President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is the chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil, an energy company large enough to have its own foreign policy. It is a policy, however, that doesn’t always align with the priorities of Jewish and pro-Israel groups. Oil companies have clashed in the past with the pro-Israel lobby.
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Rex Tillerson will be Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, the president-elect tweeted this morning, setting off a new round of condemnations from Jewish groups. Jewish leaders are joining senators on both sides of the aisle in raising concerns about the Exxon Mobil CEO, who has close ties to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
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Statement of Robert Bank, President and CEO of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), regarding the appointment of Stephen Bannon as Chief White House Strategist by President-elect Donald J. Trump: NEW YORK, NY – “As a community committed to working across borders and cultures to uphold the dignity and rights of the most persecuted and oppressed …
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Please find below a post-election message from Robert Bank, President and CEO of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), that was shared with supporters today: Dear Supporters of AJWS, I am writing to you at this defining moment in history, as you are a friend who is fully committed to the dignity and rights of every …
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We are honoring Ruth Messinger, leader of AJWS for 18 years, with an evening of inspiring speakers, global cuisine, and music from Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Read MoreLast year, as part of an alternative Rosh Hashanah service I attended, we discussed one of the central themes of the holiday—kingship. It was interesting to note how many of us ‘moderns’ struggle with the concept of an external authority who is judging us and then determining our destiny. Many of the participants spoke about …
Read MoreWe are pleased to welcome guest writer, Sarah Mulhern, program associate at American Jewish World Service. Parashat Nitzavim describes a ceremony through which the people of Israel will “enter into the covenant of Adonai [their] God.”[1] It is a powerful ritual, with its recited litany of curses for when the Israelites abandon God and blessings …
Read MoreParashat Ki Tetze contains 74 interesting and illuminating commandments—including one that, at first glance, gets my hackles up: “A man’s apparel should not be on a woman, and a man should not wear a woman’s clothing, for whoever does these things is an abomination before Adonai your God.”[1] For many of us—and especially for those …
Read MoreSouth Africa has one of the largest gaps between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in the world.[1] When l leave my apartment each morning, I find homeless people begging at every traffic light. Sometimes I hand out food and coins in an attempt to help those in my vicinity, but the problem is so vast …
Read MoreEach year when we reach Parashat Dvarim I experience a rush of exhilaration when I imagine the scene: the Israelites are gathered high on the steppes of Moab, having finally reached the end of their 40-year ordeal in the desert. As they wait for Moses to deliver his final address, they look out at the expanse below, and see the Promised Land at last. For a few moments, perhaps, their thoughts of the traumas behind them and the battles ahead are eclipsed by the simple joy that home is within their sight.
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