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Los Angeles is home to more Consulates than any other city in the world apart from New York and Hong Kong. The International Relations Program of AJC builds bridges by fostering relationships with members of the Los Angeles Consular Corps. Apart from creating opportunities to meet Consuls General we provide our members with regular briefings on relevant world affairs.
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As an AJC member you can:
- participate in diplomatic outreach meetings with members of the Consular Corps, where we build bridges of respect and friendship and discuss issues of mutual concern,
- help produce educational programs and informational briefings for our leaders on topics affecting various geographic regions or world organizations,
- plan Consular Corps of Jewish Los Angeles, and other events for the Consuls General.
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Please join us for a special event...
RSVP required by September 20: www.uclahillel.org/croatianexhibit
Contact Gosia Szymanska for more information.
Latest IR events
AJC meets with Ambassador Zhang Yun, Consul General of the People's Republic of China
From L to R: Consul Ingrid Luo Wang, Deputy Consul General Sun Weide, Gosia Szymanska, Seth Brysk, Ambassador Zhang Yun, Gary Jacobs, Fredrick S. Levin, Cliff Goldstein, Vice Consul Mao Yizong
2010 Seventh Consular Corps Tour of Jewish Los Angeles
On June 11th, twenty diplomats from Los Angeles representing fourteen countries participated in the Seventh Annual Consular Corps Tour of Jewish Los Angeles. The group, accompanied by a number of AJC leaders, began with a visit to the Jewish Home in Reseda, a renowned “home of wellness, longevity, and enlightened senior services,” and a cutting-edge model for all countries struggling with aging populations.
Anti-genocide efforts and humanitarian support of Jewish World Watch (JWW) were discussed at a meeting with its leaders at Valley Beth Shalom. Its founder, Rabbi Harold Schulweis spoke about diplomats' struggles to rescue Jews during the Holocaust and his impetus to start JWW, while Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, its Executive Director, told riveting stories of her visit to Congo and Darfur.
The group spent the afternoon at Skirball Cultural Center, where the group heard from Assemblymember
Kevin de Leon about California's budget crisis and the impending issue of immigration. Adele Burke,
Skirball's Vice Persident, and Grace Grossman, its Senior Curator, took the group on a tour of the core exhibit, Visions and Values, where the diplomats learned about the American Jewish experience.
Special thanks goes to the generous sponsors of the tour. Additionally, the program would not have been a success without the support of Dr. Marlene Bane, William and Joan Feldman, Sandy and Bill Goodglick, Doris Haims, Stephen Lesser, Vickie Rubinson, and Adam Weiss.
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© Morris P. Kagan Photographics 2010 All Rights Reserved
Consular Corps Tour of Jewish Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Jewish Home
To see previous Tours click here.
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| AJC hosts Consular Corps Legislative Symposium |
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More than 30 diplomats attended AJC/LA Consular Corps Legislative Symposium on March 12th 2010 at the Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles.
The Symposium featured Governor Gray Davis (Ret.), Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel. Each speaker focused on the mandate of their respective levels of government, as well as budgetary and political issues. They also discussed ways that Consuls General can interact with the local government and answered various questions from the audience.
The Symposium was a creation of Ira Handelman, AJCLA Co-Chair of Government Affairs Committee and Cliff Goldstein, AJCLA Chair of International Relations Committee. Special thanks go to the generous sponsors of the program: Dr. Bill Sater, Elaine and Elliott Caplow, Bonnie Fuller, Cliff Goldstein, Sandy and Bill Goodglick, Bernard Greenberg, Harriett Hochman, Joel Mogy, Larry Ramer, and Marshall Zolla.
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| Hannah Lessing addresses AJC's International Relations Committee |
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On Tuesday, March 9th AJC International Relations Committee hosted a Breakfast Briefing with Hannah Lessing, General Secretary of the Austrian National Fund since 1995. During her tenure Ms. Lessing has overseen the distribution of compensation payments to former Austrian Nazi victims and the disbursal of the $210m from the General Settlement Fund. She is also Head of the Austrian delegation at the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research.
Ms. Lessing spoke about her work, its challenges, as well as the issues of remembrance and Holocaust education in Austria. We were also happy to host and hear from the new Consul General of Austria Karin Proidl.
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| His Excellency Ambassador Sameh Shoukry of Egypt meets with AJC leadership |
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A group of AJC top leaders participated in a meeting on Monday, March 8th,with the Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Hon. Sameh Shoukry and the Egyptian Consul General Dr. Hesham Elnakib. During his presentation, Ambassador Shoukry highlighted Egypt’s commitment to promote peace in the Middle East and thanked AJC for its promotion of peaceful dialogue. Among discussed issues there were Israeli-Palestinian peace process, efforts to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, strategies to bring stability to Gaza, and the issue of Iranian nuclear ambitions. AJC thanks its Regional President Fredrick Levin, his wife Marsha, and AJC’s Past President Peter Weil for generously hosting the meeting. |
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| Emerging Eastern Bloc Leaders Meet Mayor, Learn about Diversity |
| Seventeen young leaders from Eastern Europe participated in this year’s “Promoting Tolerance in Central and Eastern Europe” program. Their ten-day, six-city tour organized by AJC and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation ended with two days in Los Angeles, where they met with leaders in the community and visited cutting-edge institutions working in the realm of social justice. |
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The program began in Santa Monica with a presentation on immigration from the immigrant rights organization CHIRLA. The following day started at Homeboy Industries (which assists at-risk and formerly gang-involved youth) with a delicious breakfast at Homegirl Café followed by a tour of the facility. The group proceeded with a visit to the City Hall, where they were treated to an impromptu photo-op with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a welcome from City Councilmember Paul Koretz. After lunch the leaders visited PATH, People Assisting the Homeless, and learned about their unique model for serving the growing homeless population in Los Angeles. Having visited the LA must-see, Hollywood Boulevard, the group met with Adrian Dove, L.A. County Commissioner of Human Relations and President of CORE-California.
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| If you are interested in participating in next year’s program, please contact Gosia Szymanska. |
Heartfelt thanks for this year’s program go to Doris Haims, Michael Newman (Co-chairs of the program) and to Rachel Rappaport.
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