Open Letter to President Xi Jinping: Former Ambassadors at Large for International Religious Freedom, USCIRF Chairs Call for Release of Pastor Jin Mingri

Dear President Xi,

As a group bound by our shared commitment to protecting and advancing the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief, we urge you to follow through on your recent conversations with President Donald Trump and release Pastor Jin Mingri, who has been detained for more than 200 days. 

We commend President Trump for raising this important case during the recent Beijing summit, even with so many vital and pressing issues on the agenda. His decision to mention Pastor Jin, specifically, underscores the deep importance that Americans of all faiths and belief traditions place on this particular freedom. 

You may question how a Chinese pastor has captured the attention and ardent support of an American president, hundreds of members of Congress from both parties, and millions of Americans from different walks of life. The simple answer is that we are all moved by Pastor Jin’s humility, his devotion to his faith, and his unwavering commitment to live out his beliefs, no matter the cost. We have also been deeply affected by the eloquent and heartfelt advocacy of his family members, who simply want the chance to reunite with their beloved husband, father, and grandfather.

This week, the case of Pastor Jin was submitted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, alongside the cases of two other imprisoned pastors, Gao Yingjia and Wang Lin. We believe that this body will likely find that there is no legitimate basis for their ongoing detention – as we have seen in many cases related to prisoners of conscience over the years. Such a ruling will only further underscore the injustice of the continued imprisonment of Pastor Jin.

You displayed your pragmatic side during the summit, suggesting that the United States and China should pursue a "constructive relationship of strategic stability.” In this instance, releasing Pastor Jin would be an important signal that you, and the Chinese government, understand and respect the United States’ deep conviction that freedom of belief is a foundational right. After all, America’s origin is inextricably linked to this right, which is enshrined in both our Constitution, as well as Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, we note Article 36 of China’s Constitution also guarantees “freedom of religious belief.” 

It is a complex task to build stability in a shifting world, but your decision to release Pastor Jin may be one important step towards that goal. We wholeheartedly urge you to make this decision and to restore the freedom of a good and faithful man.

Sincerely,

Ambassador Sam Brownback

U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, 2018-2021

Co-Chair, IRF Summit

Ambassador David N. Saperstein

U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, 2015-2017

Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 1999-2000

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett

Chair, USCIRF, 2012-13 & 2014-2015

Co-Chair, IRF Summit

Vicky Hartzler

Chair, USCIRF, 2025-2026

Stephen F. Schneck, Ph.D.

Chair, USCIRF, 2024-2025

Rabbi Abraham Cooper

Chair, USCIRF, 2023-2024

Nury Turkel

Chair, USCIRF, 2022-2023

Nadine Maenza

Chair, USCIRF, 2021-2022

Gayle C. Manchin

Chair, USCIRF, 2020-2021

Tony Perkins

Chair, USCIRF, 2019-2020

Tenzin Dorjee, Ph.D.

Chair, USCIRF, 2018-2019

Robert P. George, JD, DPhil, DCL, DLitt

 Chair, USCIRF, 2013-2014 & 2015-2016

Lantos Foundation Announces 2026 Activist Artist Scholarship Winners

Media Contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

press@lantosfoundation.org

Lantos Foundation Announces 2026 Activist Artist Scholarship Winners

$15,000 in Scholarships Awarded to Eight New Hampshire High School Seniors 

CONCORD, NH (May 9, 2025) — The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice today announced the winners of its annual Activist Artist Scholarship competition, now in its sixth year, which encourages students to explore the impact of art on the global human rights movement. The two first-place awards went to Candace Wyman of Timberlane Regional High School and Brogan Schroyer of Bishop Brady High School. Scholarships were also awarded to six runners-up, with a total of $15,000 awarded in scholarship funds.

As in previous years, the 2026 competition offered applicants the chance to submit to two distinct categories: In the original art category, applicants have the option to submit their own original piece of activist art, along with a “museum plaque” describing their work; the essay category challenges applicants to examine the influence of a particular “Activist Artist” and show how that artist used their medium to inform and inspire during their lifetime or beyond.

This year’s submissions focused on a range of global human rights issues, with many specifically highlighting the dire situation for women’s rights in Iran and Afghanistan. The essay submissions explored a variety of activist artists from different eras and in different media, from street art to comics, while the original artwork spanned digital illustrations, poetry, paintings, and sound art.    

The judges awarded Wyman first place in the original art category for her digital artwork titled “I Miss the Clouds,” which depicts an Afghan woman in an arresting “split screen” of life prior to and then after the fall of Kabul. Schroyer’s winning essay examined the work of the mysterious street artist Banksy and the provocative and challenging questions that his artwork forces the viewer to consider.

In the original art category, the judges selected four runners-up: Audrey Cote of Lebanon High School, for a digital portrait of an Iranian poet and LGBTQ rights activist; Alexandria Dowling of Timberlane Regional High School, for an acrylic on canvas painting celebrating the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” movement in Iran; Kyra Raczek of Newmarket Jr/Sr High School for an oil on canvas painting depicting the arrest of a Bangladeshi American by ICE agents; and Manafshay Shazad of Manchester Memorial High School, for sound art and poetry titled “Room 50.”  Scholarships were also awarded to two runners-up in the essay category: Julian Gutierrez Carbanzo of Nashua High School North, who examined the human rights impact of artist Keith Haring during the AIDS crisis; and Marcus Hamilton of Profile High School, whose essay discussed the powerful human rights messages found in the classic comics of Jack Kirby. 

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation, congratulated the scholarship winners and said, “It was a privilege to review the work of these talented students and to see the creative ways they are interpreting major human rights issues through art, as well as the critical thinking that they bring to this competition. Whether creating original artwork or analyzing the impact that activist artists have had on the world, these students truly impress me with their sophistication and their attention to the human rights violations unfolding globally and even closer to home. This is a critical moment to protect and work to advance human rights everywhere. It gives me hope to see the rising generation engaging in the topic of human rights with such passion, and I hope the scholarships will help these students carry this passion forward as they pursue higher education.” 

Funding for the scholarships has been generously provided since its inception through a grant from Bank of New Hampshire. “The Bank is proud to support the Lantos Foundation’s Activist Artist Scholarship and the remarkable students it supports each year,” said Robert Magan, SVP – Senior Wealth Management Officer. “These young artists and scholars are using creativity to shine a light on critical human rights issues, and their work is both inspiring and deeply impactful. Bank of New Hampshire is honored to support their educational journeys and to invest in a generation that is already making a difference through art and advocacy.” 

The winners were selected by a panel of judges from the New Hampshire arts and education communities, and beyond, with a diverse range of experience and perspectives. This year’s judges included: Bank of New Hampshire’s Robert Magan, digital media specialist Isaac Campbell, Lantos Foundation Board of Trustees Treasurer Ambassador Richard Swett, retired Lantos Foundation staff member Jill Hadaway, Executive Director of the Amer Foundation Zoya Fakhoury, and Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. The judges volunteered their time and expertise to review the submissions and come to agreement on the scholarship winners.  

Following graduation, the scholarship winners will continue their studies at a range of colleges and universities, including Boston College, Great Bay Community College and others. The scholarship recipients will be honored at a reception hosted by Bank of New Hampshire on Tuesday, May 19 at 6pm. Members of the press who wish to attend the event should RSVP to press@lantosfoundation.org.   

The Activist Artist Scholarship program falls within the Lantos Foundation’s “Global Citizenship” area of work. The Foundation recognizes the powerful, yet often overlooked, role that artists play in the human rights movement. Through the Activist Artist Scholarship and other programs, the Foundation seeks to encourage, support and elevate the work of artists who use their art to advocate for important human rights causes.

 To learn more about the Foundation’s Activist Artist work and to stay updated on future awards, visit: https://www.lantosfoundation.org/activist-artist    

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. Based in Concord, NH, the Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement. Past recipients of the Prize include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Elie Wiesel, Iraqi Parliamentarian Vian Dakhil, “Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina, Hong Kong Democracy activist Joshua Wong, NBA athlete turned activist Enes Kanter Freedom, among others.

Yom HaShoah 2026: The Dangerous Rise of AI-Generated Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial

By Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett and Yigal Carmon

Each year, Yom HaShoah – Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day – commemorates the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. As the last living witnesses to this history rapidly disappear, this day's importance only increases: Last year there were some 220,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide; today there are about 196,600.

This year's Yom HaShoah comes amid an unprecedented rise in antisemitism, as the memory of the Holocaust is under attack.

An existing and deeply distressing trend has increased over the past year: Prominent neo-Nazi and antisemitic influencers continue to visit former Nazi concentration camps, and other memorials to Holocaust tragedy and remembrance, to desecrate and mock them, sharing videos and selfies of this activity. Several of these memorial sites have reported vandalism, verbal abuse, intimidation, and disruptive behavior, from both far-right extremists and jihadi-linked individuals – to the point where guides, reception, and administrative staff at these sites have felt so threatened that emergency panic buttons are being installed.

Oliver von Wrochem, director of the Neuengamme concentration camp memorial near Hamburg and spokesman for the association of these memorials across Germany, underlined what he called a shocking state of affairs, noting, "Across Germany, graffiti, Hitler salutes and other attacks at concentration camp memorial sites have increased massively."

Last summer, American neo-Nazi content creator "Hermes" – real name Pijus Zemaitis – embarked on a European trip, stopping at Auschwitz, the Anne Frank House, and the infamous Wewelsburg Castle used by Himmler's SS, and sharing videos and photos of himself mocking Holocaust victims and celebrating the Nazi regime.

A few years earlier, in 2022, Jon Minadeo, the infamous neo-Nazi livestreamer and leader of the Goyim Defense League, and his sidekick Robert Wilson, aka Aryan Bacon, visited Auschwitz to unfurl antisemitic banners ridiculing the victims and Holocaust history. The footage of their activity was then shared extensively online, by both extremist and non-extremist accounts, to the amusement of many likeminded individuals – and to the horror of others.

Just last month, on March 19, a neo-Nazi user on Twitter shared two photos of herself giving a Roman salute at an unidentified Holocaust museum, writing: "Meanwhile, me at a holocaust museum."

As noted, this threat is not only from neo-Nazis; Islamist and jihadi-linked individuals target these sites as well. Recently, a 20-year-old Syrian man was convicted in Germany for his stabbing spree at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He had carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS.

But even as these outrageous attacks take place on memorials and places of historical significance for the Holocaust, an even more disturbing global trend has emerged – namely, the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the promulgation of antisemitism in general and Holocaust denial specifically. This is only one of the issues covered in the research of the MEMRI-Lantos Archives on Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial Project – the largest archives in the world of antisemitic content from the past quarter century in the Middle East and beyond.

This past year, the project's research, monitoring, and translations have been devoted to how AI is being used to generate, manipulate, and disseminate distortion, ridicule, and denial of the Holocaust and its victims and to glorifying its perpetrators. It is circulated at unprecedented scale and speed, for propaganda, recruitment, and radicalization – particularly among younger audiences who lack historical knowledge.

Just as it has worked to protect its Holocaust memorials and historical sites, Germany has emerged as a leader in the fight against AI-powered antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

As one of the earliest adopters of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, Germany began supporting AI-based detection efforts, such as the Decoding Antisemitism project, in 2024. In May that year, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution underlined the growing threat of AI-generated antisemitic imagery.

For International Holocaust Remembrance Day this past January 27 – the day aimed at confronting denial and distortion and safeguarding historical truth – a coalition of German Holocaust memorials, documentation centers, and historical research institutions, including memorials at former Nazi concentration camps, released an open letter. The letter sounded the alarm that the very memory that these institutions seek to protect is being eroded in real time.

This AI-generated falsified Holocaust content, they wrote, "distorts history by trivializing and kitschification," and is designed to dilute historical facts, switch the roles of victim and perpetrator, and spread revisionist narratives. Adding that this "undermines the credibility of memorial sites, archives, museums, and research institutions," they went on to call for decisive action to label, restrict, and remove this content. The statement went virtually unnoticed outside of Germany – but it should be read and widely disseminated.

Germany's State Minister for Culture and Media, Wolfram Weimer, framed the fight against this use of AI in unequivocally moral terms, saying that he supported the measures called for in the letter and adding: "This is a matter of respect for the millions of people who were killed and persecuted under the Nazi regime of terror."

Yom HaShoah recalls the darkness of the Holocaust, but also the courage and determination of the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto who rose up to resist their Nazi oppressors. In this era of ever-growing antisemitism, we must summon similar courage and will to push back against the forces that seek to distort and deny the Holocaust. Germany is in a unique position to lead the charge in terms of AI-generated Holocaust denial. With its population of over 70 million Internet users, and significant leverage over an EU population of over 450 million, Germany has the influence and capability to pressure AI companies to take the necessary measures to prevent this dangerous development from getting further out of control. In a world where antisemitism is becoming increasingly normalized and accepted, we cannot afford to let the power – and the deception – of AI supercharge the dangerous trajectory of rising hatred for the Jewish people.  

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett is President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. Yigal Carmon is Founder and President of MEMRI.

Statement: The Historic Results of the Hungarian Election

Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett released the following statement today:

Victor Orbán served as Prime Minister of Hungary for a total of 20 years over the past three decades (1998-2002, 2010-2026), and for the last 16 years straight. Many observers wondered whether Hungary's democracy could survive not only such a long and dominant tenure but also the model of “illiberal democracy” that Mr. Orbán introduced – a model that some have classified not as democratic but rather as “hybrid authoritarian.” Sunday's election results and the victory of Péter Magyar and the Tisza party provide a resounding answer to this question: Democracy is yet alive in Hungary.

As I reflect on yesterday’s election results, I believe my late father Congressman Tom Lantos would be cheering for Hungary and for the opportunity it now has to return fully to the path of democracy, which he and many others worked tirelessly to set it on after the Iron Curtain fell. Tom Lantos was one of the most prominent Hungarian-born Americans to serve in the U.S. Congress, and the only Holocaust survivor to do so. His unique experience as the sole American representative to have personally lived under both Nazi fascism and Soviet communism fueled his passionate patriotism for the United States of America. He appreciated better than most what a precious boon our remarkable and resilient democracy is. He also believed that his native country, for which he always retained a deep love, belonged in the community of democratic nations. There has been cause for concern at the direction Hungary has taken in recent years – both turning eastward toward Russia and China and in terms of changes to its constitutional system – but there is hope that today marks a turn in a better direction.

The victorious Péter Magyar, who is expected to become prime minister, now has an opportunity to course correct. To his credit, Mr. Orbán congratulated Mr. Magyar less than three hours after the polls closed, and he was honest with his supporters in saying, “The election result is painful for us but clear.” 

This is as it should be. Free elections are one of the most important hallmarks of a true democracy, as is the peaceful transfer of power between political adversaries. Hungary appears to have succeeded on both counts, which bodes well for the future of its democracy. Not only Hungarians, but all lovers of freedom can breathe a sigh of relief. Now comes the hard work of strengthening Hungary's democratic institutions that have faced challenges in recent years. 

We must all wait to see what the future holds for Hungary. Mr. Magyar’s Tisza party now enjoys a super-majority in the Parliament. It has been described as center-right and may well continue some of the Fidesz policies instituted under Orbán. However, there is hope that it will also work to roll back some of the political changes that have undermined electoral competition and diminished the independence of the judiciary. Much remains uncertain, but what we can all celebrate today is that the future of Hungary seems to be in the hands of the Hungarian people, where it rightfully belongs.

The Hungarian Parliament in Budapest (Credit: Dennis Jarvis - Creative Commons license)

Joint statement calling for the release of Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire

The following statement has been issued by the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, Human Rights Foundation, and Freedom Now.

A tireless opposition figure, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza has faced heavy repression at the hands of Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s regime for years. On Friday, March 27, 2026, the Rwandan Supreme Court rejected Ingabire’s challenge to the constitutionality of her June 2025 arrest and ongoing detention. This decision clears the way for Rwandan prosecutors to proceed with Ingabire’s trial, in which they seek a life sentence — a trial that will almost surely be unjust.

Ingabire was previously arrested in 2010, when she returned to Rwanda after leading an opposition coalition in exile. She was imprisoned for nearly eight years on charges of genocide denial and conspiring against the country through terrorism and war, though human rights experts condemned the trial as politically motivated. She won her case before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and received a presidential pardon in 2018. However, she was not allowed to register her party, was barred from running in Rwanda’s 2024 presidential election, and was repeatedly denied permission to travel outside of Rwanda to visit her family. 

Her re-arrest on June 19, 2025 took place only hours after she had fulfilled her civic duty as a witness in a trial concerning nine defendants, including eight members of her political party, Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi), and an independent journalist. Given Rwanda’s lack of an independent judiciary, it is highly unlikely, bordering on impossible, for Ingabire to receive a free and fair trial in the Rwandan courts. Her rights to due process have been violated from the outset of this ordeal, when agents from the Rwandan Investigation Bureau arrested her without presenting an arrest warrant. 

The Supreme Court’s decision in Ingabire’s case is part of a pattern that sees Rwanda’s courts serving the regime’s political interests rather than justice. The trials of other dissidents and activists have likewise been rife with due process violations and have rarely ended in fair verdicts. A vocal critic of the regime like Victoire Ingabire cannot hope for justice in such a system. 

In this harsh context, the international community must ensure that the Rwandan regime does not act with impunity. International legal monitors, in particular, must pay close attention to Ingabire’s trial as it progresses. Greater scrutiny will make it more difficult for the Rwandan regime to use the judicial system as cover to target and silence those who dare to speak out.  

We call on Rwanda to immediately and unconditionally release Victoire Ingabire and drop the charges against her. Until then, we urge the international community to monitor her trial and use its diplomatic leverage to hold Rwanda accountable to its human rights obligations. 

Background

Ingabire has been joined to the trial of the aforementioned nine defendants, who have been detained since 2021 on charges of forming a criminal organization and spreading false information merely for attending an online training on nonviolent resistance. In 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a decision condemning the imprisonment of the nine detainees as unlawful and calling for their release.

The prosecution first investigated and interrogated Ingabire in 2021 in relation to these events and concluded that there were no grounds for a case against her. On June 17, 2025, the High Court ordered the prosecution to conduct a second investigation into Ingabire’s alleged role in the training, which ultimately led to her arrest. The High Court’s order for a second investigation violates the principles of prosecutorial independence and the presumption of innocence, both protected by the Rwandan Constitution. Furthermore, the judges who ordered the second investigation will now decide the outcome of her case — a clear violation of judicial impartiality. 

The trumped-up charges against Ingabire include allegedly establishing or joining a criminal organization, inciting public unrest, undermining the authority of the government, spreading false information to discredit Rwanda abroad, conspiring to incite public disorder, and conspiring to organize a demonstration. For these, the prosecution is requesting a life sentence. 

The European Parliament has called for her release, and UN Special Rapporteurs have expressed concern. In November 2025, the Human Rights Foundation, Freedom Now, and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking it to declare her detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.

Lantos Foundation and Human Rights Foundation Announce New Strategic Partnership with Focus on Government Engagement and Freedom of Belief

Today the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice and the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and announced a new strategic partnership, which will include key areas of joint work and enhanced collaboration. The two organizations have a history of impactful cooperation, such as the establishment of the RIGHT Coalition and the Empty Box campaign. This partnership will formalize the collaboration.

HRF is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. For more than two decades, HRF has worked to elevate the voices of frontline activists and has supported efforts to advance freedom and democracy around the world through its programs, campaigns, and the annual Oslo Freedom Forum.

“The Lantos Foundation and HRF share so much in common in terms of our mission and focus, and I have always had tremendous admiration for HRF’s bold and creative approach to human rights advocacy,” said Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett. “In so many ways, our organizations have complementary expertise and capacities. We’ve seen the benefits of joining forces in the past, and it is the logical next step to turn our regular collaboration into a formal partnership where we can better plan and execute joint initiatives. I’m very excited about everything our teams will achieve together.”

“The Lantos Foundation has long been a principled and effective voice for human rights, particularly in its engagement with democratic governments and its leadership on freedom of religion or belief,” said HRF President Céline Assaf-Boustani. “By formalizing our partnership, we are bringing together two organizations with complementary strengths — HRF’s focus on authoritarian regimes and the Lantos Foundation’s deep experience in policy and advocacy. Together, we can amplify the voices of frontline activists and push democratic governments to take stronger action in defense of fundamental freedoms.”

The strategic partnership will initially focus on two primary areas of work, with room to expand the collaboration in the future. These will include:

Strengthening Global Government Advocacy: Since its establishment, the Lantos Foundation has made government advocacy a primary focus of its work. With this partnership, HRF and Lantos will combine efforts on government advocacy in Washington and beyond to extend the impact of HRF’s programs and campaigns and create more robust engagement with democratic governments around the world. These joint government advocacy efforts will also include the creation of a Washington segment of HRF’s Freedom Fellows mentorship program and will mark an exciting progression from the Lantos Congressional Fellows program. The new Washington segment will provide frontline human rights activists with invaluable training, experience, and connections to help strengthen their own government advocacy efforts, in the US and beyond. 

Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief in Authoritarian Regimes: Through a newly established joint program, HRF and Lantos will shine a spotlight on religious freedom violations taking place under authoritarian regimes throughout the world. The Lantos Foundation’s longtime engagement on religious freedom issues and HRF’s unique research and on-the-ground understanding of authoritarian countries will combine to create a program that seeks to protect and advance this sometimes overlooked human right. The program will elevate freedom of religion or belief in HRF’s work and research, including at the Oslo Freedom Forum, and seek to raise the profile of religious freedom issues within the broader human rights and democracy ecosystem. In keeping with the Lantos Foundation’s past advocacy, it will span the full range of religious communities, faith traditions, and belief systems, recognizing that conscience rights must also guarantee the right to freedom from any particular belief in theocratic societies.   

The new strategic partnership between HRF and the Lantos Foundation will be strengthened by the merging of key staff resources, with two senior Lantos Foundation employees taking on dual roles at HRF. Executive Director Chelsea Hedquist will also serve as the Head of Communications Strategy at HRF, while Director of Policy and Partnerships Candace Bryan Abbey will assume the role of Head of Global Government Engagement. The dual reporting structure will allow for streamlined integration of the key programs and initiatives of the partnership.

Statement: Finding Hope in the Aftermath of the Bondi Beach Massacre

Lantos Foundation President Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett released this statement following the tragic Bondi Beach massacre on December 14, 2025.

As young teenagers, my mother and father, Tom and Annette Lantos, became hated and hunted in their native Hungary, simply for the “crime” of being Jewish. It was a nightmare. Usually, we speak of awakening from a nightmare with the hope that life will resume a measure of normalcy and equilibrium. As I shared the news of the Bondi Beach massacre in Australia with my now 94-year-old Holocaust survivor mother, the thought came to me that for Jews around the world, we are instead awakening to a nightmare. Once again, Jews are being hunted and murdered simply because they are Jewish. Bondi Beach is the latest, but I fear not the last, such tragedy that the world will witness.

Many have already commented on the supreme irony of this attack occurring on the first night of Hanukkah – the Jewish holiday that celebrates hope, courage, determination and, above all, the light that miraculously was not extinguished.

The same day as the terrible events at Bondi Beach, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of murdered October 7 hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin and one of our 2025 Lantos Prize Laureates, published a beautiful essay about recently released footage of her son and five other hostages celebrating Hanukkah during their captivity. Her words are incredibly moving:

“Seeing these young, vibrant, and luminous Jews keeping alive their over 2,000-year-old tradition of lighting Hanukkah candles, even when in the bowels of hell on earth, you cannot help but feel something…In these dark times, it is a flicker of light. The flame is whispering something…It is hope. Hope! It’s not a suggestion, or advice. It is a command.”  

So, I ask myself, where do we find hope at such a time as this, with violent antisemitism surging throughout the world? One place that I find hope is in the powerful video of a brave Muslim fruit vendor, Ahmed Al Ahmed, who courageously charged forward to tackle one of the Bondi murderers, no doubt saving many lives. Amid the terror and darkness, this man’s humanity and bravery is more than a silver lining. It is a reminder and challenge to each of us to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and hated, whoever and wherever they may be. His willingness to step up at the moment of testing brings to mind the words of my late father Tom Lantos: “The veneer of civilization is paper thin. We are its guardians, and we can never rest.”

Each of us will face a moment of testing, and we will be forced to choose whether to do our part to keep the light of hope and humanity burning. In ancient Israel 2,000 years ago, at Hanukkah, the light did not go out. Nor will our light go out. We will never rest in our struggle to rid the world of the evils of antisemitism, prejudice, and hatred – nor will we rest in the long journey towards human rights, justice, and freedom for all.

Lantos Foundation Joins with HRF and Freedom Now to Defend Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire Before the UN

NEW YORK (Nov. 25, 2025) — The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice joined with the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and Freedom Now to submit a joint complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of detained Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire.

On June 19, 2025, agents from the Rwandan Investigation Bureau arrested Ingabire in her home in Kigali, Rwanda, without presenting an arrest warrant. 

Earlier that day, Ingabire had appeared before the Rwandan High Court as a witness in the trial concerning eight members of her party, Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi), and an independent journalist. The nine defendants have been detained since 2021 on charges of forming a criminal organization and spreading false information for attending an online training on nonviolent resistance. After Ingabire’s testimony, in total disregard of her presumption of innocence and a 2024 WGAD decision condemning the imprisonment of the other nine detainees, the High Court ordered an investigation into Ingabire’s alleged role in the training. 

The prosecution is requesting a life sentence for Ingabire for allegedly establishing or joining a criminal organization, inciting public unrest, undermining the authority of the government, spreading false information to discredit Rwanda abroad, conspiring to incite public disorder, and conspiring to organize a demonstration.

“Judges have treated Ingabire as though she were guilty from the onset of her pretrial detention. There is little indication that this will change, as the judges who ordered the investigation will be the ones presiding over her trial,” said HRF Senior Legal Associate Venla Stang. “We are determined to ensure that her appalling treatment by the Rwandan judiciary is exposed and condemned globally.”

A tireless opposition figure, Ingabire has been subjected to heavy repression at the hands of Paul Kagame’s regime for years. In 2010, she was arrested upon her return to Rwanda after leading an opposition coalition in exile. She was imprisoned for nearly eight years for genocide denial and conspiring against the country through terrorism and war, charges which human rights experts condemned as politically motivated. In 2018, she received a presidential pardon after winning her case before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Despite her release, Ingabire has not been allowed to register her party and was barred from running in Rwanda’s 2024 presidential elections.

“Kagame has repeatedly threatened to jail my mother again, starting just four days after she walked free from her first eight-year imprisonment. Those threats have now become a reality, and she is back in prison, not because she has done anything wrong, but because he has decided she must be silenced,” Ingabire’s son, Rémy Amahirwa, said.

Ingabire’s latest arrest marks yet another episode in the Rwandan regime’s systematic persecution of political opponents. HRF calls on the WGAD to investigate Ingabire’s case, determine that her detention is arbitrary, and demand her immediate release.

Read more from HRF.

Diane Foley and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Courageous Mothers and Hostage Advocates, Honored with 2025 Lantos Human Rights Prize

Media contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

press@lantosfoundation.org

From left: Katrina Lantos Swett, Diane Foley, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Annette Lantos Tillemann-Dick

Credit: Lantos Foundation/Babette Rittmeyer

Washington, DC, November 14, 2025 – The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice has awarded the 2025 Lantos Human Rights Prize, its highest honor, to a pair of courageous mothers who became advocates on behalf of hostages and their families, after they each experienced the unimaginable loss of their own sons. Diane Foley is the mother of journalist James Foley, who was killed by ISIS in 2014. She founded the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation to advocate on behalf of hostages, promote journalist safety, and inspire moral courage. Rachel Goldberg-Polin is the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a civilian who was attending a music festival in Israel when he was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023. She became one of the most public faces of the fight to bring the hostages home. These remarkable women received the award at a ceremony held this week in Washington, DC, attended by Members of Congress, representatives from the diplomatic community, human rights activists, policy makers, and more.

The ceremony marked the seventeenth year the Lantos Foundation has awarded the Lantos Human Rights Prize. It is given annually to a human rights champion, or champions, to help draw attention to human rights violations around the world and to encourage governments to make human rights a priority on equal footing with other policy decisions.

This week’s ceremony honored the Prize recipients for their courageous response to horrific personal tragedy, channeling love and grief into action and advocacy. It featured a special musical performance by three-time Academy Award®-nominated composer, singer-songwriter, producer and social activist J. Ralph, along with the singer-songwriter and musician Leah Siegel. They performed a haunting rendition of the song “The Empty Chair,” which J. Ralph co-wrote with Sting for the documentary Jim: The James Foley Story.

Ms. Foley’s work over more than a decade has led to critical improvements to the United States’ approach to hostage response and recovery. This was recognized by Dustin Stewart, Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), who said in his remarks, “Simply put, without Diane, we would not be here today,” referring to the SPEHA office and the other two pillars of the United States’ “hostage enterprise” system that Ms. Foley’s advocacy helped establish.

In her acceptance remarks, Ms. Foley noted that her son Jim and the late Congressman Tom Lantos both offer powerful examples of deep moral courage, which is “the quiet steady force within, which calls each of us to choose compassion when anger tempts us; to choose to speak out when it’s easier to be silent; and to hold onto hope when everything around us seeks to extinguish it.” She continued, “Moral courage disturbs us, challenges us, and ultimately defines us. Each of us has a chance right now to make a choice that brings hope, protection, and freedom to others. The work of the Lantos Foundation and the Foley Foundation is only possible because good people like you refuse to look away.”

In many ways, Ms. Foley’s efforts over the past decade have paved a path for Ms. Goldberg-Polin, who for more than two years has been a leading voice among the families of hostages held in Gaza. Her tireless advocacy, which continued even after the murder of her own beloved son, ensured that the human rights and humanitarian imperative of the hostages’ release has never been lost or forgotten. Her advocacy helped, in no small part, to secure the safe return of 168 hostages.  

In accepting the Lantos Human Rights Prize, Ms. Goldberg-Polin shared that she has admired the late Congressman Tom Lantos since she lived in his congressional district in California, when her son Hersh was just a newborn baby.  She quoted a favorite line from Mr. Lantos: “Mine is a miniscule contribution but I am part of the forces of good in this world.”

“I thought yes, that is what I want to be,” said Ms. Goldberg-Polin. “I aspire to emulate Representative Lantos. I want to take my loss, pain, and grief and choose to walk with it down the boulevard of light and life.” She continued, “May we see the return of all of our cherished hostages immediately. May we each make our miniscule contributions to a higher, hallowed purpose, and may we each merit to have the wisdom to choose to be part of the forces of good in this world.”

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation, praised both Prize recipients for their incredible impact, saying to Ms. Foley, “You have forever changed the landscape of hope for hostages and their families. You are a hero to the taken and the forgotten.” She credited Ms. Goldberg-Polin’s charismatic and unyielding advocacy for breaking through to a disinterested and uncaring world, saying, “With your rare eloquence and your raw and powerful dignity, you made the fate of the hostages real and very personal to literally millions of people around the world.”

Dr. Lantos Swett welcomed Ms. Foley and Ms. Goldberg-Polin into the distinguished ranks of past Lantos Prize laureates, including: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the late Professor Elie Wiesel, real-life hero of the film Hotel Rwanda Paul Rusesabagina, Uyghur advocate and activist Rebiya Kadeer, founder of the global Magnitsky movement Bill Browder, renowned human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler, and President-elect of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – among other notable figures (see a full list of laureates here).

For more information about the ceremony, including photos and video, please contact press@lantosfoundation.org.  

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About the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice: The Lantos Foundation was established in 2008 to carry forward the legacy of Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress and a leading human rights champion. The Foundation works with a range of partners and often in cooperation with the U.S. Government on issues that span the globe. The Foundation’s key areas of focus include human rights issues related to religious freedom, rule of law, internet freedom and activist art. The Foundation also administers the Lantos Congressional Fellows Program, supports human rights advocates, activists and artists through its Front Line Fund grant program, and awards the annual Lantos Human Rights Prize to honor and bring attention to heroes of the human rights movement.  

Credit: Lantos Foundation/Emily Chastain

J. Ralph and Leah Siegel

Credit: Lantos Foundation/Emily Chastain

Human Rights Organizations Jointly Submit Case of Abducted Ukrainian Children to UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Media contact:

Chelsea Hedquist

press@lantosfoundation.org

October 16, 2025, New York – Last week a group of five human rights organizations submitted the case of 20,000 abducted Ukrainian children to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UWGAD). The submission requests that the UNWGAD officially recognizes these children as arbitrarily detained by Russia and demands their immediate return. The submitting organizations include the Foley Foundation, Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, Human Rights Foundation, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, and McCain Institute. 

One of the cruelest casualties of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has been the forcible abduction, deportation, and modern-day version of Russification of Ukrainian children. Russia has systematically deported Ukrainian children to a series of camps, orphanages, re-education facilities, and foster families – often under the pretext of humanitarian evacuations or rehabilitation. In reality, these children are condemned to a kind of prison. 

The impacted children range from infants to 17-year-olds, all of whom have no means to escape their captivity, no authentic travel documents or proof of their true identity, and no ability to care for themselves. There are deeply concerning reports of these children being militarized, meaning that the children abducted from Ukraine may one day be forced to fight for Russia in its campaign of aggression against their home country. Moreover, many believe the official estimate of 20,000 Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia and other Russia-occupied areas could be significantly lower than the actual total. 

Despite pressure from the international community and numerous findings of violations of international law and standards, Russia has refused to return these children to their families. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin based on the war crime of illegally deporting Ukrainian children. Yet, these children have not been legally defined as arbitrarily detained and therefore do not have the legal standing that comes with such a designation.

The UNWGAD has a mandate to investigate cases of arbitrary detention and, thus, the authority to inquire into the deportation of Ukrainian children and to take action to secure their safe and immediate release.

“The facts are clear: thousands of Ukrainian children have been torn from their homes and families against their will by Russian actors. No matter how the Putin regime tries to justify these abductions and illegal detentions, they flout international human rights and humanitarian law in egregious ways,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation. “We acknowledge that this is an extraordinary request – to name a class of 20,000 children as arbitrarily detained – but this is an extraordinary circumstance.  It is time to acknowledge that these children are, indeed, arbitrarily detained and to exert more pressure on Russia to return them. It is reprehensible for children to be used as pawns in this conflict, and these tactics must come to an end.”

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