Judaism
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The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has released an animated film, Who Are the Jews of America?, that explores the “history and diversity” of the American Jewish community for an Arabic audience.

The Arabic language animated film is part of the AJC series ‘An al-Yahud (“About the Jews”), which tells the story of American Jews, starting with the community’s origins to the present day.

“The Arab world is more open to learning about Jews and Judaism than ever before,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “Nevertheless, dangerous stereotypes and widespread ignorance about American Jews persist, feeding antisemitism in some corners of the Middle East and North Africa.”

The film notes American Jews’ experiences with antisemitism, but focuses on Jewish life in the United States and on the many contributions Jews have made to American society.

“While AJC has introduced our community to Arab leaders and government officials for decades, this video tells the story of our community to a vast new audience, broadening general understanding of American Jews and setting the stage for even stronger ties in the years to come,” Harris said.

The film talks about the diversity of the American Jewish community, explaining that while American Jews come from a variety of backgrounds and reflect a vast array of beliefs, they are united by their sense of community and belonging to the Jewish people, and also highlights the Jewish community’s involvement in the civil rights movement and in the struggles of other religious and ethnic minorities in America.

The film is the seventh in the ‘An al-Yahud series, which has been viewed by tens of millions of Arabic speakers, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Judea and Samaria, the AJC explained. It “builds on AJC’s unique, extensive, and longstanding engagement with the Arab and Muslim worlds.”

The previous six videos focused on the origins and beliefs of the Jewish people, the history of Muslim-Jewish relations, the Holocaust, Jewish ties to Jerusalem, the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and Israel’s diversity.