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SAN DIEGO — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has a regional office in San Diego, headed by Sara Brown. Below is the AJC-San Diego report on its recent activities. Attending AJC Global Forum 2024 |
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Members of AJC San Diego’s delegation at AJC Global Forum 2024 |
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The AJC San Diego staff and lay leadership joined about 2,000 dedicated activists in Washington, D.C., for AJC Global Forum 2024—the premier global Jewish advocacy conference. We experienced incredible plenary sessions with esteemed speakers and engaged in breakout sessions on important topics regarding Jewish life in America, current events in Israel, and other global issues. This convening included attendees from over 50 countries, advanced American Jewish Committee’s mission, and sent a clear message: our support for Israel is strong and enduring, our drive to defeat antisemitism is unwavering, and our commitment to protecting the Jewish people is steadfast. There are a multitude of highlights from Global Forum, which are featured in the recap video. Notably, we heard from two university presidents, Ron Liebowitz of Brandeis University and Santa Ono of the University of Michigan. They shared best practices, hard lessons learned, and ways they plan to create a campus atmosphere where everyone—including Jewish students—are free to learn, study, and engage in the open exchange of ideas. Read five key takeaways from their discussions with AJC CEO Ted Deutch and Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, AJC Director William Petschek Contemporary Jewish Life. Additionally, we watched the anticipated annual Great Debate, which centered on the timely question, “What Does the 2024 Presidential Election Mean for the Jewish People and Israel?”. Experts Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and Morgan Ortagus, founder of POLARIS National Security and former Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, debated this topic. Watch the debate. The American Jewish Committee (AJC) annual global conference is the perfect platform to convene with other advocates from around the world, hear from leaders on many levels, and advance our goals. Join us next year when AJC Global Forum returns to New York City from April 27-29, 2025! |
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Lobbying our Representatives
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During Global Forum, we also had the opportunity to lobby our representatives. Led by Sara Brown, AJC San Diego Regional Director, we met with staff from Representative Mike Levin’s and Representative Scott Peters’ offices. Our group included two Jewish students from universities in San Diego, who shared their experiences with antisemitism and what they believe should be done to address it. We advocated for the enforcement of university codes of conduct to properly address incidences of antisemitism and hate on campus. In addition, we discussed the Countering Antisemitism Act in detail, encouraging the Representatives to cosponsor the Bill. Learn more about the antisemitism legislation here. We also thanked Representatives Levin and Peters for their ongoing support of Israel and the Jewish people. These were successful meetings and an incredible opportunity to share AJC’s priorities and advocate for the Jewish people and Israel. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to this success! |
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AJC CEO Ted Deutch Acknowledges Regional Offices |
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In this brief clip from his Global Forum closing plenary address, AJC CEO Ted Deutch praises the work of AJC’s 25 U.S. Regional Offices. One of the many accomplishments that he acknowledged included AJC San Diego’s inaugural symposium, “Standing Together: A Community Response to Antisemitism.” Our innovative Community Symposium is now being replicated in regional offices around the country and has now not only made an impact in our community, but in many around the U.S.. We are proud to have made such a large impact both here at home and across the country! |
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Hosting New York Times Columnist Bret Stephens |
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Bret Stephens and Sara Brown having a discussion during lunch event with the San Diego Latino Jewish community |
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AJC San Diego was excited to host Bret Stephens, well known op-ed columnist at The New York Times, here in San Diego. For an array of audiences, Bret engaged in “fireside chats” with our own Sara Brown and lay leader David Michan. They discussed various topics relating to the Jewish people such as American politics, the Israel-Hamas War, antisemitism, and global politics. This was an important experience of learning, perspective sharing, and garnering an understanding for issues on the local, national, and international level. Stephens is well known to the AJC Community for his pieces on foreign policy and domestic politics. For those new to Bret Stephens, he previously wrote “Global View,” the Wall Street Journal’s foreign-affairs column, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2013. Before that, he was editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post, a position he assumed at age 28. At the Post, he oversaw the paper’s news, editorial and digital operations, and its international editions, and also wrote a weekly column. |
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Sara Brown Honored at 15th Annual Women of Valor |
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This June, the 2024 Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival hosted the 15th Annual Women of Valor show, honoring six inspiring women who have had unique and significant impacts upon our community. One of the women honored was our very own Sara Brown, Regional Director at AJC San Diego. Also honored were Debbie Kornberg, Vered Libstein, Rabbi Devorah Marcus, Bev Pamensky, and Dr. Barbara Parker. The event consisted of six monologues performed by six actresses who played the women of valor. Each actress told the stories of the women from a first-person perspective, while photos from throughout their lives were projected behind them. The show was expertly directed by Ali Viterbi and written by Sarah Price Keating, Rebecca Myers, Todd Salovey, and Ali Viterbi. We are grateful to have one of the women of valor, Sara Brown, as our remarkable AJC San Diego Director. |
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Welcome, Rebecca Pearl! |
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This summer, we are welcoming Rebecca Pearl as an intern at the AJC San Diego office! Rebecca is a rising senior at UC Davis, where she studies both International Relations and Spanish. Rebecca is also the President of UC Davis Girl Up, a member of UC Davis Kappa Kappa Gamma, and a member of the UC Davis club equestrian team. Her experiences at her college campus post-October 7th have encouraged her to become more involved in the world of Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism. Rebecca will be assisting AJC San Diego this summer with the development of our inaugural Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program, which will provide Jewish high schoolers in San Diego with a space to explore their Jewish identities, learn about Jewish history and culture, and develop their own Jewish communities. Welcome, Rebecca! |
Preceding provided by the San Diego regional office of the American Jewish Committee.