Council of European Jewish Leaders Meet in Rome Amid Antisemitism Crisis. European governments are not standing behind their commitments to Jewish communities, say council heads.

COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADERS MEET IN ROME AMID ANTISEMITISM CRISIS 

 

EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT STANDING BEHIND THEIR COMMITMENTS TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES SAY COUNCIL HEADS  

 

“The test is now” says EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin “and European governments are failing it so far.” 

 

(Rome, 27 February 2024) The European Jewish Association’s Council of Jewish Leaders is meeting in Rome to discuss the challenges faced by European Jewish Communities. 

Despite commitments to safeguard jewish communities and promises to root out antisemtism, too many governments across Europe have done neither, concluded the 40 Jewish heads from across Europe present at the EJA’s Council of Jewish Leaders meeting.   

There is a political and policing failure to act upon anti-hate and anti-BDS legislation already in place, and despite many countries signing up to the IHRA definition, barely any are adhering to its principles.  

The laws and definition are not worth the paper they are printed on right now”, said one Dutch Jewish Community Leader, citing the number of protests advocating genocide and ethnic cleaning of Jews in Israel, and often worldwide by using Nazi tropes and iconography.  

Based in Brussels and representing hundreds of Jewish communities across Europe, the European Jewish Association’s Council meeting is a key decision making body of the EJA, bringing Jewish Leaders together, to exchange insights and develop the strategic and advocacy backbone of EJA activities and policy for the betterment of Jewish life in Europe in 2024.  

 

The Jewish leaders agreed upon an 18 point plan of action for 2024, including increasing Community safety, securing a ban on the sale of Nazi memorabilia and engaging major sports clubs and institutions in fighting antisemitism.  

 

The Council was adressed by Israel’s Special Envoy for Combatting antisemitism, Israel’s Ambassador to Italy, Alon Bar, Italy’s special envoy for combatting antisemitism Pasquale Angelosanto, and the President of the Italian Senate, Ignazio La Russa. 

 

Joel Mergui, the President of the EJA’s Council of European Jewish Leaders and the Paris Consistoire, said at the close of the Conference.  

 

“The Jewish leaders are clear, we refuse to live in fear, we are strong and we will overcome this current tide of hate. It is unnacceptable that calls for genocide and ethnic cleansing as typified by “From the river to the Sea”, and calls for “infidada” are now commonplace, along with nazi symbols and outright antisemitic imagery in regular use.  

 

This is a major cause of antisemitism, and authorities across the continent must do more to stick to their commitments that they have repeatedly given to protect Jews and fight antisemitism.” 

 

The Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said. 

 

“As Jewish leaders, it is our duty to protect our communities. The message from community leaders on the Council is clear: the EU and governments must translate their nice words on ensuring the safety of Jewish communities into meaningful actions.  

 

“The test of any government commitments in standing up for European jewry is right now. Our council is clear, based on the evidence so far, european governments are failing this test. ” 

Ends.

Gallery: https://ejassociation.eu/eja/the-council-of-jewish-leaders-in-rome/

Additional Articles

Speech of French MP Caroline Yadan, vice-chair of the parliamentary study group on Antisemitism, during the EJA Annual Conference in Porto

Mister President,

Your Excellence,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

 

It’s an honor for me to be with you tonight.

I would have liked to be able to speak in English tonight, but I will avoid causing unnecessary pain to your ears, so I will continue in French if you allow it.

 

Les juifs influencent la vie économique et politique du monde, il faut s’en méfier, ils sont responsables de la mort de Jésus, ils ne peuvent s’intégrer dans la société, on parle trop de la Shoah, ils sont derrière les attentats du World Trade Center, ils sont responsables de la fabrication et de la diffusion du virus du Covid, ils ont volé la terre aux Palestiniens, Israël est un Etat raciste, un Etat nazi.

Ces stéréotypes devraient dater d’un autre siècle, ils sont malheureusement toujours d’actualité, aux Pays-Bas, en Grèce, en France, au Portugal, en Allemagne, en Hongrie, en Pologne, en Roumanie, en Slovaquie, en Europe de l’Est comme en Europe de l’Ouest.

Depuis 20 ans, nous assistons, impuissants, à une montée de l’antisémitisme en Europe, qui ne se contente pas de vociférer et d’injurier, mais qui frappe, qui torture, qui fait aussi couler le sang, qui assassine.

Sur les réseaux sociaux, des centaines de milliers de contenus antisémites, mélangeant préjugés, complotisme, indigénisme, déni de la Shoah, amalgames avec le nazisme, détestation des juifs et d’Israël sont diffusés puis partagés, relikés, commentés, retweetés se multipliant encore et encore jusqu’à atteindre des millions.

Condensant colère, frustrations et ignorance, cette haine s’infiltre pernicieusement dans la société en recherche constante de boucs émissaires et se dévoile dans les manifestations en Europe : celles des Gilets Jaunes, celles des Antivax, celles en soutien au Peuple Palestinien.

La banalisation du mal rampe là où nous pensions naïvement l’avoir expurgée à tout jamais : 80 ans après la Shoah, dans les rues de Berlin, berceau du nazisme, on a crié, drapeau palestinien à la main et fanatisme sur le visage « mort à Israël, mort aux juifs ».

D’années en années, l’obsession antijuive évolue, les accusations sur lesquelles elle se fonde aussi.

Au gré de l’actualité, les habits antisémites du présent se drapent d’antisionisme, d’islamisme, de complotisme, de négationnisme ; Ces visages sont tantôt celui de l’extrême-droite, tantôt celui de l’extrême-gauche, parfois les deux.

L’extrême-gauche s’est retrouvée une spécialité : Israël, comme incarnation du Mal.

Diaboliser l’Etat Juif, l’accuser de pratiquer une politique d’Apartheid, comme l’ont récemment fait les députés d’extrême-gauche en France, l’essentialiser et le racialiser jusqu’à le nazifier, c’est permettre la levée de tous les interdits contre les juifs.

Jankélévich aime à rappeler que « si les juifs sont des nazis, ils méritent leur sort » ou encore que « L’antisionisme est une aubaine car il nous donne la permission, et même le droit, et même le devoir d’être antisémites au nom de la démocratie »

La haine du juif se drape derrière le drapeau vertueux de l’anticolonialisme. Pire encore, cette « Israélophobie », cette acrimonie passionnelle et obsessionnelle, s’exprime au nom des droits de l’Homme et elle ne serait être confondue avec la critique légitime de la politique d’un gouvernement. Rappelons-le sans cesse : Israël est la seule démocratie du Proche et du Moyen Orient. Une démocratie dans laquelle les citoyens bénéficient d’une égalité de droit quelle que soit leur origine. C’est parce que cette démocratie est précieuse et que la séparation des pouvoirs l’est tout autant,  que les Israéliens l’expriment par milliers chaque samedis soirs depuis plusieurs mois dans les rues de Jérusalem, de Haifa, de Tel-Aviv ou d’Ashdod.

Ceux qui détestent Israël ne s’embarrassent jamais de dénoncer les attentats de civils, les roquettes tirées par milliers dans un ciel protégé par le Dôme de fer, les boucliers humains, les tunnels construits pour frapper la population civile ; ils ne blâment jamais les pensions versées aux familles des terroristes ; ils ne condamnent pas les journalistes que le Hamas bâillonne, les femmes qu’il lapide ou les homosexuels qu’il emprisonne, voire qu’il exécute.

Ceux qui détestent Israël gardent le curieusement silence sur les minorités opprimées dans le monde, sur les atteintes aux libertés fondamentales des peuples Iraniens, Ukrainiens, Soudanais, Cubains, Arméniens, Kurdes ou Ouïgours.

Ceux qui détestent Israël ne réprouvent jamais les programmes éducatifs fondés sur la haine du juif, les comptines que les enfants de 6 ans récitent avec application racontant à quel point il est bon d’être un martyr.

A cet égard, je me réjouis que le Parlement Européen, ait enfin adopté il y a quelques jours, grâce notamment à l’action formidable de plusieurs collègues dont mon amie Ilana Cicurel, une résolution condamnant l’Autorité palestinienne pour le contenu « haineux » de ses manuels scolaires et subordonnant le financement futur de l’éducation à la suppression du contenu antisémite.

Pour la première fois, une résolution de l’Union Européenne établit un lien direct entre le contenu des manuels scolaires de l’Autorité Palestinienne et le financement du terrorisme palestinien, et en particulier des attaques perpétrées par des jeunes.

Au commencement de la violence, il y a la pensée. A la pensée s’ajoute la parole, celle qui instrumente au nom de dieu.

Ce désir de croire plus fort que le goût de la vérité, cette hostilité assumée, s’invite dans les prêches de certains imams radicaux alimente l’islamisme et arme les terroristes.

L’extrême-gauche porte ainsi, par électoralisme et par idéologie, une lourde part dans le renouveau de l’antisémitisme en Europe.

Cet état de fait ne doit cependant surtout pas nous faire oublier les dangers de l’extrême-droite.

Ne soyons pas dupes de sa tentative de dédiabolisation, notamment en France, où le Rassemblement National cherche une nouvelle respectabilité et a prétendu à la Présidence du groupe d’étude sur l’antisémitisme à l’Assemblée nationale.

Cette volonté d’honorabilité ne saurait éclipser que l’antisémitisme est contenu dans son ADN, dans son projet, comme objectif ou comme conséquence.

L’extrême-droite démontre, si besoin en était, en Hongrie, en Pologne ou en Italie, qu’elle doit rester un repoussoir pour tout juif en Europe et dans le monde au nom de son projet d’exclusion et de sa xénophobie, contraires aux valeurs du judaïsme.

Il est de notre responsabilité de dire à la droite européenne que si elle aime Israël parce qu’elle n’aime pas les musulmans, alors nous ne voulons pas de cet amour.

En France, nous vivons un temps politique inédit : au sein de l’Assemblée nationale dans laquelle j’ai l’honneur de siéger comme députée de la 3ème circonscription de Paris pour le groupe Renaissance, deux groupes d’extrême-gauche et d’extrême-droite, représentants 184 députés sur 577 ont été élus en juin 2022.

Au-delà de leurs accointances, comme leur soutien larvé à Vladimir Poutine, leur volonté de mettre à mal la République et ses fondements institutionnels, leurs électeurs partagent des points communs :

Selon une étude Fondapol pour AJC, ces électeurs des extrêmes justifient le recours à la violence pour contester les décisions politiques, et partagent de nombreux poncifs antisémites.

C’est dans ce climat délétère que plusieurs députées ont récemment reçu des missives antisémites abjectes.

Au-delà des discours, il y a maintenant une urgence de vérité mais surtout une urgence de résultats.

Je déposerai prochainement, sur proposition de la DILCRAH, une poposition de loi pour permettre la délivrance d’un mandat d’arrêt international pour les auteurs de délits racistes ou antisémites, et de contestation de crimes contre l’humanité.

Notre combat est difficile, semé d’embûches, mais nous avons tous, quel que soit notre rôle, notre statut, notre profession- politiques, journalistes, artistes, militants associatifs- un rôle à jouer. Il nous appartient de continuer à alerter et à analyser, sans crainte ni ambiguïté, car l’ennemi se nourrit du silence, de l’inquiétante indifférence, de l’absence de clairvoyance et de lâcheté.

« Le courage, c’est de chercher la vérité et de la dire » nous rappelait Jean-Jaurès.

Etre courageux en politique c’est appréhender les responsabilités de chacun et les causes de ce Mal, qui, parce qu’il touche à notre humanité, est bien l’affaire de tous.

Etre courageux en politique c’est dénoncer, au-delà des positions consensuelles, les sujets qui fâchent et accuser ceux qui doivent l’être.

Ce combat est le nôtre.

Je sais pouvoir compter sur vous. Vous pouvez compter sur moi.

Opening of the First ‘Chesed’ Centre in Odessa, Ukraine.

The First of many European ‘Chesed’ Centres operated jointly by the EJA and the RCE was inaugurated in Odessa, Ukraine.
The centres provide the free lending of of a large range of medical equipment to all.
The Odessa branch is one of dozens that will open over the next two months across Europe.
The unique project is a first for the Jewish communities in Europe, although similar lending centers exist in Israel.
Each lending centre provides medical equipment for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly, worth tens of thousands of euros. The arrival
of the equipment is imminent and the centre will soon be fully up and running

It’s sad that Holocaust denial needs to be criminalized.

Chief Rabbi Jacobs:
Last Thursday was a special day. I was in Leeuwarden, a city in the north of The Netherlands, for the unveiling of a monument with 544 names of Jews who were murdered, 80% of what used to be a flourishing Jewish Community. It was not only an impressive ceremony, but a full day filling program. First a reception in the former Jewish School, then a tour of the former Jewish quarter where in front of the various houses and shops large photos of the former Jewish residents were placed: all murdered! And then: the unveiling wasn’t supposed to start till 4pm and it was only 2pm? After the tour of the Jewish neighbourhood, we were directed to a nearby hall. Just before the occupation, in 1939, the wedding reception of Barend Boers and Mimi Dwinger, had taken place in this hall. More than a hundred guests were present. And in that same hall, we set now, awaiting the unveiling of the monument. And then, quite unexpectedly, it started. We were in the middle of a play. The chuppah took place around us, we were the guests, and the lives of the bride and groom were acted. But it was not all festive. The Nazis occupied The Netherlands. Jews were arrested. The young couple decided to escape. Their flight from the Netherlands, their trek across the Pyrenees, we saw it all happen. The various people whose houses we had just passed by, performed and talked about their lives and their deaths in Sobibor, Auschwitz or elsewhere. I actually would have preferred not to experience this performance because it hit me hard. It was a tough confrontation.
And then, after the confrontational play, we left the hall in silence and walked to the unveiling of the monument. And there, at that ceremony, 6 students pretended to be former residents of the Jewish Community of Leeuwarden: my name is x and in 1943 I was murdered in Sobibor. The mayor of Leeuwarden talked about his Jewish grandmother and the secret surrounding her Jewishness. When the mayor’s aunt passed away, of natural causes, not so long ago, a briefcase was found and her Jewishness, her carefully hidden identity, was revealed. Because my ancestors originated from Leeuwarden, I had this personal feeling: how nice that my ancestors finally, after more then 75 years, got a gravestone, a matsewa! But a gravestone without a grave. A memorial prayer was recited followed by an intensive silence.
How could a large Jewish Congregation be massacred, gassed, exterminated? It was not just the fault of the small percentage of collaborators. The problem lay with the large silent mob that showed herd behaviour and chose the path that yielded them the most at the time: Fl.7.50 money per head for every betrayed Jew. And in better times even Fl. 40 pp!
Because of that herd mentality, which drove society in the completely wrong direction during the occupation, there was something like a collective guilt among the average Dutchman after the war. A few months ago, when 18 Orthodox Jewish girls were expelled from a KLM flight, I spoke to a former Minister and told him that thanks to my network I was able to arrange for them not to have to stay at Amsterdam Airport on Shabbat. And, I went on, whether it was right or wrong for the girls to be kicked off the plane, I don’t know, because they might have misbehaved themselves. But I was corrected fairly brutally by the former statesman with the words: As a Dutch society we must always stand up for the Jew, because during the Holocaust we, the Dutch, failed miserably. I fully agree with that failure, but to go so far that it is no longer allowed to check whether straight is crooked and crooked straight is a bit too far for me.
I agree that it is justified that also in the Netherlands it is being considered nowadays to criminalize denial of the Holocaust. But the fact that this needs consideration, is sad, because apparently it is no longer felt how radically, inhumane and criminally the Nazi regime acted, supported by the majority of the Dutch population. Result: 544 names of murdered Jews. The monument is impressive, but the history unacceptable.

EU steps up fight against antisemitism

The European Jewish Association welcomes the European Council declaration on fighting antisemitism that reaffirms its commitment for a common security approach in Europe to protect Jewish life and make it more visible as part of Europe’s identity.
“We welcome the acknowledgement of the European Council of the Member States shared responsibility to actively protect and support Jewish life in Europe and the acknowledgement of the contribution of Judaism and Jewish life that have indeed considerably shaped European identity and enriched Europe’s cultural, intellectual and religious heritage.  We look forward to working with EU institutions and national governments across policy areas as we continue the fight against antisemitism together,” stated EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin.
you can read more about it here:

The European Council welcomed on Friday a declaration on mainstreaming the fight against antisemitism across policy areas.

In its conclusions, the European Council condemned “all forms of attacks on the freedoms of expression and religion or belief, including antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, and underlines the importance of combating incitement to hatred and violence, as well as intolerance.”

The Declaration, which was approved last week by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, describes antisemitism as an EU-wide phenomenon and emphasises that the fight against it is a cross-cutting issue involving various levels of government and policies at local, national and European level.

The Council expressed its concern at the increase in threats to Jewish people in Europe, and the resurgence of conspiracy myths, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the increase in antisemitic incidents and hate crime.

It stresses that antisemitism has developed into various forms and must be combated with complementary public policies. Illegal hate speech and online terrorist content must be removed promptly and consistently by internet service providers. A strong and systematic judicial response to antisemitic acts is also necessary.

Education about the Holocaust, antisemitism and Jewish life remains one of the most important tools in preventing antisemitic prejudices. Sharing good practices to foster media literacy and awareness of conspiracy myths is also key.

The member states welcomed the European Commission’s decision to make the fight against antisemitism a priority, as well as the strengthening of the institutional basis for the coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.

The Declaration states that, “Judaism and Jewish life have contributed considerably to shaping European identity and enriching Europe’s cultural, intellectual and religious heritage. We are grateful that 75 years after the Holocaust, Jewish life, in all its diversity, is deeply rooted and thriving again in Europe. It is our permanent, shared responsibility to actively protect and support Jewish life.”

“As a researcher on contemporary European antisemitism, I welcome the Council Declaration on the fight against antisemitism,” commented Lars Dencik, a Swedish professor in social psychology. “The appeal to fight antisemitism ‘in a holistic way’, i.e. across policy fields and member states, is highly relevant.”

“To organize systematic data collection and analysis of antisemitism across all member states would be most valuable,” he added. “To focus on the upsurge of antisemitic conspiracy myths appears also adequate and necessary. The point of actively protecting and supporting Jewish life and making it more visible as part of European identity is very well taken.”

The European Commission presented also on Wednesday a a new Counter-Terrorism Agenda for the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and boost the EU’s resilience to terrorist threats. Among others, the EU will step up efforts to ensure physical protection of public spaces including places of worship through security by design.

The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, confirmed at a press conference that special resources will be dedicated to protect churches, mosques and synagogues. “We are giving cities the means to protect open public spaces through good design and we are ensuring that we can respond quickly and more efficiently to attacks and attempted attacks.”

Preventing attacks by addressing radicalisation and countering spread of extremist ideologies online is important and the Commission proposes to adopt rules on removing terrorist content online as a matter of urgency. The same goes for antisemitic hate speech, according to the Council Declaration.

“Antisemitic hate speech, including public condoning, denying or grossly trivialising the Holocaust, is increasingly influential and is shared online often without any consequences for those who produce and/or disseminate it. Crimes committed online should be punished just as crimes offline are and must be adequately addressed by means of effective prosecution and other measures.”

The Declaration underlines that The Council Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law (2008/913/JHA) must be transposed and effectively implemented by the Member States, including for crimes committed on the internet.

New forms of antisemitism

Dencik, the researcher of antisemitism, is sceptical and thinks that it borders on wishful thinking to have global internet providers monitoring and removing hate speech on their platforms. He adds that somewhat unnoticed in the Council Declaration are emerging problems of “antisemitism in disguise” and “latent antisemitism” and refers to conspiracy theories and attacks on individual Jews and Jewish institution emanating from hatred against Israel.

The Declaration does mention that recent studies, for example by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), show that antisemitism in all its forms is increasingly prevalent in Europe.

Reaffirming their commitment to a previous Council declaration in December 2018 on the fight against antisemitism, the EU member states also referred to the non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism employed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

“We welcome the fact that 18 Member States have already followed up on the Council declaration of 6 December 2018 by endorsing the IHRA working definition as a useful guidance tool in education and training. Member States that have not yet done so are invited to join the other Member States and endorse the IHRA working definition as soon as possible.”

The borderline between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel and its government is often blurred and has become politicized, including in Israel. “Criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic,” says the definition and distinguishes between legitimate criticism and verbal attacks against Israel that might be fuelled by antisemitism and antisemitic stereotypes.

The list of such examples includes denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, accusing Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, and applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

The Commission has been forced to strengthen the fight against antisemitism almost every year. “The 20th century had many deseases. The only on that remained incurable is antisemitism,” Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans said in 2018. He criticised some EU member states for their identity politics. “If you choose identity policy, it will sooner or later refer to minorities and the first minority to be hit is the Jews.”

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