The European Jewish Association is proud and delighted to welcome another organisation to our growing roster of partners and communities.
We have just concluded and signed a memorandum of understanding with The Kiev Jewish Community and Association of Jewish Communities in Ukraine.
We are sure that this cooperation will bring with it beautiful and important accomplishments. We look forward to working for the betterment of Dutch and European Jewry together.
Vandals struck a synagogue gate in Bulgaria and a monument to the victims of the shooting attack last Yom Kippur near a synagogue in Halle, Germany, in a spate of unrelated incidents last week in Europe, the JTA reported.
In Bulgaria, the words “Free Palestine Israel=Nazis Antifa Bulgaria” were spray-painted Wednesday on the gate to the synagogue of Plovdiv, a city situated about 100 miles southeast of the capital Sofia.
While in Germany, in Halle, a plexiglas panel on the monument of the shooting was smashed. The vandals also tried to set fire to a flag of Israel under the Plexiglas, the Jewish Community of Halle wrote Tuesday on their social media page.
Also in Germany, in a third incident, a structure inside the Jewish cemetery of the town of Krumbach, in southern Germany, was damaged. Police are treating the vandalism as an anti-Semitic case because earlier this year, a nearby picnic table was dismantled and the wooden polls comprising it rearranged on the floor in the shape of a swastika, the website AllgaeuRechtsaussen reported Monday.
Also Monday, metal thieves removed dozens of fences and railings from around tombstones at the Jewish cemetery of Babruysk in Belarus, the news Bobruisk.ru reported.
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Last week, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin asked prefects to step up protection measures for the Jewish community, particularly around schools and places of worship.A 62-year-old Jewish man was attacked in Paris on Friday.The victim, identified only by his first name Marco, was wearing a kippah and was leaving the synagogue when a man hit him and knocked him to the ground.The assailant reportedly uttered anti-Semitic insults. “I was shocked, because we’ve never had any problems with our synagogue,” said one witness.The victim was taken to hospital. “I’m fed up, I don’t feel like I’m in France. It reminds me of the Second World War, a return of Nazism. A new Nazism,” he told BFMTV channel.The perpetrator fled the scene.The mayor of the 20th district of Paris called the attack incomprehensible. “It represents a rise in intolerance that needs to be monitored. Together with the municipal and national police forces, we are working hard to ensure that any reports are dealt with, and of course to find the culprit”, he said.Last week, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin asked prefects to step up protection measures for the Jewish community, particularly around schools and places of worship, following the events of the last few days in Gaza.Anti-Semitic acts jumped 1,000% in France since the October 7th Hamas attacks against Israel.
Antisemitic attack in Paris: 62-year-old man beaten and insulted after leaving synagogue
Earlier today a delegation composed of representatives from the European Jewish Association (Alex Benjamin, Director of Public Affairs), our partners from the Action and Protection Foundation /Hungary/ (Ferenc Olti, Board Member of the Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association and Kálmán Szalai, Secretary) as well as Chabad Jewish Centre of Malta (Rabbi Chaim Segal and Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Segal, Co-Directors) has met with H.E. Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Education and Employment of the Republic of Malta, and members of his secretariat.
The main topic of discussion has been the European Curriculum and Textbook Project against Antisemitism, which is based on a successful seven-year-long initiative recently concluded in Hungary. Earlier this year it has also received a “best practice” status from the European Commission. The cornerstone of the initiative is better familiarisation of youth with the history, culture and contributions of the European and local Jewish community, thereby facilitating mutual understanding, social dialogue and, of course, being able to more effectively combat and even prevent expressions of Antisemitism.
The project’s main idea is to adapt some of the Hungarian initiative’s elements in national educational curriculums – with, of course, the utmost consideration to local rules and practices. In order to do that, we approach national and/or regional educational authorities and professionals across the EU with the aim of establishing a dialogue, which might later transform into concrete proposals and potentially implemented items to be studied by the younger generation.
In the course of a productive conversation lasting more than an hour, touching upon the various aspects of the project, H.E. Mr. Minister has reciprocated interest in cooperation. We are most grateful to His Excellency and look forward to a fruitful partnership.
That said, this is just the first of many such meetings prospectively taking place in a number of EU Member States. More shall take place over the coming months.
The European Jewish Association and partners the European Jewish Community Centre held their annual Rosh Hashanah celebration in the European Parliament.
Hosted by MEP Jose Ramon Bauza Diaz, our theme was a celebration of Sephardic culture and its contribution.
Amongst the Special Guests at the European Parliament were David Hatchwell, the Founder of the Fundacion HispanoJudia, H.E Haim Regev, Israel’s Ambassador to the EU and Nato, and Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU’s Co-ordinator for Combatting Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life.
With MEPs, Diplomats and many friends and supporters in attendance, the evening was a great success.
It’s a challenging time for Jewish communities in Europe. Anti-Semitism is on the rise as populism and the politics of the lowest common denominator are gaining traction. Our communities often need round the clock protection and our practices and customs such as keeping Kosher are under pressure from increasing political interference.
