EJA in Jewish Community of Melilla

March 1, 2024

Our colleague Juan Caldes had the incredible opportunity to explore the vibrant Jewish Community of Melilla, sharing insights on combating anti-Semitism.

He also had the privilege to join the President of the Jewish community in a fruitful meeting with Vice President Miguel Marin and the Government of Melilla. Grateful for the chance to discuss important issues together!

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Jewish Community of Stichtigg

The Jewish Community of Stichtigg refers to the Jewish population and institutions within the city of Stichtigg. Historically, Stichtigg had a significant Jewish community that contributed to the city’s cultural, economic, and social fabric. However, during World War II, like many other European cities, Stichtigg’s Jewish community suffered greatly under Nazi occupation, with many members deported and killed in concentration camps.

After the war, the Jewish community of Stichtigg began to rebuild. Today, it remains an integral part of the city’s diverse cultural landscape. The community is involved in religious activities, cultural events, and educational programs, maintaining a vibrant presence while commemorating its history and honouring the memory of those who perished during the Holocaust.

Greetings for the Upcoming Rosh HaShanah by Prime Minister of Hungary, H.E. Mr. Viktor Orbán and by Ambassador of Hungary to Belgium and Luxembourg H.E Dr. Tamas Ivan Kovacs


Which European countries are best for Jews? A new study offers unexpected answers.

BUDAPEST (JTA) — Antisemitic sentiment is especially prevalent in Italy and Hungary, according to multiple surveys. But a first-of-its-kind index combining different measures of Jewish experience found that they are also the best countries in Europe for Jews to live in.

The index, unveiled Monday, is based on a study that combines polling data and policy information to create a single quality-of-life metric for Jews in the 12 European Union countries with sizable Jewish communities, according to Daniel Staetsky, a statistician with the London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research who wrote the report for the European Jewish Association in Brussels.

“The goal with this report is to take the excellent data we already have about how Jews feel, about how prevalent antisemitism is, and combine it with government policy measurables,” Staetsky said during a conference held by the European Jewish Association in Budapest.

He said the results may challenge preconceptions about which EU countries are most hospitable to Jews. For example, Germany scored high when it came to government policies relating to Jews. But Jews there report a weak sense of security, leading to an overall middling score.

The index is primarily a tool “to demand concrete action from European leaders,” Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association. “We welcome statements against antisemitism by European leaders. But more than statements is needed.”

The European Jewish Association will make individual recommendations to each country surveyed, Margolin added at the press event. It was part of a two-day event sponsored by multiple Jewish organizations, including the Consistoire in France, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli government, about how European Jewish communities can aid the one in Ukraine.

Titled “Europe and Jews, a country index of respect and tolerance towards Jews,” the study gives Belgium, Poland and France the lowest scores with 60, 66, and 68 points out of 100, respectively. The three top countries have 79, 76 and 75 points, followed by Britain and Austria (75), the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Spain (74, 73, 72, 70.)

To come up with the ranking, Staetsky gave each surveyed country grades on multiple subjects, including the Jewish sense of security, public attitudes to Jews and the number of Jews who said they’d expereinced antisemitism. The grades were based on major opinion polls in recent years, including those conducted by the Action and Protection League, a group that monitors hate crimes against Jews in several European countries, and the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency.

The study combined those scores with scores the author gave to countries’ government policies, including their funding for Jewish communities, whether they had adopted a definition of antisemitism, and the status of Holocaust education and freedom of worship.

Under that scoring system, Germany received an overall score of 72 despite having the best score (89) on government performance on issues related to Jews and a solid 92 when it came to the prevalence of antisemitism. But a relatively low score on Jewish sense of security (46) hurt its overall score, among other factors.

In the case of Hungary, “the score it received reflects the reality on the ground,” according to Shlomo Koves, the head of the Chabad-affiliated EMIH umbrella group of Jewish communities in Hungary. “Jews can walk around here, go to synagogue, without the slightest fear of harassment,” he said.

But the prevalence of antisemitic sentiments in Hungarian society — an Anti-Defamation League survey from 2015 found that about 30% of the population hold them — “shows there is work to be done here, too, in education and outreach,” Koves said.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

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Despite European Jewish leaders’ protests, watch belonging to Hitler auctioned in the U.S.

’’The items only give succour to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for or offer buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters,” wrote Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) in a letter co-signed by 34 leaders of Jewish communities in Europe – write Yossi Lempkowicz.

Despite protests by European Jewish leaders, a gold watch belonging to Hitler was sold by an American auction house for over €1 million. 

The Huber timepiece has a swastika design, as well as the initials A H. It was purchased by an anonymous bidder.

The auction took place on Friday despite the call by 34 European Jewish leaders on Alexander Historical Auctions house in Chesapeake City, Maryland, to cancel the auction.

Among other Nazi items auctioned were a dog collar belonging to Eva Braun’s terrier, Wehrmacht toilet paper and cutlery and champagne glasses of senior Nazi figures.

 

The auction house’s president Bill Panagopulos, dismissed the protests. He said:  “What we sell is criminal evidence, no matter how insignificant. It is tangible, real in-your-face proof that Hitler and Nazis lived, and also persecuted and killed tens of millions of people. To destroy or in any way impede the display or protection of this material is a crime against history.’’

But Jewish leaders, who sent a letter to the auction house condemning the sale, rejected the claim.’’The items only give succour to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for or offer buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters,” wrote Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA) in the letter co-signed by 34 leaders of Jewish communities in Europe.

He added, ‘’the sale of these items is an abhorrence. There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display. Indeed, one can only question the motivation of those buying them. Europe suffered egregiously because of the perverted and murderous ideology of the Nazi party. Millions died to preserve the values of freedom that we take for granted today, including almost half a million Americans. Our continent is littered with memorial mass graves and the sites of death camps.’’

Over the last years, the European Jewish Association has protested several auctions of nazi items.

Alexander Historical Auctions had already faced similar rebuke for previous sales,  including one that featured the personal diaries of notorious Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

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