While criticism of a democratically elected government is normal, EU High Representative Josep Borrell has demonstrated – both before and after October 7th, a clear and repeated anti-Israel bias that has been a significant contributory factor to the ongoing antisemitism and the vilification of the state of Israel in the European public space
Given the record rises in antisemitism and the associated existential threat to Jewish lives in Europe, and given the lack of meaningful measures adopted by governments to date in dealing with the record rises and existential threat, Jewish leaders call upon European Governments and EU Institutions to:
– immediately establish online reporting mechanisms for the ongoing harassment of Jews and antisemitic threats, comprehensive police officer training in identifying antisemitism, dealing with antisemitism and arresting those that perpetrate antisemitic acts.
– enshrine in law the principles of the IRHA and establish the legal means to prosecute those in breach of those principles.
– urge national parliaments to include universities and colleges of higher education in the same body of law, with a view to prohibiting and prosecuting antisemitic incitement
More than 100 heads of European Jewish communities and directors of Israel advocacy organizations passed a resolution today (see attached full resolution) at the conclusion of an emergency conference organized by the European Jewish Association (EJA).
Aiming to formulate operational methods to combat the harassment of Jews across Europe and the rising tide of antisemitic hate since October 7, the resolution focused on three major issues: The lack of meaningful measures adopted by governments to date in dealing with the record rises and existential threat, the widespread but ineffective adoption of the IHRA definition of Antisemitism and while criticism of a democratically elected government is normal, the EJA notes with great concern EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s clear and repeated anti-Israel bias that has been a significant contributory factor to the ongoing antisemitism and the vilification of the state of Israel.
The agenda of the emergency conference, all under the theme of ‘fighting back’, was 100% solution-focused: for governments, law enforcement, security of institutions and the ‘Jew in the street’, in the media, and even in sports, thus taking in the totality of the Jewish lived experience at present. Attendees included the principal leaders of Dutch Jewry, the President of the CJO – the umbrella group of Jewish Communities in the Netherlands, the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands, and Community Presidents from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and other Dutch cities. Joining them were leaders from across Europe, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, to name but four. Those who spoke at the conference or sent messages of support included Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the European and Dutch Special envoys for Combatting antisemitism Ms. Katharina von Schnurbein and Eddo Verdoner, former NBA and professional football players, leading figures from Christians for Israel International and the Secretary General of the Catholic Church in the EU.
EJA, Chairman, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, noted at the opening of the conference: “We are in a battle for the continuation of Jewish life in Europe. Jews in traditional dress or those with mezuzahs on their doors are experiencing relentless harassment. Jewish students face threats to their lives and are excluded from university courses, while hate slogans are freely scrawled on Jewish homes, synagogues, and cemeteries. We must formulate plans to fight antisemitism on all fronts: politically, legally, publicly, and by increasing community and personal security. But all this might not be enough. Therefore, the State of Israel must urgently develop a practical contingency plan for the absorption of European Jewry in Israel. Unfortunately, this is no longer a hypothetical situation but a real existential threat that European governments are failing or unwilling to address.”
Joel Mergui, President of Consistoire of Paris (the largest Jewish community in Europe) and Chairman of EJA Jewish Leaders Council stated: “We thought that after the worst massacre committed after the holocaust, the Jewish people, both in Israel and in the diaspora, would have been strongly supported on the long run, but this was unfortunately not the case. Very quickly, Israel and the Jews worldwide were blamed for the consequences of the horrible and barbarian war launched by Hamas against them. This bleak and unfair reality is very frightening
Eddo Verdoner, National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism (NCAB), Ministry of Justice, the Netherlands: “Our office’s main goal is clear: we need to find the right implementation to fight antisemitism. New policy changes are required to find solutions to modern problems. We need to ensure that younger generations learn not only from the lessons of the Holocaust, but also from current antisemitism.”
Stefan Hansel, Hamburg Antisemitism Commissioner shared with the Jewish leaders that: “95% of Germany Jews come from post-Soviet republics. Most of these Jews are unaffiliated and have no voice to represent them, although they experience the challenges that are
found within migrant communities – including exclusion especially challenges that are found within the interactions with Muslim communities. We need to rethink our institutional relationships with [Muslim] institutions. Even with the overlapping issues such as kosher slaughter and circumcision, we need to call out the issues within the Muslim institutions which are clearly Antisemitic.”
Pascal Markowitz, Attorney at the Paris Bar and EJA Legal Forum member has briefed the conference about current legislation situation in France: “French Law forbids boycotting people based on their nationality. It considered it as a discrimination. We managed to sue anti-Israel activists based on this legal definition, especially against anti-Israel activists who organized boycott happening in supermarkets. This law should be regarded as a model that could be replicated at the pan-European level.
Kalman Szalai, President of Action and Protection League addressed the conference and stressed that: “the world seems to have forgotten the basic sense of right and wrong. we must recognise the exact threat we are facing. We must prepare for the fact that the number of antisemitic hate crimes will continue to increase, and the number of victims will also increase with this! Currently, there is no European umbrella organization that deals with providing protection, legal assistance, and mental help to such victims. There are organisations that have already been forced to provide such support in some countries, but an EU-wide representation in this regard is required. I believe it is of the utmost importance that we act together, as a community. This is now our task.
In a panel dedicated to the fight against antisemitism in sports, Eric Rubin, Global Ambassador for Maccabi World Union emphasized that “Sports should be used as a tool to combat Antisemitism. Although we will not make headway to racist fringe groups from the far-left neo-Nazis, our work at Project Max (Max Nordau) uses sports advocates to lend their voices to bring awareness to the middle 60 or 70% of the people in the world who are not really aware about what Antisemitism is.
Former NBA player (Chicago Bulls and NY Knicks) Michael Sweetney shared his personal experience dealing with antisemitism: “When I saw what was happening after Oct 7th, it hurt, because I had a special relationship to many of the people who had passed through the sports camps that I had coached. Going to Israel was very educational for me. Despite the preoccupations of people like my wife who were afraid for me, I was amazed how peaceful everything was. At the Wailing Wall, I was surprised to see Jews and Arabs engaged in normal conversations.
For further information, please contact: Nir Natan, EJA Spokesman +972-9535123
tal.rabina@eipa.eu.com
European Jewish Association
Rue du Cornet 22
1040 Brussels
TEXT of RESOLUTION PASSED BY EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADERS, BELOW
EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADERS PASS RESOLUTION AT AMSTERDAM CONFERENCE – 4 JUNE 2024
We, Jewish leaders and communities present at the European Jewish Association Annual Conference in Amsterdam on this day – 4 June 2024, following a vote, passed the following resolution:
1. Given the record rises in antisemitism and the associated existential threat to Jewish lives in Europe,
and given the lack of meaningful measures adopted by governments to date in dealing with the record rises and existential threat,
– urges the immediate establishment by European governments of an online reporting mechanism for the ongoing harassment of Jews and antisemitic threats suffered and that this reporting mechanism be directly linked to law enforcement agencies for rapid response.
– urges comprehensive police officer training in identifying antisemitism, dealing with antisemtism and arresting those that perpetrate antisemtic acts. Additionally, urges police departments to adopt a zero tolerance attitude towards violent and/or intimidating protests to include terrorist organisation banners, flags or insignia.
– urges each European Public Prosecutor’s Office to appoint a dedicated professional to deal with antisemitic complaints with a view to adopting much tougher responses to antisemitic incidents, and establish a fast- track procedure towards prosecution.
2. Given the widespread adoption of the IHRA definition of Antisemitism,
– urges national parliaments to enshrine in law the principles of the IRHA, and establish the legal means to prosecute those in breach of those principles.
– urges national parliaments to include universities and colleges of higher education in the same body of law, with a view to prohibiting and prosecuting antisemitic incitement – as defined by the legal definition – in classes, lectures, and in activities on campus properties.
3. We accept that criticism of a democratically elected government is normal but we note with great concern that the European Union High Representative Josep Borrell has demonstrated – both before and after October 7th – and via his spokesman Peter Stano, a clear and repeated anti-Israel bias that has been a significant contributory factor to the ongoing antisemitism and the vilification of the state of Israel as a whole in the European public space,
– states that High Representative Borrell has actively fostered a negative climate within the European Union External Action Service towards the State of Israel during his tenure,
– reminds the European Council and European Commission that the High Representative’s role is ‘contributory’, and that High Representative Borrell has frequently embellished or added to adopted European Council positions on his own initiative, including open criticism of the European Commission President stated support for Israel following the Hamas pogrom of October 7th,
– urges the European Council, in light of the significant damage to European-Israeli relations, and in his contributing to antisemitism, to properly vet the next high representative and ensure that the position and reputation of the EEAS is not allowed to be exploited and manipulated for partisan purposes, as it was under High Representative Borrell.
Conference calls on the European Jewish Association to send this resolution to:
– All European National Parliaments and Governments.
– All European Special Envoys for Combatting Antisemitism
– The Presidents of the European Council and European Commission
The Resolution was passed by a majority by show of hands on the 4th June 20
