The World Jewish Congress is seeking to build relationships with the world leaders of tomorrow, says Sylvan Adams, president of the World Jewish Congress-Israel.
“We live in an obtuse world where Israel is really on the margins. It’s almost a pariah state and we are in a precarious situation. This is why the activities of the WJC are more important than at any other time since its creation,” the Canadian-Israeli philanthropist told JNS on Wednesday.
Adams said WJC is working with members of the private sector and politicians to educate them on issues relating to the Middle East and Israel, organize visits and engage with nongovernmental organizations to support political candidates who would treat Israel more fairly.
The World Jewish Congress marked its 90th anniversary on Sunday with a gathering of Jewish leaders and international officials in Geneva, where the organization was founded in 1936.
The gala, hosted by the WJC and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), brought together WJC board members, Jewish community representatives from around the world, diplomats and government officials focused on combating antisemitism.
The WJC was created, Adams said, to represent the diplomatic interests of the Jewish people at a time when there was no Jewish state.
“If we thought that perhaps there was no longer a need for such representation and that we were coasting in an unprecedented golden era for Jews around the world, we have seen of course of late how hostile it has become for Jewish people around the world, particularly after Oct. 7, [2023],” Adams said.
“We saw a lot of weakness among Western governments, in particular in France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium and Holland, with respect to antisemitism, weekly demonstrations in London by mobs of violent people shouting blasphemous antisemitic statements like ‘Gas the Jews’ and ‘From the river to the sea,’ which is a call for genocide, eternal jihad, and all of these statements, while carrying Nazi symbols. We see it all over,” he added.
Adams said such behavior would never be tolerated against any other minority, yet appears to be tolerated when directed at Jews, and called on governments to put an end to it.
“We have seen, of course, this rhetoric eventually giving rise to actual violence, and it’s happening with greater and greater frequency. We saw in the United Kingdom the Golders Green stabbings, the arson of Hatzola ambulances, swastikas painted in Toronto and shootings at synagogues in Montreal,” he said.
“We don’t want to hear feeble comments from these leaders. The real way to stop this is to end this activity. This is not the exercise of free speech. It would not be tolerated against any other minority; it would be called hate speech. So why is it tolerated against Jews?” he asked.
‘The fake answers they give us’
The WJC brings this message to governments, Adams said, through meetings with heads of state, foreign ministers and police forces, emphasizing that Jewish communities need to be protected.
“Some of the fake answers they give us are that it is freedom of speech and anti-Israel rhetoric, but this kind of anti-Israel manifestation with swastikas and ‘Death to Jews’ slogans is really antisemitism masquerading as anti-Israel sentiment. We need to call it out, because it’s unacceptable. We don’t want words, we want actions. We have to carry this message to governments,” he said.
Among the highlights of the WJC gathering in Geneva, Adams mentioned Swiss President Guy Parmelin addressing the opening gala, welcoming the WJC’s return to the city in southwestern Switzerland and highlighting his country’s historic role as a center of diplomacy and international cooperation.
Adams said he had the privilege of awarding of the inaugural Israel Resilience Award to Itzik and Talik Gvili, the parents of IDF Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, and noted an address by Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.
“I could not have written the speech better than what he expressed. His main message was, ‘I am a Zionist and everybody should be a Zionist,’ and he proceeded to explain why he felt that way. It’s good to have someone from the media, where we have been so badly maligned with distorted coverage, a man of great conviction,” Adams said.
Adams also referenced the latest attack by The New York Times on the IDF, accusing it of training dogs to carry out sexual attacks on Palestinian prisoners.
“Every part of it is ludicrous. It’s not journalism, it’s journalistic malpractice by the New York Times. So it’s nice to have someone with a moral backbone who is a major player in the media scene when we are being so badly maligned in much of the conventional media,” he added.
The forces targeting Jews also seek to undermine wider Western society, Adams said.
“There is a rot in society, and the media, with its sensationalist false and inaccurate coverage, is part of the problem. Unverified, nonsensical propaganda is fed to them and passed on as news. It gets into the social media sphere and gets propagated. It is a planned and organized campaign by the Muslim Brotherhood backed by Qataris,” he said.
“These Western countries don’t realize they are being invaded by foreign forces. It’s foreign money and paid operatives. They might be locals, but they are paid by foreign entities and are propagating this antisemitic campaign. It starts with Israel, but we know this lunatic obsession does not end there.”
