B'nai B'rith
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The Independent Order of B'nai B'rith (Hebrew: בני ברית, "Sons of the Covenant") is the oldest continually-operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was founded in New York City by Henry Jones and 11 others on October 13, 1843. The organization is engaged in a wide variety of community service and welfare activities, including the promotion of Jewish rights, assisting hospitals and victims of natural disasters, awarding scholarships to Jewish college students, and opposing racism and anti-semitism through its [Center for Human Rights and Public Policy].
Besides its welfare activities, B'nai B'rith is also a vocal supporter of Israel. Together with AIPAC, it created in 2002 an initiative called 'BBYO 4 Israel'.
Also, until 2001, B'nai B'rith sponsored the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO), which is now [BBYO, Inc]. BBYO, an organization for high school-age Jewish teens, was founded in 1923, and is comprised of the boys' order, Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), and the girls' order, B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG).
It has been referenced in a episode of the Simpsons "Today I Am A Klown" where Krusty the Klown mentions to the Springfield Jewish Walk of Fame about how much he contributes to the B'nai B'rith.
B'nai Brith Canada
The Canadian section of B'nai Brith (the Canadian organization uses no apostrophe in "Brith") was founded in 1875 and is the country's oldest Jewish service organization. In recent years it has been a rival to the Canadian Jewish Congress as "the voice" of Canada's Jewish community and is considered to be the more outspokenly conservative body of the two, particularly in its publication the The Jewish Tribune (compared to the more moderate Canadian Jewish News). B'nai Brith Canada (BBC) is also considered to be closer to the Likud in its views of Israel and Zionism than the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) which is officially non-partisan as to Israeli politics. In Canadian politics, although both groups are officially non-partisan, several former senior officials in the CJC, such as former President Irwin Cotler, have run as candidates for the Liberal Party of Canada, while Frank Dimant, executive director of B'nai Brith, considered running as a candidate of the conservative Canadian Alliance in the 2000 federal election.
Adam Aptowitzer, the Ontario chairman of B’nai Brith Canada’s Institute for International Affairs, was widely criticized by Canadian Arab and Muslim groups after he made statements on the October 19, 2004 Michael Coren Show (a television talk show airing in Canada) defending the use of "terror" tactics by Israel against Palestinians. Aptowitzer argued that such actions were permissible when used to prevent deaths, saying "When Israel uses terror . . . to destroy a home and convince people to be terrified of what the possible consequences are, I'd say that's acceptable use to terrify someone." Aptowitzer later explained that in light of the definition the panelists on the show had adopted for the purposes of their discussion, "deterrence could be classified as a terrorist action," and said he had meant only that destruction of property “to save innocent lives may be justified.” [link] In the wake of the controversy, Aptowitzer immediately resigned his B'nai Brith position. B’nai Brith Canada issued a statement disavowing Aptowitzer’s remarks (saying that they did not represent “the position of B’nai Brith Canada”) and stating the organization's belief that Israel's actions against Palestinian terrorist attacks "constitute legitimate self defence and not 'state terrorism.'" Some critics of B'nai Brith Canada, in particular some Muslim groups, felt that statement did not go far enough.
Some feel that the criticism was an unfair double standard since in the same program Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, Canadian Islamic Congress president, insisted that all Israeli citizens over 18 years old were legitimate targets for Palestinian suicide bombers because they might join the Israeli army. [link] He criticized the recent bombing of hotels in Taba, Egypt on the grounds that some of the victims there were not Jews. [link]. Dr. Elmasry was widely denounced for his comments by Jewish and Muslim organizations and the press; he later denied having said what he was recorded saying on-air. Later, he claimed that he offered his resignation but that it was rejected; he kept his position as president of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
Awards
B'nai B'rith International bestows various recognitions and awards, including its Presidential Gold Medal awarded every few years to honor the recipient's commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Recipients have included David Ben Gurion, John F. Kennedy, George H.W. Bush, and Golda Meir. In November 2005, the Gold Medal was given to former Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky, [link][link] and in May 2006, it was awarded to Australian Prime Minister John Howard. [link] [link]Location of Source Materials for Research on B'nai B'rith
The [Western Jewish History Center], of the [Judah L. Magnes Museum], in Berkeley, California has a large collection of historical records and papers, membership ledgers, correspondence, reports, and photographs that document the history of B'nai B'rith's Grand District Number Four (which included the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as well as the Canadian Province of British Columbia) for the years 1963-1992.
External links
- [B'nai B'rith International]
- [B'nai Brith Canada]
- [B'nai B'rith UK (United Kingdom)]
- [B'nai B'rith Australia/New Zealand]
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