BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A World Jewish Congress assembly adopted a resolution calling the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel a manifestation of anti-Semitism.
On Wednesday, a special Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, voted to approve the resolution, which “considers the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement, and all other attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel, to be manifestations of anti-Semitic discrimination against the only truly democratic country in the Middle East, and damaging to any genuine efforts for peace in the region.”
More than 400 delegates and observers from 67 Jewish communities in 40 countries are on hand for the assembly, which is being held for the first in Latin America.
The resolution also lauds the efforts of countries and community leaders who have taken concrete action to condemn BDS or acknowledge the discriminatory nature of BDS and other forms of unlawful activities against Israel, including the executive, legislative or judiciary bodies of the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom, as well as American states such as Illinois, South Carolina and Tennessee.
It commends the WJC leadership for establishing a department in the organization’s New York office to counter BDS and other forms of discrimination against Israel, bringing together like-minded organizations and movements from around the world.
“We will answer the lies on the Internet and in the media with the truth,” WJC President Ronald Lauder said in a keynote address. “Remember one important fact: We are not the Jews of the 1930s. We have influence; we have great power, we have tremendous resources, and we have creativity that is the envy of the world. I intend to use everything in our arsenal, and I will not be silent. We will not be silent. The world will hear our voice.”
The assembly also voted unanimously to allow Lauder to serve a third consecutive term as WJC president, as stipulated by the organization’s constitution.
Also Wednesday, Buenos Aires lawmaker Omar Ahmed Abboud, former secretary-general of the Islamic Center of Argentina, presented a proclamation by the Argentina capital’s legislature to declare Lauder a “Guest of Honor” of the city.
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