EJA Zoom Conference with Jewish Communities Across Europe

Move welcomed “with a heavy heart” by representatives of Dutch Jewry and by Chairman of leading Europaen Jewish Association
 
The Netherlands is to get a new national coordinator to tackle anti-Semitism, Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus said on Sunday. Dutch Members of Parliament – following pressure from the Jewish Community – had pressed the government to appoint a special advisor to deal with antisemitism following a marked increase in antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands.  The new national co-ordinator’ primary task will be to advise the government about dealing with anti-Semitism from a legal perspective and on ensuring the safety of the Netherlands’ Jewish community. The move was welcomed by leading figures in Dutch and European Jewry.
Ellen Van Praagh Chair of the Inter Provincial Chief Rabbinate for The Netherlands (IPOR) and European Jewish Association Board Member said in a statement:
 
“Just this weekend my synagogue and the Liberal synagogue in Utrecht were daubed with swastika symbols. It appears that the attacker had mental health issues, but it is abundantly clear to us that the pandemic has brought out the  worst in people.
 
“It has seen the resurrecting of old tropes about Jews, which has  fueled a rise in antisemitism and antisemitic acts, the numbers of which are alarming to Jews everywhere in Holland. That the government has decided to step in and tackle the root causes of this is welcome, as is their commitment to safeguard Jewish communities and Institutions in the Neherlands. We at IPOR look forward to working closely with the national co-ordinator to this end.”
 
Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands and founder member of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE), whose contacts with the Dutch government have directly influenced the moved added:
 
“It is of course indicative of the predicament facing Dutch Jews that the government has decided to appoint a national co-ordinator to tackle Anti-Semitism. Whilst we welcome such an appointment it is with a heavy heart that this position is even necessary in a country such as the Netherlands, whose very name is associated with tolerance and plurality. Nevertheless, as attacks increase, the national co-ordinator will find their inbox heaving with suggestions from Jews in Holland who want nothing more than to live in peace and practice their faith unhindered.”
 
The Chairman of the Brussels based European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, whose communities span the length and breadth of the continent, concluded:
 
“The EJA, as part of our Europe-wide plan to tackle antisemitism, has called for every country in Europe to appoint such a co-ordinator, many heeded our call and did just that. So, we applaud the Dutch Government as the lastest country to make this move. The Netherlands now joins a growing list of European Countries with national co-ordinators whose task is to eradicate the virus of antisemitism that has grown in tandem with the virus of Covid 19. Too many Jewish communities across Europe have been forced to pull the alarm cord and call for help.  That governments are heeding this call is reassuring, yes, but it is also a signal that they do not wish the disgusting stain of antisemitism to spread further on their social fabric. There is much work to do, and the European Jewish Association stands ready to help, offering suggestions and best practice from other parts of Europe that Holland can apply, and that can help make the difference.”  

 Rabbi Menachem Margolin said with German antisemitism on the rise, the auction “defies logic, decency and humanity” and helps legitimise “a culture of Hitler enthusiasts”, calls on people to not participate in “this unethical auction”.
 
(Brussels 19 October 2020) Less than a month since the head of Germany’s domestic security agency has warned that Jews in Germany are facing increasing levels of anti-Semitism, a Munich auction house is under fire, again, for selling Nazi memorabilia, this time including various speaking notes from Adolf Hitler.
 
The Head of the European Jewish Association (EJA) Rabbi Menachem Margolin said he couldn’t get his “head around the sheer irresponsibility and insensitivity” of selling such items to the highest bidder.
 
Hermann Historica, a Munich based auction house came under fire in November 2019 for a similar auction, whose lots ended up being bought by a Lebanese businessman, Abdallah Chatila, who then donated them to Yad Vashem to do with as they saw fit.
 
Following the fallout of the last auction, the EJA have been pushing European lawmakers to ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia as part of an overall plan to tackle antisemitism across the continent.
 
In a statement Rabbi Margolin said,
 
“The head of the domestic security agency in Germany sounded the alarm less than a month ago about the alarming rise of antisemitism in Germany, we have had a gun attack at a synagogue in Hamburg and the far right are on the march.
 
“It defies logic, decency and humanity for the very same auction house that came under fire less than a year ago for selling disgusting lots of Nazi memorabilia that they should do so again.
 
“I cannot get my head around the sheer irresponsibility and insensitivity, in such a febrile climate, of selling items such as the ramblings of the world’s biggest killer of Jews to the highest bidder. What auctions like this do help legitimise Hitler enthusiasts who thrive on this sort of stuff.
 
“Last year a miracle in the form of Mr Abdallah Chatila stepped in. But we cannot rely on miracles going forwards. We understand that Covid 19 is rightly occupying the thoughts of governments and parliaments, but we cannot allow the virus of antisemitism to grow unchecked. This auction must be stopped and we urge the government to step in. We also ask our supporters not to engage or participate in any way with this unethical auction. The message must be sent that the further development of this ‘market’ is taboo and beyond the norms of acceptability.”

The EJA welcomes the EU Attorney General’ opinion that individual member state moves to ban kosher slaughter run contrary to EU law and are a breach of commitments to respect freedom of religion. We hope that the European Court of Justice will echo his opinion in due course.

הועידה השנתית של איגוד הארגונים היהודיים באירופה (eja) נערכה השנה דווקא בפורטו, פורטוגל. יו״ר האיגוד, הרב מנחם מרגולין, מספק הסבר מעניין לבחירה הזו. ״פורטו נבחרה משתי סיבות: בזכות ההיסטוריה העתיקה והחשובה של הקהילות הספרדיות באירופה, ולאור העובדה שפורטו היא קהילה לדוגמא: קטנה, מורכבת מבודדים שהחליטו להתאגד ולהקים גוף לתפארת״.

הועידה התכנסה בצל זינוק נוסף במספר התקריות האנטישמיות ביבשת, כמעט בכל מדינה. בכינוס סיפקו דוברים מגרמניה, בריטניה, צרפת ועוד הצצה לעולם הקהילתי שלהם על כך המשתמע מכך:, דנו בדרכים להתמודד עם שנאת- היהודים וחתמו על הצהרה משותפת, הקוראת למנהיגי מדינות אירופה להתייחס לאנטישמיות כאל פשע שנאה ייחודי ויוצא דופן, על כך המשתמע מכך.

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