30 YEARS OF AJC HISTORY
February 2004 Thanks to the generosity of Rhoda and Jordan Baruch , the AJC Transatlantic Institute opens in Brussels , Europe ’ s capital , to deepen diplomatic outreach and foster transatlantic ties among the European Union , Israel , and the U . S .
2004 In response to widespread stigmatization and distortion of Israel on American campuses , AJC partners with Brandeis University to launch the Summer Institute for Israel Studies , which prepares professors to return to their campuses to initiate and teach courses on modern Israel . To date , it has prepared 336 professors from across North America and around the world to teach Israel Studies in their respective disciplines . Summer Institute alumni have taught 1,272 courses about Israel to more than 31,739 students at 235 institutions worldwide .
June 2004 In an unprecedented partnership , AJC and the Polish government join together to plan and fund the Bełżec Memorial Museum , which documents and commemorates the victims of the German death camp . Between March of 1942 and June of 1943 , an estimated 500,000 Jews were murdered by the SS at Bełżec Nazi extermination camp , which is considered the deadliest death camp after only Auschwitz and Treblinka .
2004 After a decades-long absence , AJC returns to Paris , opening an office to serve France ’ s Jewish community and to serve as the headquarters of AJC Europe , now encompassing a total of seven posts across the continent . Pictured at left is David Harris with Nicolas Sarkozy , President of France ( 2007-2012 ).
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2004
30 YEARS OF WORLD HISTORY
2004 The position of Congressional Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism is established by the Global Antisemitism Review Act of 2004 .
December 26 , 2004 An undersea earthquake of 9.3 magnitude is documented in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia , resulting in a series of massive tsunami waves up to 100 feet tall . An estimated 227,898 people in 14 South Asian countries are killed , making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history .