JERUSALEM – World Jewish Congress (WJC) President
Ronald S. Lauder delivered a landmark keynote address to more than 350
delegates representing over 70 Jewish communities at the WJC’s Plenary Assembly
in Jerusalem. In his remarks, Lauder laid out a bold vision for Jewish
resilience and unity in the post-October 7th world.
“Just as Israel failed to anticipate Hamas’ surprise
assault, we failed to anticipate the all-out offensive on the mindset of the
free world,” Lauder said. “Because of this, Israel didn’t just suffer the
attack on October 7th — the entire Jewish world was attacked on October 8th.”
Calling for a renewed global effort, Lauder declared: “What
is needed now is a new project for the Jewish people — one that educates
millions of children, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. We must go school by school
to remove anti-Israel and antisemitic teachers and administrators. This will
not be easy, but the World Jewish Congress must lead the way.”
Lauder, who has served as WJC President since 2007, was
unanimously re-elected by delegates of the Plenary. Chella Safra was elected
Chair of the WJC Governing Board, Aaron Frankel was named Treasurer, and David
Koshitzky, Chair of WJC North America, was tapped to lead the WJC Policy
Council. Results of the WJC Executive Committee elections will be announced on
Tuesday morning.
Lauder’s speech followed a special ceremony in which Israel’s
President Isaac Herzog awarded Lauder with the country’s Presidential Medal of
Honor, recognizing his decades-long dedication to Israel and the Jewish people.
Addressing Lauder’s extensive contributions to the Jewish
world, President Herzog said “This moment, reflecting on the public labors of a
lifetime, of one of the foremost Jewish leaders of our generation, gives me
enormous pleasure and pride.”
He added, ”your work within the World Jewish Congress has
positioned it as a global organization with enormous reach and influence. It is
an organization which I hold in the highest regard as a core diplomatic arm of
the Jewish People, and Jewish communities everywhere.”
Delegates at the Assembly also voted on a comprehensive
slate of policy resolutions.
Former Hostage Tal Shoham and Family Honored with WJC
Resilience Award
At an opening gala event on Sunday, hosted by WJC Israel
Regional President Sylvan Adams at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, U.S.
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivered a keynote address emphasizing the
need to stand firm against extremism and reinforce global security.
In one of the evening’s most emotional moments, Ambassador
Huckabee, together with Lauder and Adams, presented a special Resilience Award
to former hostages Tal Shoham, his wife Adi, and their children Yahel and
Naveh, honoring their courage and survival in the face of unimaginable terror.
Speaking during the event, Amb. Huckabee described the root
of the threat that Israel and the United States currently face. “We need to
unite like never before, recognizing that all roads of terror and the hideous
things that Hamas has done to Tal and so many others came out of the kitchen of
Tehran,” said Huckabee.
“The solution is not simply to cut the twigs of the tree,
but to go to the trunk of the tree, and once and for all make sure that this
threat to Israel, the United States, and free and decent people with a moral
code is delt with,” he declared.
TikTok COO Joins WJC for Discussion on Digital Hate
As part of the Plenary Assembly’s programming, TikTok Chief
Operating Officer Adam Presser participated in a one-on-one public conversation
with Yfat Barak-Cheney, Executive Director of the WJC’s Technology and Human
Rights Institute.
The discussion focused on TikTok’s efforts to combat
antisemitism and hate speech, the challenges of moderating harmful content, and
the evolving responsibilities of tech companies in the age of generative AI.
Presser also outlined TikTok’s growing collaboration with the WJC, including
Holocaust education initiatives and content moderation reforms.
Notably, TikTok now redirects users searching for
Holocaust-related terms to AboutHolocaust.org
— an educational platform developed by the WJC and UNESCO. The partnership has
driven over 3 million annual visitors to the site, making it one of the most
effective redirection initiatives in the digital space.
About the World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is the international organization representing Jewish communities in 100 countries to governments, parliaments and international organizations.