NEW YORK – Although Israel is fighting a major war and the world has seen an explosion of antisemitism, the vast majority of Americans support Israel and stand by the Jewish people, World Jewish Congress President Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder told attendees of the organization’s dinner Thursday at the Museum of Modern Art.

“We are not alone. We are not alone,” he declared to the audience.

At the event, Amb. Lauder awarded WJC’s top honor, the Theodor Herzl Award, to The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, for being an outspoken opponent of antisemitism, a tireless supporter of Israel and a devoted friend of the Jewish people.

“His fight against antisemitism is a most articulate and enduring passion,” Amb. Lauder said, adding, “None of us could imagine that Israel would be attacked not by just by Hamas but by the rest of world. It makes our friends that much more important.”

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.

Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative Party in 1984 to the largest victory in Canadian history, becoming that nation’s eighteenth prime minister. He was re-elected in 1988, becoming the first Canadian prime minister in 35 years to win successive majority governments and the first Conservative prime minister in 100 years to have done so. He resigned in June 1993, having served almost nine years as premier.

His government introduced bold new initiatives such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Canada-U.S. Acid Rain Treaty and the Canada-U.S. Arctic Cooperation Agreement. His government played leading roles in the campaign to liberate Nelson Mandela and end South African Apartheid, the creation of Le Sommet de la Francophonie, the Reunification of Germany and the first Gulf War.

“In my dreams, antisemitism is no more,” Mulroney said, adding that it is a “scourge that must be eradicated.”