in the international arena. Clifford Goldstein & Bryan Ezralow Steve Addison
Meetings are only once a year!
Take a look at the description of our subcommittees below. If you are interested in serving on one of these committees, contact Steve Addison or 310-282-8080 X326.
International Relations Subcommittees European Affairs Diplomatic Outreach: Members of this committee may be involved with diplomatic outreach to countries in their geographic area. This could involve meeting with a Consul General or their staff, or attending cultural events and celebrations related to the countries in their region. Israel Affairs Educational Event Planning and Diplomatic Outreach: See duites of European Affairs Consular Briefings: Provide special briefings for the consular corp /international contacts as a group (i.e Consuls General, Deputy Consuls General, their staff, international dignitaries) to help them understand the diversity and complexity of Los Angeles, to enhance their ability to do their jobs effectively, and to help position AJC as an important multi-dimensional contact. Topics would cover aspects of American / local political and civic life. Our goals is to help diplomats navigate the domestic scene during their posting. Jewish Cultural/Religious Opportunities: Organize opportunities for international contacts to experience and learn about varied aspects of Judaism. Host our international diplomats at our annual Chanukah Party. For more seasoned and experienced leaders, individuals may invite international contacts to their family’s Jewish Shabbat, Passover, or Sukkot observance. Non-Jewish cultural and social events: Provide opportunities to create a more personal relationship and to expose international contacts to the social/cultural fabric of Los Angeles. Possible outings may include the Hollywood Bowl, symphony, wine and cheese at the beach, a Dodger baseball game, or a tennis or golf game at their club. Event Planning: The subcommittee will help to coordinate the schedule, meals and program for various exchange programs such as: "Promoting Tolerance": (November) - Leaders from emerging democracies visit the United States/LA for a four day itinerary exploring democratic and pluralistic institutions. Past International Relations Programs AJC UCLA Conference Focus on Polish Jewish Relations Leading international scholars, Polish and Israeli government dignitaries, leaders of both the Polish American and Jewish communities and Master of Ceremonies Broadway's Theodore Bikel gathered Tuesday at The Regency Club in LA to hear highlights from the AJC sponsored conference"From Past to Present: The State of Research in Polish Jewish Relations" at UCLA. Los Angeles Chapter Executive Director Seth Brysk welcomed the luminous crowd and spoke of several chapter programs held last year which focused on Polish-Jewish relations as well as our role in initiating the conference and the opening night reception/phot exhibit at UCLA Hillel 'Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews". The Under Secretary of Poland from the President's Office as well as the Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles delivered remarks, and the Ambassador of Israel to Poland spoke of the positive relationship of Israel and Poland today. Conference participants UCLA Professor David Myers (conference organizer), the Honorable Adam Daniel Rotfeld (Former Polish Foreign Minister) and Dr. Erica Lehrer (Concordia University, Montreal) gave the conference report on the challenging relationship past and present, an potimistic assessment for the future, and Myer's acknowledgement of the scholarly courage of the Polish academics. As a fitting finale, Theodore Bikel closed the luncheon program with the singing of "if We Only Had Love" in both Hebrew and English. All participants received a copy of AJC's book Difficult Questions in Polish-Jewish Relations (co-written with our partner in Poland Forum for Dialogue Among Nations and translated by Dr. Erica Lehrer). The luncheon was produced by AJC LA Director of International Relations Steve Addison, who was par t of the initial five person committee which conceived the conference program nearly two years ago. AJC's Diplomatic Marathon A delegation of chapter leaders traveled last week to New York with International Relations Director Steve Addison to participate in AJC's "Diplomatic Marathon", a two week period when the United Nations General Assembly is in session and AJC is able to meet with the Foreign Ministers, Heads of State and Ambassadors of over 70 countries. Los Angeles leaders sat in on meetings with countries such as Austria, Hungary Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and The African nation Berkino Faso and were able to ask questions and present AJC's concerns regarding Iran's nuclear threat, Darfur, the anti-Israel bias within United Nations, maintaining a special representative on Anti-Semitism within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Hezbollah and the UNIFIL:force in Lebanon, Syria and Iran's role with terrorism and much more. Click here to read about AJC member Shelley Rivlin's experience as a diplomat. 4th Annual Consular Corp Tour of Jewish Los Angeles More than 30 diplomats spent a day together getting a view of Jewish institutions, values, culture and religion in Los Angeles. Sites along the tour included Vista Del Mar Family Services, Hillel at UCLA and Sinai Temple for their young professionals 'Friday Night Live' Shabbat Service with guest speaker Elie Weisel and a performance by Theodore Bikel.
Klaus Scharioth, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the U.S. met with a small group of chapter leaders and staff on February 26 to discuss a wide range of issues of importance to the Germany - U.S. - Israel relationship. Chancellor Merkel's goals regarding European integration, transatlantic relations and multilateralism (especially with regard to energy policy and the Middle East peace process) were presented by the Ambassador and discussed, while AJC expressed concerns regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions and the need for tougher sanctions, Europe's dependance on Russian oil as well as the image of the west and the U.S. within Germany and Islam. Other questions posed included U.S. visa policy, the role of NATO and the European Union, unification and unemployment, and the increased activities of right wing extremists within Germany. Special thank you to Larry Ramer for arranging the Regency Club venue, and for Ron Gordon and Cliff Goldstein for hosting the breakfast.
Meeting with the New Japan Consul General Kazuo Kodama
Los Angeles President's Council Meeting with Greek AmbassadorHis Excellency Alexandros Mallias, Ambassador of Greece to the United States spoke at Hillcrest Country Club to members of our Presidents Council on January 31st. After welcoming remarks by Mark Caplow and an introduction by International Relations Committee co-chair Bryan Ezralow, the Ambassador commented on the positive state of the Greek - American - Israel relationship and noted our shared history with the Holocaust. He presented the chapter with a copy of the book The Holocaust of the Greek Jewry, published by the Greek government, and invited AJC's participation in bringing a traveling photo exhibition "Hidden Children in the Occupied Greece" to Los Angeles for an event in the fall.
 2006 The Promoting Tolerance program brought 20 young leaders from the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe to four U.S. cities to experience American institutions that promote democracy, diversity, pluralism, and tolerance. The final leg of their experience brought them to Los Angeles for a four day program where they visited City Hall to hear about city government from city staff and elected officials, the Skirball Cultural Center where participants learned about media and culture's affect on diversity and tolerance, Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches to learn about inter-religious cooperation, and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center to learn about issues facing the LGBT community. The participants absorb models of government, civic associations, and private organizations which they could then bring back to their home country. For many of the participants, particularly those from countries that comprised the former Yugoslavian nation, this was a powerful learning experience in resolving intergroup and interreligious issues peaceably and diplomatically. The Los Angeles program was created and implemented by a collaboration of lay leaders on the Travel and Exchange Subcommittee of the International Relations Committee and the AJC staff and intern.
International Relations Breakfast Forums Israel's Former Director-General of the Foreign Ministry Talks with AJC
Breakfast Forum with Ilka Schroeder, former European Union Parliament Representative of Germany At the Four Seasons Hotel, guests at this International Relations Breakfast Forum were treated to a program with Ilka Schroeder, former EU Parliament Representative of Germany to discuss the topic "Between hypocritical solidarity and open anti-Zionism...How Germany and the EU work against Israel". The program also featured a special presentation by the recent young adult ACCESS mission to Berlin in October/November. Matt Loechheim and Adam Weiss talked about their impressions of Germany and the impact of Germany's approach to Anti-Semitism and their post-Holocaust, post-Communist past. Schroeder focused on her assessment that Europe has supported Israel in certain ways - such as through strong bilateral positive trade relations. On the other hand, she observed that most of their actions with regard to multilateral entities, and their blank check approach to funding of the Palestinian Authority, has in effect aided the terrorist anti-Israel cause.
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Quinn and Bryan Ezralow hosted AJC's National Leadership Council at their beautiful home in the Mulholland Estates. Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States Eva Nowotny was introduced by Jerry and Carol Katzman, NLC Co-Chairs. Over 50 guests heard Her Excellency speak about the strength of the Austria-Israel-America connection. The Ambassador spoke about the growing concern over Anti-Semitism in Austria, her perspective of Europe's view of Israel during the recent war in Lebanon, and how Austria dealt with Muslim unrest when Austria held the Presidency of the European Union.
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Los Angeles Chapter
9911 West Pico Boulevard, Suite 1602, Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 282-8080 | LosAngeles@ajc.org