In his first public address since being appointed President of the Israel Region of the World Jewish Congress, philanthropist Sylvan Adams delivered a speech today at the Diaspora Ministry’s Combating Antisemitism Conference, calling for Jewish unity in confronting the global forces fueling modern antisemitism.
Adams opened by thanking the Diaspora Affairs Ministry for hosting the gathering and “for inviting speakers from all political stripes. We Jews need friends, and if members of the right or left dissociate themselves from, and call out the antisemites, then I am happy that they have agreed to come to Israel to publicly express these views.”
Referring to critics of the conference who opposed the inclusion of certain European leaders, Adams emphasized the need for Jewish unity in the face of adversity: “We Jews remain deeply divided, even in the face of the hostile forces which surround us... But when we are attacked, we stand together and cannot be defeated. The strength of our unity will defeat any enemy, including the antisemites. Let’s find common ground and engage new friends. We Jews are not the boycotters. No, it is the haters and antisemites who encourage boycotts of our products, institutions, and people. Jews are the People of the Book; we must debate, not boycott. So let’s talk to each other.”
Adams highlighted the rising global threats facing the Jewish people in the aftermath of October 7th, including antisemitism on both political extremes and a coordinated campaign by hostile state actors: “October 7th revealed a latent antisemitism throughout the world that we thought had disappeared. This comes from a combination of radical anti-Israel Muslims and their useful idiot ideological captives. These demonstrations are not spontaneous. Led by Qatar, Iran, and more recently, China, there has been a 20-year campaign directed against us, funded by trillions of dollars. Beginning with the Qatari propaganda network of Al Jazeera, they also created a massive pre-meditated campaign to infiltrate Western universities and institutions, that pushes an anti-Israel, antisemitic ideology that we have seen openly manifested since October 7th in ugly demonstrations and tent camps."
Conversely, Adams thanked the Trump Administration for its strong stance on combatting antisemitism and anti-Israel campus protests: "We can unequivocally thank President Trump for his strong actions on antisemitism, including having recently concluded a deal with Columbia University, to regulate campus activity that will constrain these organized anti-semitic groups. I am confident that, given the financial measures that the Trump administration has clairvoyantly imposed, the majority of universities will likely follow suit and take similar steps to what Columbia has agreed."
Adams closed with a call to action for Jews everywhere: “As we did in the aftermath of the October 7th pogrom, I call on all parties, all Jews, to seek common ground, and unite. We can defeat any enemy, including antisemitism, and continue to be a light onto the world.”