AJC Global Forum 2014 Convenes May 12-14 in Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK, May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator John McCain, the foreign ministers of Canada, Cyprus, France, and Singapore, and a top Israeli Cabinet official, will be among the featured speakers at the AJC Global Forum 2014, May 12-14, in Washington, D.C.

Moreover, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyukof Ukraine will deliver a special video message to AJC from Kiev.

"Our annual Global Forum is an absolutely unique, energizing, highly informative experience, a must for engaged Jewish advocates," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "There is simply no other Jewish gathering like it anywhere."

AJC is the premier global Jewish advocacy organization, and this year's Global Forum will bring together more than 1,700 participants from across the U.S. and 60 Jewish communities around the world. This is the second highest attendance figure ever for the Global Forum, topped only by the 2,200 people who attended the centennial celebration in 2006. The full Global Forum program is available at www.ajc.org.

Senator John McCain will be among those addressing the opening plenary session on May 12, and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will speak at the closing session on May 14.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird (who addressed the Global Forum in 2012), French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam, and Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Minister of International Relations, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs, will share their respective views on regional and global political and security challenges.

Iran's nuclear program will be tackled in the "Great Debate," another regular feature of the Global Forum. Roger Cohen of The New York Times, and Bret Stephens of TheWall Street Journal, will face-off in a reprise of their 2010 Global Forum debate on Iran.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of Great Britain will deliver a major address at the opening session on the state of the Jewish world.

Two U.S. Senators – Mark Kirk of Illinois and Chris Murphy of Connecticut – will speak at Global Forum breakfast sessions. Senator Kirk and AJC's David Harris, who recently visited Kiev, will address the Ukraine crisis. Senator Murphy will speak about Germany's increasingly important international role with AJC Berlin Director Deidre Berger and German Parliament Member Philip Mißfelder.

Reflecting AJC's commitment to understanding trends in the Muslim world, and how they influence U.S. and Jewish community interests, three leading Muslim activists -- Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Creator, THE 99; Irshad Manji, Founder and Director, The Moral Courage Project; and Mustafa Akyol, Columnist, Hurriyet Daily News– will speak at a plenary session, "Courageous Voices from the Muslim World."

In addition, a special highlight each year for Global Forum attendees is the opportunity to engage top officials directly in a series of private dinners. This year, there are nearly 40 such dinners with diplomats representing Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Further, Global Forum delegates will also participate in informational and training sessions on AJC priority issues before leaving the hotel on Wednesday afternoon for several hours of advocacy on Capitol Hill.

During the Global Forum, together with our Argentine Jewish partners, AJC will commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Iran-sponsored terrorist attack against the AMIA building in Buenos Aires, resulting in 85 fatalities.

The Global Forum will also be marking 20 years of AJC's pioneering relationship with the German armed forces and the tenth anniversary of our Transatlantic Institute in Brussels.

Immediately prior to the Global Forum, AJC will sponsor the fourth annual ACCESS Summit for hundreds of young activists from around the world.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer will speak at the start of the gathering on May 11, and Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Israel's Consul General in New York, also will address the Summit. The full ACCESS Summit program is available at www.ajc.org.

AJC, founded in 1906 and with headquarters in New York, maintains 22 regional offices across the United States, nine overseas posts and 31 international partnerships. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy described AJC as "the most effective, influential, and respected American Jewish organization."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee