Dozens of diplomats and dignitaries from around the world visiting New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly briefly departed Turtle Bay on Wednesday evening to head across town for the American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Jewish Diplomacy Reception, held at the Harmonie Club. 

The AJC Diplomatic Marathon, launched in 1991, and its reception, have become a main event of UNGA week, especially among Jewish leaders. Those spotted at the event included Eric Fingerhut, CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America, and William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Featured speakers at the reception on the sidelines of the annual confab included Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, and Rabbi Andrew Baker, AJC’s director of international Jewish affairs, in conversation with AJC CEO Ted Deutch. Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the defense, interior and foreign affairs committee of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council, and Yamit Ashkenazi, the older sister of Doron Steinbrecher, a 31-year-old who remains in Hamas captivity, also spoke. Tal Becker, a veteran peace negotiator and legal advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was presented the Madeline and Bruce Ramer Award for Diplomatic Excellence for his work to promote peace in the Middle East. 

Lipstadt spoke about putting together a new U.S. State Department document, published in July, meant to inform how governments around the world can effectively respond to antisemitism with 12 guidelines, “like the 12 tribes,” she said as the crowd erupted in laughter. 

“We wrote them for leaders of countries [and] now have university presidents looking at the guidelines,” she said. “Nothing in them will surprise you.”

Lipstadt continued, “Leaders have to speak out expeditiously, unequivocally when there is antisemitism. If you know it, you see it, say something. You don’t politicize, it doesn’t matter whether it comes from the right, the left, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Jew, it’s wrong… too often, I have friends on the left who see antisemitism on the right and friends on the right who see it on the left. Both are correct but they don’t see it next to them. When that happens I have to ask, ‘are you interested in fighting antisemitism or your political enemies on the other side?’”   

The evening also recognized AJC’s Center for a New Middle East, which launched in June to advance the organization’s existing work in Israel and the Gulf. At the time, Deutch told eJewishPhilanthropy that the center will host conferences and business programs in the U.S., Israel and the Gulf, as well as work with emerging leaders in Israel and the Arab world.

AJC staff and lay leaders plan to hold meetings with more than 80 world leaders and diplomats,  throughout the week, with the goal of addressing solutions to combat rising global antisemitism, advocating for Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas and promoting efforts to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza.  

This year’s Diplomatic Marathon occurred less than two weeks before the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel. 

“As we have done since Oct. 7, we are urging every world leader to not only call for but to also join in the effort to bring the hostages home,” Deutch said. “We continue to counter attacks against Israel’s legitimacy, the related global surge in antisemitism and Iran’s destabilizing actions throughout the Middle East and Europe.”