A letter from Israeli PM Office to EJA

Britain would be diminished if Jews began to leave the country, Sir Eric Pickles, the United Kingdom’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday during an interview at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Pickles was referring to a recent study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, which found that around 2% of British adults can be categorized as “hardcore” antisemites, and antisemitic ideas can be found at varying degrees of intensity across 30% of British society, with that number agreeing with at least one antisemitic statement about Jews.
“We need to address the casual acceptance of some of the old [antisemitic] tropes,” Pickles said. “I feel strongly about this because Judaism is a fundamental part of the British identity. If we were to see, as France has seen, Jews starting to leave the country, we would be diminished – we wouldn’t be Britain anymore. It’s not the old cliché about Jews being the ‘canary in the coal mine,’ it’s about what makes Britain tick – and without Jewish people, Britain would not tick properly.”
Pickles was in Israel to attend the sixth Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism, held in Jerusalem from Sunday to Wednesday.
Pickles said that while there is a wave of antisemitism across Europe of which Britain is not immune, “it would be a gross exaggeration to say that Jewish people in Britain are unsafe.” He noted that while there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents, most of them are nonviolent.
However, he said, “we’re not a million miles away from what happened on the continent, and we have to ensure that our population is safe.”
The latest figures released by UK antisemitism watchdog the Community Security Trust found that the number of antisemitic hate incidents in the country reached a new high in 2017.
“We do have the courage to produce these figures, which a lot of countries don’t,” Pickles said.
With regard to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Pickles says that when asked whether he thinks he is an antisemite, his response was: “I have no idea, but he should stop surrounding himself with antisemites.”
He described the Chakrabarti report – which cleared the Labour Party of charges of institutional antisemitism – as a “disgrace,” and alluded to a documentary that is in the making about information that was allegedly repressed from the inquiry.
Pickles said the situation of the Labour Party is “deeply worrying” and stressed that he is a first-generation Tory, whose great-grandfather helped found the Independent Labour Party in Bradford. “So despite the fact that I’ve been a Tory for the last 50 years, I do have some attachment [to the Labour Party] and it’s heartbreaking,” he said.
“There is a big battle going on for the soul of the Labour Party, which the extreme Left seems to have won,” he lamented.
Pickles, who used to be the chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel, noted that the group has a close relationship with Labour Friends of Israel. “They’re fighting a difficult battle,” he said.
Nonetheless, Pickles is optimistic: “We will beat the antisemites.”
Britain’s fight against antisemitism, includes millions of pounds that go into protecting Jewish institutions and events every year, Holocaust education on the national school curriculum and a plan for a new national Holocaust memorial, which will stand next to Parliament and is expected to be completed by 2022.
The article was published on The JPost

The European Jewish Association, representing hundreds of Jewish communities across the continent invited Political figures and Jewish Leaders from Europe to Zagreb and the Jasenovac death camp in Croatia, against the backdrop of the Hamas Massacre in Israel, an act that has profoundly affected Jews across Europe. The Conference began with a minute silence for all those butchered by Hamas last weekend.

Gary Koren, Israel’s Ambassador Ambassador to Croatia in welcoming the Conference delegates from Portugal to Bulgaria, said:

“This conference in Zagreb is now needed more than ever. Hamas is ISIS, and this war started with the blessing of Iran. Israel has no choice but to win and obliterate Hamas. This is the darkest of times, and there is no way to describe the pain our nation is going through, but we will prevail like we always do.”

Croatia’s former President Kolinda Grabar–Kitarovic said that the attacks against Israel represent “an existential attack against the normalization of the Abraham Accords.

It will have tremendous geopolitical effects, and sadly, antisemitism will only spike.”

Deputy Remy Rebeyrotte, the Secretary of the National Assembly in France, responding to European Jewish Press reports that since the weekend there have been 50 reported acts of antisemitism in France, responded:

“There have been over 202 antisemitic attacks in France in the last couple of months.

The Ministry of Interior is stepping up security measures in synagogues and all Jewish Schools.We see yet again conspiracy theories running deeply rooted in antisemitism. This time from the far left saying Jews control the world, the banking industry, etc.

“I want today to express support of France for Israel. The children of Israel are our children. All parties are condemning except for the extreme left with Melenchon”

Dragan Primorac, president of the Croatian-Israel business club, stated, “Evil is the antithesis of honor. Croatia is staying shoulder to shoulder with Israel. Evil will not prevail.”

Head of Combatting Antisemitism at the World Zionist Organisation Raheli Baratz Rix, who partnered with the EJA for the Zagreb conference, in an address from Israel said:

“Israel is under attack. They killed in a massacre of young Jews because they were Jews. This barbaric act is only murderous racism, which has only one name antisemitism. You cannot stay silent again. We fight for humanity. Israel will stay strong and will win.

Natan Albahari, a Serbian Member of Parliament added,

“It pained me to see what happened at the music festival in Israel. It’s unimaginable. There is no justification for those crimes. I am only one MP, but will use every platform at my disposal to make sure that message is shared in Serbia.”

Konstantinos Karagounis, a Greek MP and Member of EJA’s Advisory Board was scathing in his criticism of the Hamas Massacre in Israel:

“All political parties of Greece stand firmly in solidarity with Israel. EU leaders must reassess their policy towards Hamas, Hezbollah, and towards all these terrorists. I think we are all under attack. Not just Israel. Failure to act will endorse such brutality.

Terrorist activities must face unwavering consequences.”

William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organisations, in an impassioned speech to delegates, said:

“We need to make the world aware of what happened. They want to do Israel Judenrein. The only answer is Unity. We are strong when we are one. The IDF will succeed. We will survive as a people. Israel is our lifeline.”

Adel Benita, a citizen of Modi’in, Israel, whose husband was stabbed to death 40 times in a previous terror attack, spoke to delegates from the podium and said:

“Terrorism doesn’t differentiate between race or nationality.

“What we saw this past Shabbat and holiday – forty babies butchered, young people shot at a festival – how can we understand? How can those families cope in response to their loved ones being butchered and raped?

“This could happen to you in Europe. Terrorists don’t differentiate between race, gender, and nationality.

“I’m begging you to open your eyes and to ensure your leaders fight against antisemitism so this doesn’t happen again.”

Israel has a new President, Mr Isaac Herzog. The Herzog’s have a fine tradition of important positions in Israel: his grandfather was a Chief Rabbi of Israel, and his father, Chaim, a former President of Israel too.

We wish the 11^th President of Israel lots of Mazal, lots of strength and lots of courage. Qualities that we know from our many contacts with Mr Herzog, are not in short supply where he is concerned.