2024 World Jewish Congress Theodor Herzl Award Dinner

NEW YORK – The World Jewish Congress will sharpen its focus on U.S. education, in addition to the organization’s ongoing efforts to combat global antisemitism and extremism, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder told attendees of the organization’s gala dinner Tuesday at the Museum of Modern Art.

Amb. Lauder said that under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 62 U.S. colleges may now lose federal funding as a result of campus antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas brutally attacked Israel. The same may happen to another 43 K-12 schools, he added.

“I never thought I’d see such antisemitism in America, and we can’t pretend this isn’t happening,” he said. “We have all watched the growing anti-Jewish incitement in classrooms and on campuses, along with cowardly administrators, literally afraid of their own students.”

At the event, Amb. Lauder awarded WJC’s top honor, the Theodor Herzl Award, to Amb. Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who has spent considerable time in public service, including as governor of Utah and as U.S. ambassador to Singapore, China and Russia. The award celebrates individuals who work to promote Herzl’s ideals through international support for Israel and enhanced understanding of Jewish history, culture and peoplehood.

Amb. Huntsman began his storied career as a staff assistant to President Ronald Reagan and then served each of the five successive American presidents in critical roles around the globe, including as U.S. ambassador; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia; and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative.

Amb. Huntsman was also twice elected governor of Utah and is currently vice chairman and president, strategic growth, at Mastercard. He also is a trustee of the Huntsman Foundation, which has led the way in establishing the Huntsman Cancer Institute along with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, both at the University of Utah.

Upon receiving the award, Amb. Huntsman said it falls to “all of us stand with Israel and support an ultimate path to peace. That’s why last year, amid the drastic rise of antisemitism on college campuses especially in the wake of October 7, I sent a letter to the president of my alma mater Penn withdrawing the financial support of the Huntsman Foundation. What I wrote then remains true today: ‘Silence is antisemitism, and antisemitism is hate, the very thing higher ed was built to obviate.’ ”

Amb. Lauder, who is also a Penn alumnus, said, “People have wondered why Jon Huntsman, a Mormon from Utah, was so vocal” in calling out the University of Pennsylvania for its climate of antisemitism.

“Here’s the answer: It’s because Jon Huntsman believes in religious freedom,” Amb. Lauder added. “Jon Huntsman believes in fairness, logic and common sense” and knows that “eventually all people who don’t say ‘yes’ to the mob will be targeted.”

Amb. Lauder presented creative designer Tal Huber with the ninth WJC Teddy Kollek Award for the Advancement of Jewish Culture. Through her "Kidnapped From Israel" poster art, she has raised global awareness of the Israeli hostage crisis in Gaza and kept alive the hope for their safe return.

“Tal Huber came up with a simple but brilliant idea,” Amb. Lauder said. “She made the entire world look at the victims every single day. The faces remain indelible in our minds.”

As founder and owner of Giraff Visual Communications, Huber has driven innovative design solutions on behalf of Israeli-based global companies and organizations for over 25 years.

Committed to advancing the Jewish state and Jewish values, Huber has spearheaded branding and design projects for the Maccabiah Games, designed the official stamp for the State of Israel’s 70th anniversary, and rebranded the elementary-school tier of Israel’s education system.

On Oct, 8, 2023 – one day after the Hamas terror attacks in Israel – she suspended Giraff’s regular operations and launched the “Kidnapped” poster campaign. Over 1 million downloaded placards, translated into 37 languages, were hung in 150 countries and 3,000 cities worldwide. The posters received broad media attention and reached some of the world’s most important diplomatic and academic circles, including the UN; the U.S. Congress; the German, French and Czech parliaments; and several leading American universities.

The poster art galvanized millions of Jews and non-Jews worldwide to lobby on behalf of the hostages, while creating a unique bond between Israelis and Diaspora Jews that remains strong today.

“Like so many Israelis, I felt a need to act,” Huber said. “Thousands of posters are plastered throughout streets around the world. The vandalization of posters shows antisemitism is still very much alive.”

Previous recipients of the Herzl Award include Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister; Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, the Tenth President of the State of Israel; Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer; UN Secretary-General António Guterres; Amb. Nikki R. Haley, former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Lord Jacob Rothschild and Baron David de Rothschild, on behalf of the Rothschild family; U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin L. Powell; President Joseph R. Biden Jr.; U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz; Lord George Weidenfeld, British publisher and philanthropist; Secretary of State Dr. Henry A. Kissinger; President Ronald Reagan (posthumously); German publisher Axel Springer (posthumously); Elie and Marion Wiesel; and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Actor Kirk Douglas was honored with the inaugural Teddy Kollek Award in 2016, followed by film director George Stevens; philanthropist Robert Kraft; Broadway actor, singer, director and photographer Joel Grey; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Music Director Emeritus Zubin Mehta; violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman; documentary filmmaker Ken Burns; and Bret Stephens, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.

More information on the World Jewish Congress event can be found here.