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Tim Lessick

October 26, 2016

American Jewish World Service Lauds the U.S. Agency for International Development for Banning Discrimination in International Aid Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

AJWS President and CEO Robert Bank Urges Administration to Extend Full Non-Discrimination Clauses in Contracting, Grantmaking and Procurement Policies to Other Agencies WASHINGTON, D.C. – American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the leading Jewish international development and human rights organization, applauds the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Administrator Gayle Smith for ensuring that …

October 26, 2016

USAID bans anti-LGBT discrimination among contractors

A U.S. Agency for International Development rule that formally bans contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity took effect on Tuesday. National Security Advisor Susan Rice made the announcement on Wednesday during a speech at American University’s School of International Service in Northwest Washington. She said the rule means that …

October 25, 2016

Foreign Aid for Haiti

To the Editor: Re “After Storm, Haiti Tries to Avoid Flaws of 2010 Quake Relief” (news article, Oct. 22): As a Haitian professional working on the front lines of disaster response to Hurricane Matthew, I applaud your reporting on the need to ensure that international aid agencies give generously while respecting and collaborating with the …

October 14, 2016

Leading Jewish Organization to Provide Emergency Hurricane Funding to Local Partners in Haiti

Locally-Driven Recovery Efforts Most Effective Means to Rebuild the Country in the Wake of Hurricane Matthew NEW YORK – American Jewish World Service (AJWS), the leading Jewish international development organization, is raising funds for and working with local organizations in Haiti to support their response to the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. …

October 10, 2016

On Haiti and the Ethics of Disaster

Last week I messaged a source of mine in Haiti near Port-au-Prince to ask how he’s weathering the storm that hurricane Matthew has wrought upon his country. He replied that houses in his neighborhood had fallen “victim to floods.” The good news? “No one has died.” That’s more than people living on Haiti’s southern peninsula can …

October 7, 2016

Homes leveled, cemeteries “floating up”: the state of Haiti after Hurricane Matthew

Before Hurricane Matthew began its journey up the eastern seaboard, it tore through the Caribbean with life-threatening wind, rainfall and storm surges. Now, as parts of the U.S. still brace for the storm, Caribbean countries are taking stock of the devastation. Perhaps none were as hard hit as Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, where …

October 6, 2016

An Open Letter to Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper

Dear Martha and Anderson, As an American citizen born in South Africa and a global human rights leader, I laud you, your respective networks — ABC and CNN — and the Commission on Presidential Debates for inviting the public to submit questions for both presidential candidates, who will debate each other for a second time at Washington University in …

October 5, 2016

JDC dispatches aid to hurricane-stricken Haiti

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is providing aid to Haiti after a hurricane caused widespread damage in the Caribbean country. The Jewish humanitarian group, partnering with the on-the-ground relief organization Heart to Heart International, is focusing on providing medical aid and serving the basic needs of those affected by Hurricane Matthew, according to a …

October 2, 2016

Coalition of faith leaders and faith-based organizations urges faith communities to support LGBTI communities under attack

In response to hateful anti-LGBTI attacks by American “faith leaders” at the recent World Congress of Families in Kenya, American Jewish World Service (AJWS), 250+ faith leaders and dozens of faith-based organizations have condemned American extremists who export hatred of LGBTI people to developing countries. To punish LGBTI people for who they are and whom they …

September 30, 2016

Different is not dangerous

When Donald Trump, Jr. callously compared Syrian refugees to poisoned pieces of Skittles, he further degraded our debased national conversation and firmly situated himself in a long American tradition of dehumanizing immigrants and refugees. Now is the time to counter this kind of hate and exclusion with love and inclusion. My grandparents were Lithuanian Jews …