13TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY of the WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS JERUSALEM, 26-27 JANUARY 2009 PRESS REVIEW Selected Press Articles WJC Brussels Office – Page: 1 WJC Brussels Office – Page: 2 Ronald S. Lauder confirmed as president of World Jewish Congress European Jewish Press, Belgium 27 January 2009 Argentinian Eduardo Elsztain elected new chairman of Governing Board by: John Milner Ronald S. Lauder, 65-year-old American businessman and former US ambassador to Austria. Photo: Andres Lacko JERUSALEM (EJP)- Ronald S. Lauder was reelected as president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) at the organization‘s plenary assembly in Jerusalem. The 65-year-old American businessman and former US ambassador to Austria was confirmed by the 400 delegates representing Jewish communities in over 80 countries and several affiliated international Jewish organizations. In his speech to delegates, Lauder emphasized Diaspora Jewry‘s unwavering support for the State of Israel, especially in the face of threats by terrorist organizations. He criticized countries and international bodies such as the United Nations for applying ―double standards‖ when it comes to Israel and not providing enough support. Eduardo Elsztain, a Jewish leader from Argentina was elected new chairman of the WJC Governing Board, succeeding Matthew Bronfman. WJC Brussels Office – Page: 3 Argentinian Jewish leader Eduardo Elsztain, new Chairman of the WJC Governing Board. WJC secretary-general Michael Schneider was also confirmed in his post. Cobi Benatoff of Italy will become new WJC treasurer, replacing Elsztain in this post. Delegates also elected the following Jewish leaders vice-presidents of the World Jewish Congress: Rabbi Yaakov Bleich (Ukraine), Helena Glaser (Israel), Robert Goot (Australia), Flo Kaufmann (Great Britain), Charlotte Knobloch (Germany), Thomas Kraus (Czech Republic), Tamar Shchory (Israel), Rabbi Marc Schneier (USA), and Mervyn Smith (South Africa). Roger Cukierman, a former president of CRIF, the umbrella body of French Jewish organizations, was appointed vice-president by the European Jewish Congress, the WJC‘s regional affiliate. At the opening of the plenary assembly, Israeli President Shimon Peres told delegates that Israel was right to defend itself against thousands of rockets launched by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. "Instead of investing in the future the Palestinian people, Hamas is buying arms to fight against Israel." Israeli Defense Minister and Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, Diaspora Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed delegates. WJC Brussels Office – Page: 4 Lauder re-elected to head WJC Jewish Telegraphic Agency, USA 26 January, 2009 JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Ronald Lauder was re-elected president of the World Jewish Congress. The 13th Plenary Assembly on Monday in Jerusalem also confirmed Eduardo Elsztain of Argentina as the new chairman of the WJC Governing Board, succeeding Matthew Bronfman. Speaking to the delegates, Lauder emphasized Diaspora Jewry's unwavering support for the State of Israel, especially in the face of threats by terrorist organizations. He criticized countries and international bodies such as the United Nations for applying "double standards" when it comes to Israel. Israeli President Shimon Peres told delegates that Israel was right to defend itself against thousands of rockets launched by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. "Instead of investing in the future, the Palestinian people, Hamas is buying arms to fight against Israel," Peres said. Two candidates in the Feb. 10 race for prime minister -- Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the Labor Party leader, and Likud Party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu -- addressed the delegates. Diaspora Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog also spoke. WJC Brussels Office – Page: 5 Lauder: Sanctions will not block Iranian nuclear ambitions Jerusalem Post, Israel 27 January 2009 Etgar Lefkovits The president of the World Jewish Congress said Monday that economic sanctions against Iran will not stop the Islamic Republic from seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. "My concern is that they [the sanctions] will not stop Iran from their quest for a bomb," Ronald S. Lauder told The Jerusalem Post during a gathering of the New York-based organization in Jerusalem. "Economic sanctions always help [but] the question is how strong they are and what effect they have. They cannot affect a country in the short-term." In defiance of the UN Security Council and years of increasing economic sanctions, Iran continues to enrich uranium, which nuclear experts say is the hardest part of building a bomb. "We all know that the obfuscation and trickery of the mullahs in charge of that once great country have one clear goal - a nuclear bomb," Lauder said. The American cosmetics heir also said that he was confident that US President Barack Obama would be supportive of Israel, noting that the first African-American president's popularity in the Arab world would likely further peace talks in the Middle East. "I am totally confident that Obama and his administration will work as hard as they can to protect Israel and look for peace," Lauder said. "The fact that Obama will be accepted by the Arab world... is also a key to world peace." His comments comes just two days before Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George J. Mitchell, will arrive in Jerusalem for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and amid Israeli concern that the new US administration will pressure Israel. In an earlier address, Lauder blasted the world's "double standard" in criticizing Israel's recent military operation in Gaza, noting that no other country in the world would accept having thousands of missiles rain down on their civilians for years. "How long would your governments wait if you were threatened, not just by words that promised your destruction but by real rockets?" he said. "There is no question to how fast the US would have reacted." Lauder also blasted both the Red Cross and the New York based-Human Rights Watch for their "skewed" treatment of Israel. WJC Brussels Office – Page: 6 "These organizations pretend to be unbiased and care for all human beings..but from my observation they are nothing but pro-Palestinian fronts," he said. The remarks come at a time when anti-Israel protesters around the world - as well as some foreign government officials - have been comparing Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany. "When I look at the double standards that the world applies to Jews...I come to the sad conclusion that with anti-Semitism the best we can hope for is that it goes away for a time, but like a persistent and deadly virus it re-energizes itself after a generation or two and comes back in all of its hideous forms," he said. The WJC president said that the lesson of the 1930s was the need to immediately react to any anti-Semitic incident anywhere in the world, but especially in Europe, which has witnessed a spike of anti-Semitic incidents since the military operation against Hamas in Gaza began. "Today in Europe the situation is as bad as it ever has been," he said. "In reality, to my mind [being] anti-Israel and anti-Semitism are the same thing," he concluded. In an earlier address, Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu called for the establishment of broad alliance against anti-Semitism and the "creed of hate," with both Christians and moderate Muslims around the world. "I have no doubt that ultimately militant Islam will lose the battle against modernity and freedom," Netanyahu said. "The question is [at] what price until that defeat is assured." WJC Brussels Office – Page: 7 Peres blasts 'misrepresentation of facts' on Gaza op Jerusalem Post, Israel 27 January 2009 Greer Fay Cashman Speaking on Monday at the opening session of the 13th plenary of the World Jewish Congress, President Shimon Peres sought to correct what he termed "misunderstandings" and the "misrepresentation of facts" about the disproportionate number of Palestinian casualties in Operation Cast Lead. During the period 2000-2009 there had been 5,792 Qassam rockets and 4,411 mortars launched from Gaza against Israel, the overwhelming majority in the last two years. "I don't know of any other country that went through such an experience," said Peres. Citing statistics of Israeli casualties of Palestinian terrorism, Peres said 842 civilians and 325 soldiers had been killed in recent years, making a total of 1,167 fatalities. "So where is the disproportion?" he queried, making the point that more than a thousand Israeli lives were lost in attacks from Gaza, in addition to others from attacks in the West Bank. Contrary to charges that Israel did not permit the transfer of food and fuel into Gaza, Peres said that 42,327 trucks transporting essential supplies had been allowed into Gaza. "The whole story of a siege is totally unfounded. There was never a shortage of fuel. There was never a shortage of food," he said. As for the smuggling of weapons, Peres referenced an example of a stockpile discovered on September 12, 2005, that included 300,000 kg of dynamite, 20,000 weapons that included rockets, rifles, machine guns and pistols, and half a million kilograms of ammunition. Although he has "never given up on peace," Peres sees no alternative to fighting terrorism. "When you fight terrorism you can't have a victory characteristic of conventional war, because there is no uniform, no front, no army. The only way we have to stop terrorism is to hit terrorists hard." While expressing the hope that Hamas had learned its lesson, Peres was well aware that it would take something more than Operation Cast Lead for the lesson to have long lasting effect. WJC Brussels Office – Page: 8 "Now they want a cease-fire for one-and-a-half years," he said. "They want our agreement that after one-and-a-half years they can shoot again, and they want the right to bring in arms." Declaring Hamas to be "the greatest Arab problem," Peres asserted that many Arab people know that their problem is not Israel but Hamas.