United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to address gathering of world Jewish leaders
Amid mounting concerns about the bias against Israel prevailing at the United Nations, the world body’s new secretary general, António Guterres, will speak to the more than 600 representatives of Jewish communities in over 90 countries who are gathering in New York between Sunday and Tuesday for the Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress (WJC).
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder shakes hands with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, as WJC CEO and Executive Vice President Robert R. Singer looks on.
Australia will be represented bt the president of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Anton Block, immediate past president Robert Goot, the president of The Jewish Community Council of Victoria Jennifer Huppert, the president on the Jewish Community Council of South Australia Norman Schueler and the ECAJ’s Director of Public Affairs Alex Ryvchin.
Guterres’ speech at the opening dinner on 23 April marks the first time a UN secretary-general addresses such a gathering of senior Jewish leaders from around the world.
The Plenary Assembly, which is supreme decision-making body of the WJC, will hear reports about the situation of Jewish communities world-wide and discuss major issues, including antisemitism and the rise of extremist political movements. A WJC-commissioned report will be presented that details the proliferation antisemitism on the internet, and policies to combat such phenomena will be discussed. The delegates will also elect the WJC leadership for the coming four-year term. Current WJC President Ronald S. Lauder is standing for re-election.
Other speakers at the event include UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (tbc), Israeli Minister of Intelligence and of Transportation Yisrael Katz, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, US Representatives Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey and Lee Zeldin, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism Katharina von Schnurbein, as well as the Jewish Nobel Prize laureates Roald Hoffmann (Chemistry), Daniel Kahneman(Economics) and Eric Kandel (Medicine).
