AIPAC Scraps Ari Shavit Events Amid Scandal
Image by Getty Images
— The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has canceled Israeli journalist Ari Shavit’s participation in its events after two women accused Shavit of sexual assault.
AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, confirmed the decision to JTA after Mondoweiss, an anti-Israel publication, reported that a Nov. 10 San Francisco Bay Area event jointly put on by AIPAC and the local Jewish Community Relations Council had been canceled. A JCRC website link still advertises the event, but the web page itself has no content.
The first allegation against Shavit came in an Oct. 19 article in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles by reporter Danielle Berrin, who wrote that Shavit assaulted her during a 2014 interview. A second assault allegation, from an unnamed staff member at the dovish pro-Israel lobby J Street, was reported Sunday in the Forward.
Shavit announced he was temporarily leaving journalism due to the allegations.
AIPAC is one of several major Jewish organizations to drop Shavit following the allegations. Hillel International, the campus Jewish group, suspended a speaking tour by Shavit last week. J Street told the Forward that following the accusation against its staffer, it has not allowed him to speak at its events.
The Jewish Federations of North America told JTA that it would have canceled any Shavit events had they been scheduled.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
