The World Jewish Congress on Tuesday canceled the participation of Yair Golan, head of Israel’s Democratic Party, following remarks he made earlier in the day that were widely interpreted as suggesting Israel soldiers "kills babies for fun."
The decision to disinvite Golan came just hours before the start of the Congress’s events in Jerusalem, where global Jewish leaders gathered to address rising antisemitism and chart a course for Jewish unity and advocacy in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Also addressing the assembly was World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, who issued a forceful call to remove antisemitic and anti-Israel educators from school systems worldwide. “We must launch a global effort,” Lauder told more than 350 delegates from 70 countries. “We must go school by school to remove anti-Israel and antisemitic teachers and administrators. This will not be easy, but the World Jewish Congress must lead the way.”
Lauder warned that a new war is being waged not on the battlefield, but through education, media and diplomacy. “Our enemies understood they couldn’t defeat Israel militarily, so they invested billions in turning global public opinion against us,” he said. “We were blind to it. And just as Israel failed to foresee the October 7th massacre, we failed to see this campaign unfold across campuses, schools, and media.”
He called for renewed Jewish unity and greater investment in education and public advocacy, both in Israel and across the Diaspora. “The Jewish world must rise to this challenge — with unity, purpose, and pride. Am Yisrael Chai,” he concluded.
Lauder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who praised Lauder’s decades-long commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. “Your many years of work are exemplary of Jewish leadership,” Herzog said. “Under your leadership, the World Jewish Congress has become a core diplomatic arm of the Jewish people.”
