Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks ת.נ.צ.ב.ה

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The European Jewish Association is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Council of Jewish Leaders in Rome. Our primary objective on Monday was to convene leaders from diverse Jewish communities to address the pressing challenge of increasing anti-Semitism.

Discussions revolved around the efforts of each community, bolstering security measures, and sharing valuable insights. This gathering held significant importance as we came together to confront this alarming trend. Distinguished speakers and influential stakeholders contributed their expertise to these pivotal discussions.

On Tuesday, we wrapped up the round table discussions and had the privilege of visiting the senate, where we met with the President of the Senate. The Council of Jewish Leaders concluded with a visit to the Jewish Ghetto, further cementing our commitment to unity and solidarity.

#NeverAgainIsNow #NotOnMyWatch

“Ignoring history of 6 million murdered Jews and linking Holocaust to Gaza is exactly why the schools must take part…the Holocaust must transcend political opinion especially from educators… This is pandering to the basest of lies. The lie that seeks to draw a similarity with the Holocaust and the War in Gaza. The Minister of Education of Belgium should be intervening,” says Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin

(Brussels 9 January 2025) Two schools in Anderlecht, Brussels are refusing to take part in a ceremony marking the laying of Stolpersteine (memory stones) for Belgian Jews murdered during the Holocaust, stating that “the schools do not wish to impose the children any discussion on the Holocaust  given the current conditions in the Middle-East.”

One of the schools involved removed an Israeli flag that was part of a ‘flags of the world’ event recently according to reports that sought to explain the decision, at the behest of a parent who had complained about the flag in the school playground.

The Brussels based European Jewish Association, that represent hundreds of Jewish Communities across Europe, fights antisemitism and regularly takes delegations of Senior Politicians and influential figures such as Elon Musk, to Auschwitz to witness, to remember and to find solutions to fight against antisemitism.

The Chairman today expressed his shock and anger at the decision stating that such an ignorant approach to what happened is precisely why the two schools must attend.

In a statement today Rabbi Menachem Margolin said,

“At a time of record rises in antisemitism, it is precisely to the next generation that we should be transmitting the warning from history of the greatest crime against humanity committed.

“The Holocaust is beyond politics. Conflating the mass murder of 6 millions Jews with the current conflict with Gaza is shocking and an appaling dereliction of duty on the part of two schools who have a moral, civic and human duty to transmit the reality of the Holocaust to the next generation.

“I believe that this decision has been taken to not offend the parents of a particular group of children from a particular religious background. This is pandering to the basest of lies: the lie that seeks to draw a similarity with the Holocaust and the War in Gaza. The Minister of Education of Belgium should be intervening. We cannot eradicate the truth to please a minority who may think otherwise.”

Press release: Joseph Goebbels villa & hate speech -EJA responds to Berlin government plan to sell or demolish Goebbels villa.

European Jewish Association (EJA) makes urgent appeal to Berlin’s Finance Senator (minister): “Turn Goebbels Villa into a World Center for Combatting Hate Propaganda!”

For immediate release

The European Jewish Association (EJA) makes urgent appeal to Berlin’s Finance Senator (minister) who recently announced that the Berlin government could no longer afford the costs of maintaining an abandoned villa once belonging to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

In an official letter to Berlin’s Finance Senator (minister), Stefan Evers, EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin responded to the city of Berlin’s intention to sell or demolish a villa once belonging Joseph Goebbels, by expressing EJA’s willingness to explore solutions regarding the preservation of the estate.

Addressing Berlin’s finance minister, Rabbi Margolin noted:

“Turning the villa that once belonged to one of the worst engineers of genocidal propaganda in human history into a center for political psychology, communication, and combating hate speech would be an important moral victory.

“EJA is ready to examine the possibility of promoting the idea of such a center and realizing it.

“91 years since the Nazis came to power, the free world is once again facing waves of lethal propaganda deliberately engineered to create a virtual reality that nurtures hate and destructive violence.

“It is precisely these days that Dr. Goebbels’ villa should not be demolished. Rather, it should stand as both an eternal reminder of the perilous dangers posed by hate speech as well as an important center for identifying hate trends that are on the rise at an alarming exponential rate in the entire western world, including Germany.”

“The European Jewish Association is interested in exploring the possibility of turning the estate of one of the worst engineers of genocidal propaganda in human history into a center for the study of political psychology, communication and the fight against hate speech.

“We are interested in implementing the matter together with the Berlin government”.

In his letter to Senator Stefan Evers, Rabbi Margolin concludes:

“Although this week marks exactly 79 years since Goebbels poisoned his six children and committed suicide in the infamous Hitler bunker, a reminder of an equally fascist and murderous leadership currently lurking underground in Gaza, we are again living in chilling times where people are seeking to destroy Jews – but now no longer only through words.

“Let us transform the villa, from where hate speech and genocidal thought was once spread, to place for spreading good. Doing so would be an important moral victory.”

For more details / request to interview Rabbi Margolin,
please contact your EIPA/EJA media advisor – Yossi Lempkowicz, Tovi Borins, Oliver Bradley, David Khalfa, or Juan Caldes

or Tal Rabina of the Israel team:
+972 50-5331027