New Cooperation with The Dutch NIHS Brabant Community from Eindhoven

May 11, 2020

The European Jewish Association is proud and delighted to welcome another organisation to our growing roster of partners and communities.
We have just concluded and signed a memorandum of understanding with The Dutch NIHS Brabant Community from Eindhoven.
When two dynamic and active Jewish organisations get together and agree to work closely together, beautiful and important things flow from this. We look forward to working for the betterment of Dutch and European Jewry together.

Additional Articles

Swedish Prime Minister assures EJA he will step up fight on Swedish anti-Semitism

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has personally written to EJA founder and Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin with an assurance that he has tasked his government to propose “additional measures” to those already in place to combat anti-Semitism in Sweden.
In his letter Prime Minister Lofven expressed that he would continue to “take every possible step to protect the Swedish Jewish communities and to ensure that they can live here in safety and without fear”
Rabbi Margolin had written to the Prime Minister outlining his alarm at the deteriorating situation in Sweden for Jews there, with Neo-Nazis wanting to march past synagogues, hate speech and threats at demonstrations in Malmo, and the fire-bombing of a synagogue in Gothenburg.
Rabbi Margolin welcomed the letter today’
‘It was heartening to receive a letter so full of conviction. We particularly welcome the Prime Minister’s clear and unambiguous words that ‘there is no place for anti-Semitism in Swedish society’ and that ‘The perpetrators will be held to account.’
The hope that the Swedish government will consult with the communities in Sweden to decide on the ‘additional measures’ to be taken. Many members complain of a lack of willingness to prosecute clear those who engage in anti-semitic remarks, paint graffiti, or hold up or publish anti-Semitic imagery to date.
Let us hope that the Prime Minister and his government follow up on his encouraging letter with real and tangible actions. The EJA stands ready to help and advise the Swedish government in this important task. Anti-Semites cannot be allowed to take heart from Sweden and seek to export their hate to other EU member states. That would be a disaster.
Therefore, Sweden must be strong on actions, as much as their words”

Short video from the EUROPEAN JEWISH ASSOCIATION Annual Policy Conference Budapest: 20-21 June

Israel welcomes launch of maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza Strip

“We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday and I’m very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today,” said European Commission Ursula von der Leyen a visit to Cyprus where she met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

Israel on Friday welcomed the inauguration of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip.

‘’The Cypriot initiative will allow the increase of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, after security checks are carried out in accordance with Israeli standards,’’ a satement from the Israeli foreign mionistry said.

‘’Israel will continue to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip in accordance with the rules of war and in coordination with the United States and our allies around the world.’’

The statement added that Israel ‘’will continue the fight against Hamas — an organization that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and carried out the 7 October massacre — until its elimination and the return of all the hostages.’’

‘’It is very important that additional countries join the Cypriot initiative and the international effort to transfer aid,’’ the foreign ministry said.

On the same day, the European Commission, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States announce their intent to open a maritime corridor ‘’to deliver much-needed additional amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea.’’

‘’The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, with innocent Palestinian families and children desperate for basic necessities,’’ they said in a joint statement.

“We are launching this Cyprus maritime corridor together, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States,” Von der Leyen said after a visit to facilities in Cyprus.

“We are now very close to opening this corridor, hopefully this Saturday-Sunday and I’m very glad to see an initial pilot will be launched today,” said European Commission Ursula von der Leyen a visit to Cyprus where she met Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

“The maritime corridor can make a real difference to the plight of the Palestinian people, but in parallel, our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance through all possible routes will continue,” she said in a joint press conference in Larnaca.

The sea corridor is due to formally open this weekend, with a first pilot operation to leave either on Satrday or Sunday, when the right conditions are in place.

It comes just hours after US. President Biden announced in his annual State of the Union speech that the US will set up a port on the Gaza coast to ramp up the delivery of lifesaving aid.

Israeli minister, UN chief agree to combat antisemitism online

Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and UN Secretary-General António Guterres met in New York on Friday and agreed to join forces to combat hate speech, incitement and antisemitism online.
Hendel, who arrived in New York after a three-day visit to Washington DC, shared with Guterres news of the committee that he has decided to establish to review the status of social media networks in Israel and whether they can be defined as media organizations, thereby giving the courts the ability to hold them accountable for content that they publish.
“We are in a war for the truth and in stopping incitement and hate speech,” Hendel said. “Israel will be a pioneer in this battle.”
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