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Hind Rajab Co-Founder Ousted from Belgian Political Party; EJA and Jewish Community Applaud Decision

Belgium

BRUSSELS – The European Jewish Association (EJA) commends the decision by political parties in the Belgian city of Willebroek to exclude Karim Hassoun from the governing coalition. “Hassoun is a radical extremist who supports Hamas and Hezbollah and imports anti-Semitism onto the streets of Europe,” says Belgian MP and EJA diplomatic envoy Michael Freilich. Karim Hassoun is the co-founder of the Hind Rajab foundation, that prosecutes Israeli soldiers around the world.

After months of negotiations following municipal elections in October 2024, the leaders of Willebroek’s two largest parties finally reached an agreement to form a governing coalition on Thursday evening, January 8th 2025. Willebroek is a city in the province of Antwerp, Belgium.

This development came about after Hassoun’s own party expelled the extremist following calls by the Belgian Jewish community to do so.

Hamas supporter

It was the Belgian Jewish Magazine, Joods Actueel, that led the campaign against Hassoun by publishing articles about the mans social media posts.

When asked if Hassoun would condemn Hamas after the October 7th attacks, Hassoun wrote on social media, “I condemn Hamas for not taking 500 or 1000 hostages, instead of just 200.”

Regina Suchowolsky, head of the Belgian Forum of Jewish Organisations and member of the European Jewish Association, had urged local politicians not to include an extremist figure like Hassoun. Joods Actueel also published photographs of Hassoun proudly wearing a Hezbollah cap and revealed images of him honouring a Hezbollah terrorist in front of the Belgian Holocaust Museum.

Standing firm

Mayor Eddy Bevers of the N-VA party had consistently stated that he would not govern alongside extremists and refused to share power with Hassoun’s party, Iedereen 2830. In the end, Iedereen 2830 conceded and removed Karim Hassoun from its faction, in order for a coalition to be formed.

EJA diplomatic envoy Michael Freilich, who is the only Jewish MP in Belgium and a party colleague of Mayor Bevers, praised Bevers for standing firm on principle:

“It is crucial that we uphold our responsibility to serve the public and refuse to give in to extremist voices. Hassoun tried to hide his track record, but did not get away with it. Under his leadership of the Arab European League, the Dutch branch of the organisation was convicted for minimising the Holocaust after publishing a cartoon showing Anne Frank in bed with Adolf Hitler. Someone like Hassoun is a vile figure and has no place in public office. His hateful actions impact and directly affect Jewish communities”.

Prosecuting Israeli soldiers

Hassoun is also the co-founder of the Hind Rajb Foundation, which seeks to prosecute Israeli soldiers around the world. He launched the organisation in September 2024, just one month before the local elections in Belgium. “This indicates that his primary focus lies in attacking Israel and Israelis, rather than addressing local

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In times of tension, celebrating our shared traditions becomes even more crucial.
EuroChanukah stands as a beacon of resilience, transcending boundaries and fostering understanding. President Ursula von der Leyen presence underscores the significance of coming together in solidarity.

As the menorah’s flames dispel darkness, let this celebration remind us that unity is our greatest strength. In facing challenges, may EuroChanukah inspire hope, tolerance, and a shared commitment to building bridges.

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Eastern Europe less affected by the coronavirus pandemic

One of the lessons so far from the coronavirus pandemic in Europe is that the eastern half of the continent is less affected than the western half.  
The combined death toll to date across more than a dozen eastern countries is less than the number of fatalities on any given recent day in Italy. The highest numbers of infections are in the Czech Republic and Poland, with around 4,500 cases in each country, still a fraction of the numbers in most western European countries.
Partly this could be down to lockdown measures introduced at an early stage in the outbreak. The Czech Republic imposed a strict lockdown three weeks ago, while at the same time Poland cancelled almost all flights in and out of the country. Polish authorities were also quick to close bars, restaurants, cinemas and schools. Police vehicles with mounted loudspeakers blare recorded messages urging people to stay at home.
‘’As far as I know there are no Jews among the people who died from the coronavirus in Poland,’’ said Edward Odener, a leading member of the TSKŻ Board, the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland, in a zoom conversation with the European Jewish Association. ,
TSKZ is the most important organization representing the interests of the Jewish community of the country, with 16 branches and nearly 2,000 active members, out of some 5000 affiliated Jews in the country.
TSKŻ aims to organize and to promote cultural events and Jewish art exhibitions, to consolidate and preserve the cultural heritage of Polish Jews, the Jewish culture among Jews and Poles, Yiddish language courses and publishing projects. It is is very active to preserve the memory of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and of the Shoah.
‘’Most of the elderly Jewish people prefer to rely on their relatives if they need help during this period and are quite reluctant to ask for outside help,’’ Odoner explained.
The Synagogues have volunteers to deliver basic packages of kosher products and matsot for Pessach to the homes of those who will request it. However, there are not so many requests and Odoner presumes that they have other concerns than to keep a strictly kosher Pessach holiday.
In the country, there is no shortage of masks since they started to produce them in Poland.  ‘’Everyone can buy online any quantity of masks, also reusable ones, at an affordable price and they got it the day after their order.
Poles are for the last three weeks in strict lockdown, and Poland closed its borders for non Polish citizens and for non permanent residents since three weeks, Odoner said as he explained the fact that the country was able to contain the coronavirus.
Odoner noted that he didn’t recorded any antisemitic incident blaming the Jews for the crisis like it happened in other countries in Europe.
The article was published on the EJP

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Belgium

Polizia italiana premiata per il contrasto agli antisemiti

Si è conclusa con un applauso alla polizia italiana la conferenza della European Jewish Association (Eja) nell’83° anniversario della Notte dei Cristalli. Per ricordare la distruzione di 1.400 sinagoghe in Germania e Austria e l’uccisione di alcune centinaia di ebrei, la Eja ha raccolto decine di responsabili dei ministeri dell’Istruzione d’Europa per fare il punto sul contrasto all’antisemitismo a scuola. Al capo della polizia Lamberto Giannini, la Eja ha tributato il King David Award per l’opera di protezione delle comunità ebraiche. È stato l’ex vicepresidente della comunità ebraica di Roma Riccardo Pacifici a ricordare che «in Italia non c’è una scuola ebraica o una sinagoga che non goda di una protezione costante». Al Giornale, il prefetto Giannini ha ricordato che «l’antisemitismo è un fenomeno al quale prestare la massima attenzione: anche l’emergenza sanitaria ha dato vita a rigurgiti antiebraici sul web».
Cosa succede in rete?

«In molti fanno circolare dichiarazioni di odio che noi perseguiamo come reato, spesso senza neppure rendersi conto della gravità delle loro frasi, magari scritte per fare un commento o per emulazione».

Si tratta solo di privati disattenti?
«No, l’associazione Stormfront (24 condanne nel 2020, ndr) aveva addentellati con il suprematismo americano e si spendeva anche in maniera contraddittoria per il negazionismo da un lato, giustificando dall’altro lo sterminio degli ebrei».
Perché la Eja ha premiato la polizia italiana?
«Perché da noi tutte le forze dell’ordine prestano grande attenzione alla protezione di una comunità colpita nel 1982 (con l’attentato alla sinagoga di Roma, ndr). Oggi esiste un rapporto stretto con le comunità ebraiche, che ci segnalano eventi potenzialmente pericolosi: questo coordinamento la differenza».
Qual è la situazione della sicurezza dopo due anni di pandemia?
«Ci dobbiamo preparare alle riaperture già iniziate con serenità ed equilibrio. Io penso all’Italia come a una molla che è stata compressa e adesso si muove per tornare alla sua estensione: serve fare attenzione. Oggi occorre evitare infiltrazione della criminalità nei fondi che stanno arrivando. Sul fronte manifestazioni cerchiamo di contemperare il diritto a manifestare con il dovere di farlo in maniera pacifica. I fatti internazionali ci ricordano poi che esiste un rischio terrorismo: senza dubbio stiamo vivendo un periodo che non ha precedenti».
 
https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/polizia-italiana-premiata-contrasto-agli-antisemiti-1988059.html

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Are the Abraham Accords stronger thant the war between Israel and Hamas?

”We want everyone to acknowledge and accept that Israel is there to exist and that the roots of Jews, Christian are not in New York or Paris but here in our region. They are part of our history and they should be part of our future,’’ said Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council.

‘’From the United Arab Emirates perspective, the Abraham Accords are there to stay,’’ said Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee of the UAE Federal National Council, who played a leading role in the 2020 accords which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries.

”This the third war in Gaza. Whenever there is something happening in Gaza, people come to us and ask: ‘What do you think of the Abraham Accords. Are you going to change ? ‘’

‘’The Accords are our future. It is not an agreement between two governements but a platform that we believe should transform the region where everyone will enjoy security, stability and prosperity,” he said as reports say that Iran’s main interest was—and remains—to prevent the United States from brokering Saudi-Israel normalization.

‘’This is a  people to people engagement. This is what we need. We want everyone to acknowledge and accept that Israel is there to exist and that the roots of Jews, Christian are not in New York or  Paris but here in our region. They are part of our history and they should be part of our future,’’ added Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, during a special online briefing organized by the European Jewish Association (EJA) together with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel adocacy group in the U.S.

‘’We want to change the educational system and religious narrative. It is very important to understand that there are enemies for what we are doing. Those terrorist organisations don’t respect human life. Don’t let them achieve their goals. No person with a human feeling and common sense will agree with the barbarian terrorist attack that Hamas committed on October 7. No one,’’ he added.

He stressed the need to differenciate between Hamas and the Palestinian people. ‘’Our enemies took advantage of this. We need those who believe in peace in Europe, the US and everywhere to counter the hate narrative that we see in demonstrations in Paris and London.’’

Other speakers included Nicola Beer, Vice-President of the European Parliament who noted that the Abraham Accords ‘’are a good tool to support Israel and peace in the region.’’

‘’We need to make a difference between terrorists and the Palestinian people. The aggressor is Hamas and not Israel. We need to fight against terror everywhere,’’ she said.

‘’We stand strong with Israel and its right to defend itself against Hamas terror. We also understand that in the long run there must be peace for the people of Israel, Palestine and the whole Middle East.’’

On the EU’s position during a vote of a resolution on the war at the United Nations General Assembly last week, the German MEP from the Renew group, criticized those EU countries who voted in favor of a text that didn’t even mention the Hamas massacres committed in south of Israel.

‘’I would like all countries in the EU to vote like the Czech Republic and Austria who voted against,’’ she said.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who is co-chair and co-founder of the Abraham Accords Caucus and a member of the Hiouse of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said : ‘’ On October 7, Hamas committed a heinous terrorist attack, brutally, barbarically slaughtering 1400 people. They used murder, torture, rape as a strategy, as a goal. This is  clearly a war crime. There is no justification for this attack. Hamas is an norganisation dedicated to the genocidal vision of eliminating the state of Israel and killing Jews. What we see now is Israel taking action to secure its borders, protect its citizens and rescue the hostages, as well as elilminating Hamas from control of Gaza and from threatening Israel.’’

Former Israeli Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Idan Roll emphasized the need to have full backing from the moderate Arab states. ‘’We want not Israel but someone else than Hamas to be responsible for the Gaza Strip. When we left Gaza in 2005, Hamas choose not to build and develop it but made it a terrorist hub.We will not go back to the same scenario.’’

‘’When we see the demonstrations in Europe, it is not about the two-state solution but about ‘ Palestine from the river to the sea’ which means no more Israel. Young people are manipulated. Anyone who supports what is going in Europe, supports terror,’’ he said.

by Yossi Lempkowicz

https://ejpress.org/are-the-abraham-accords-stronger-thant-the-war-between-israel-and-hamas/

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