German Football Association president urged to resign after Nazi remark

Chief of European Jewish Association says Major EU Conference on Shechitah is “Too Little but not Too Late.”

The European Jewish Association were participants at a major gathering in Brussels of Jewish leaders, civil society leaders, jurists, politicians and special envoys at European Commission Headquarters today. 2022

Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, said in a statement:

“The Conference held today by the European Commission is too little but not too late.

“We are proud to be the Jewish voice of Europe and to fight on issues that some regard as unpopular.

“We thank the Commission for agreeing to our repeated pleas and finally addressing the issue of Freedom of Religion in Europe, in this case on Religious Slaughter. It is a much-needed step in the right direction.

“However, today’s conference must not give anyone the feeling that the issue can be marked with a tick or glossed over with well-meaning words.

“We expect, going forwards, that the European Commission will make every effort to secure the support of all European governments for legislation that would enshrine the issue of religious freedom in law to ensure the continued existence of Jewish life in Europe.

“Make no mistake, the issue of the Freedom of Religion, whilst not grabbing the headlines that antisemitism does, is every bit as important. Because without this freedom to practice, and to live a Jewish life, there can be no Jewish future in Europe.

“We stand today at a crossroads, whilst conferences like this are too little, they are a reminder that it is not too late to go in the right direction.”

Rabbi Margolin’s clarification: He never claimed that every Jew should carry a gun
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, General Director of the European Jewish Association (EJA), made the following clarification:

Contrary to what has been written, Rabbi Margolin is not the Rabbi of Brussels but the Director of the Rabbinical Center of Europe, which represents 700 rabbis across Europe, and General Director of the European Jewish Association, a federation of Jewish organisations active at European level.
2. Rabbi Margolin never asked that every Jew carries a gun and does not advocate widespread gun use. Where licenses are issued, Rabbi Margolin calls for guns to be used responsibly and in self-defence. Referring to recent events, Rabbi Margolin has said that given the serious current climate, where Jews are afraid to go to the synagogue, to Jewish school or kosher supermarket, each Jewish institution – whether synagogue, school, kindergarten, or Jewish store… should be protected by the authorities across Europe. Should governments find they are unable to ensure the protection and security of institutions and Jewish citizens, in the long-term Rabbi Margolin called on Europe’s Interior Ministers to review current gun licensing laws “to allow designated people in the Jewish communities and institutions to own weapons for the essential protection of their communities, as well as receiving the necessary training to protect their members from potential terror attacks.”
With regard to recent claims regarding the content of Rabbi Margolin’s calls on the subject of gun licensing, the EJA Director concluded in no uncertain terms: ”Let there be no doubt, we are asking that all weapons will be issued for self-protection only, and to designated personnel that will undergo thorough investigation and training by local authorities.”
3. Rabbi Margolin thanks the Belgian Government for taking very seriously the protection of the Jewish community.
4. Rabbi Margolin repeats once again that he never claimed that every Jew must carry a gun!

This week we dedicated two days for the annual EJA/EIPA meeting with all members of the teams, coming from France, Germany, Israel and of course our local head court’s members, here in Brussels.
Bringing together our different experiences, views and ideas we have managed to come up with a list of subjects we would like to deal with this upcoming year and a lot of exiting new ways to do that whether if it is in Politics, the Media world or among the Jewish communities around Europe.
We don’t know about you but we are very exited to start this fruitful year. for us, for The Jewish people in Europe and for the state of Israel.