President Von der Leyen at Chanukah celebration in Brussels warns of “old evil resurfacing in Europe,” announces new Jewish heritage award because Jewish culture is a ‘blessing to Europe”.

While the world at large is rightly concerned about Russia-Ukraine, a years-long effort to save Levi has failed. Levi has been imprisoned in appalling conditions in a primitive country since 2016 just because he is Jewish. After years of attempts to free him with the mediation efforts of another country, that route has failed. I was a small link in that liberation campaign, one without success I was told on Friday from the US.
A feeling of helplessness takes over me. Powerlessness and incomprehension too about Ukraine and Russia. The rabbis in Ukraine are in a very difficult situation. Some have fled and are now without a source of income, mostly in Israel, neck-deep in worries. Others have stayed, and don’t really know what to do, completely at a loss as to which way it will go.
I spoke to the chief rabbi of Dnieper on the phone. He can’t leave, he told me, because the older members of the congregation can’t leave either. There isn’t a single hair on his head that contemplates leaving his community, of abandoning his (sinking?) ship, as long as the majority of his crew members and passengers cannot or do not want to take that escape route.
More and more I think about my parents and their generation and the decisions they had to make to survive. My parents made the right decisions and that is why I exist and the second generation exists. But the great majority of then made the wrong decision and literally and figuratively had no way out. At the time, many thought that everything would not go so smoothly and that the Netherlands, like in World War I, would be able to escape the macabre dance again
And since I already started this new week from a low point, I can add something to it. Some of the Ukrainian rabbis or teachers have fled and are now elsewhere in Europe. They thought they could dedicate themselves to the Jewish Ukrainians who also fled to become their rabbi again, as it were, but outside of Ukraine. But it’s not all that simple. The interest in maintaining Jewish contacts is very low for the vast majority of people. For most, Judaism was a ticket to get away and seek shelter. But now that they’re gone and the first shelter is over…
Whether it is war or not, man remains human in times of war and also in his selfish behaviour. Some of the rabbis I know from Ukraine really couldn’t go back and are now in Israel, caring for their Ukrainians in the Holy Land. And I can again be a small link to financially support those rabbis and therefore be a part of their commitment, as it were. The rabbis who really can’t go back because their congregations have been totally destroyed are also supported. The stragglers too. But that in-between group? To return or not to return? And what about wife and children? That intermediate group is having a hard time, because they are either viewed as heroes or/and as traitors.
By the way, amidst the gloom, I also received a nice message. A Jewish-Dutch family that has been trying to settle in Israel for more than a year has finally managed to go through the long bureaucratic road of forms and signatures and can now finally make Aliyah. And another positive message is my appointment as a jury member. You see: no complaints about rabbinical variety. You may remember the discussion about the German war cemetery in Ysselsteyn. The result, after many discussions and meetings, was that a
monument was erected in memory of the 102,000 Jews, Roma and others who were not allowed a grave, unlike the murderers. Six artists can give a presentation of ‘their’ artwork and I will be one of the jury members. And so, I will be in Ysselsteyn on November 22. You will read about it here first!

Following Belgian Magazine Humo’ removal of the offensive and antisemitic article by Mr Brusselmans , the European Jewish Association (EJA) acknowledged it “ as a step in the right direction” , but said the legal case against the writer, magazine and publisher would continue “until justice is properly and meaningfully served”.

EJA chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin said in a statement today,

The removal of the highly offensive article is a step in the right direction.

However, the author has shown zero remorse for his “thought experiment” of murdering any Jew he meets in the street. He continues to regard incitement to murder as his freedom of speech.

The magazine editors only belatedly decided to remove the offending piece after a massive public outcry.

This is all much too little, much too late.

The EJA and a coalition of concerned Jewish leaders and organisations in Belgium will continue our legal action against the writer, magazine and publisher.

We still demand a full apology from the magazine and the suspension of Mr Brusselmans.

A strong, uncompromising response is absolutely necessary lest others think they can also call publicly for the mass murder of Jews.

We will not rest until justice is properly and meaningfully served.”

The European Jewish Association, representing hundreds of Jewish communities across the continent invited Political figures and Jewish Leaders from Europe to Zagreb and the Jasenovac death camp in Croatia, against the backdrop of the Hamas Massacre in Israel, an act that has profoundly affected Jews across Europe. The Conference began with a minute silence for all those butchered by Hamas last weekend.

Gary Koren, Israel’s Ambassador Ambassador to Croatia in welcoming the Conference delegates from Portugal to Bulgaria, said:

“This conference in Zagreb is now needed more than ever. Hamas is ISIS, and this war started with the blessing of Iran. Israel has no choice but to win and obliterate Hamas. This is the darkest of times, and there is no way to describe the pain our nation is going through, but we will prevail like we always do.”

Croatia’s former President Kolinda Grabar–Kitarovic said that the attacks against Israel represent “an existential attack against the normalization of the Abraham Accords.

It will have tremendous geopolitical effects, and sadly, antisemitism will only spike.”

Deputy Remy Rebeyrotte, the Secretary of the National Assembly in France, responding to European Jewish Press reports that since the weekend there have been 50 reported acts of antisemitism in France, responded:

“There have been over 202 antisemitic attacks in France in the last couple of months.

The Ministry of Interior is stepping up security measures in synagogues and all Jewish Schools.We see yet again conspiracy theories running deeply rooted in antisemitism. This time from the far left saying Jews control the world, the banking industry, etc.

“I want today to express support of France for Israel. The children of Israel are our children. All parties are condemning except for the extreme left with Melenchon”

Dragan Primorac, president of the Croatian-Israel business club, stated, “Evil is the antithesis of honor. Croatia is staying shoulder to shoulder with Israel. Evil will not prevail.”

Head of Combatting Antisemitism at the World Zionist Organisation Raheli Baratz Rix, who partnered with the EJA for the Zagreb conference, in an address from Israel said:

“Israel is under attack. They killed in a massacre of young Jews because they were Jews. This barbaric act is only murderous racism, which has only one name antisemitism. You cannot stay silent again. We fight for humanity. Israel will stay strong and will win.

Natan Albahari, a Serbian Member of Parliament added,

“It pained me to see what happened at the music festival in Israel. It’s unimaginable. There is no justification for those crimes. I am only one MP, but will use every platform at my disposal to make sure that message is shared in Serbia.”

Konstantinos Karagounis, a Greek MP and Member of EJA’s Advisory Board was scathing in his criticism of the Hamas Massacre in Israel:

“All political parties of Greece stand firmly in solidarity with Israel. EU leaders must reassess their policy towards Hamas, Hezbollah, and towards all these terrorists. I think we are all under attack. Not just Israel. Failure to act will endorse such brutality.

Terrorist activities must face unwavering consequences.”

William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organisations, in an impassioned speech to delegates, said:

“We need to make the world aware of what happened. They want to do Israel Judenrein. The only answer is Unity. We are strong when we are one. The IDF will succeed. We will survive as a people. Israel is our lifeline.”

Adel Benita, a citizen of Modi’in, Israel, whose husband was stabbed to death 40 times in a previous terror attack, spoke to delegates from the podium and said:

“Terrorism doesn’t differentiate between race or nationality.

“What we saw this past Shabbat and holiday – forty babies butchered, young people shot at a festival – how can we understand? How can those families cope in response to their loved ones being butchered and raped?

“This could happen to you in Europe. Terrorists don’t differentiate between race, gender, and nationality.

“I’m begging you to open your eyes and to ensure your leaders fight against antisemitism so this doesn’t happen again.”

MEP Manu Pineda, chair for relations with Palestine, shares Instagram post of Hitler poster with never again written on it being torn to reveal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving Nazi salute under the headline ‘again’, a clear breach of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, of which the EU Institutions are a signatory.

(Brussels 3 January 2024) The Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin today wrote to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola calling for, at a minimum, the suspension from the European Parliament of the Chair for relations with Palestine, Spanish MEP Manu Pineda.

Mr Pineda shared an Instagram story video showing a poster of Adolf Hitler giving a Nazi salute under a banner that reads ‘never again’. A hooded man then rips off part the poster to reveal Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu whose face and Israeli flag replace Hitler’s and the swastika, and leaving the word ‘again’ visible.

In his letter to President Metsola calling for the suspension from the House, Rabbi Margolin wrote,

“Regretfully, only 3 days into this new year, I must write to you concerning a blatant act of antisemitism committed by a Member of your house. I understand that in a war, feelings can run high. But this can never be an excuse to allow carte blanche to any hate speech, antisemitism included.

“In November 2022, I had the privilege of handing over our King David Award to you in Krakow, the next day we toured Auschwitz together. You are a leader who understands what is at stake, and the dark path that antisemitism can lead us to. I remember your inspiring words well. You said we should honour the legacy of the victims of the Shoah “by never forgetting, by never being indifferent, and by always, always speaking up”.

“Madame President, it is time to speak up. People look up to their public representatives, Mr Pineda included. The public often follow their lead.

“There is no doubt, none, that this video that he chose to share is antisemitic and breaches the IHRA definition of which the EU is a signatory. No words can be parsed here. The question is what will be done?

“In such a febrile time, with rates of antisemitism in Europe at levels unseen since WW2, doing nothing is not an option and only emboldens others to do the same.

“Mr Pineda has shown, in public, his antisemitism. You must show him that antisemitism is not welcome in the European Parliament. A suspension from the house would be the minimum we would expect.” Ends.