Red Lines Follow-Up, Iceland

May 17, 2019

Eja director of public affairs was meeting the director of human rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives from the human rights ministry in Reykjavík this morning to discuss Jewish red lines with a particular focus on recent Icelandic parliamentary efforts to outlaw and criminalise Brit Milah (male circumcision).
In an open and frank dialogue, it was clear that circumcision is very much an alien concept to Icelandic people, but there is no Antisemitic motivation behind it. It is just not on their radar whatsoever. When Alex explained that nonetheless such legislation can be used as an enabling tool by those who espouse antisemitism they were receptive to this message. There is more work needed with political parties to get this message through, but it was a good start with Icelandic government officials.

Additional Articles

Our New Project: Medical Equipment Lending Center

The European Jewish Association and the Rabbinical Centre of Europe are delighted to announce a brand new project that we are rolling out across Europe, directly helping the sick and needy with the often expensive costs associated with securing much needed medical equipment.
Our brand new medical equipment lending centre means that the sick and immobile needn’t worry about buying wheelchairs, or expensive crutches walkers and the like.
We will provide them to communities on a need-by-need basis at no cost. When recuperation is over, the items simply get returned to the local community lending branch centre and passed to the next person that needs them.
This simple, effective project overseen by us but run at branch level by communities is open to everyone, but supplies are limited.
For more information on setting up a branch, or to apply for help. Please contact us at: info@ejassociatio.eu or databse@rce.eu.com

Fussballclub Chelsea mit Preis gegen Antisemitismus geehrt

Der Londoner Fussballverein Chelsea FC ist mit dem diesjährigen King David Award gegen Antisemitismus ausgezeichnet worden. Der Club erhielt den Preis bereits am Dienstagabend im Vorfeld des Champions League Spiels gegen Juventus Turin im Londoner Stadion Stamford Bridge, wie die European Jewish Association (EJA) am Mittwoch mitteilte.
Massgeblich für die Auszeichnung war demnach die Kampagne „Nein zu Antisemitismus“, mit der der Verein seit 2018 für ein besseres Bewusstsein für Antisemitismus bei Spielern, Mitarbeitern und Fans beitrage. Das beinhalte auch die Zusammenarbeit mit internationalen und nationalen jüdischen Organisationen. Die Initiative geht auf den Clubeigentümer, den russisch-jüdischen Oligarchen Roman Abramowitsch, zurück.
Oberrabbiner Benjamin Jacobs, Oberrabbiner in den Niederlanden und Vorsitzender des Ausschusses zur Bekämpfung des Antisemitismus bei der European Jewish Association, sagte: „Das Chelsea-Modell sollte überall nachgeahmt werden. Wir wollen Ihnen Danke sagen. König David ist ein jüdischer Held. Chelsea ist jetzt ein Held für die jüdische Gemeinschaft. Wir sind stolz und erfreut, den König-David-Preis für das Jahr 2021 an den Fussballverein Chelsea zu verleihen, und wir danken Ihnen von ganzem Herzen für alles, was Sie getan haben.“
Die schlimmsten Beispiele antisemitischer Hetze fänden sich nicht selten in Fussballstadien, erklärte der EJA-Vorsitzende, Rabbi Menachem Margolin. Dagegen gehe Chelsea anders als viele andere jedoch aktiv vor. „Es ist wirklich beeindruckend, nicht nur die grosse Mühe zu sehen, die der Verein hier investiert, sondern auch den aufrichtigen Einsatz dafür, zuzuhören, zu handeln und so einen Unterschied zu machen“, so Margolin. Chelsea sei damit ein Vorbild „nicht nur für andere Fussballclubs, sondern für alle“.
https://www.audiatur-online.ch/2021/11/24/fussballclub-chelsea-mit-preis-gegen-antisemitismus-geehrt/

COVID Diary- Reflections from Our Advisory Board Member Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs

Every Day during the Corona crisis our Advisory Board Member Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs (NL) writes a diary, on request of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam, which is published on the website of the NIW, the only Jewish Dutch Magazine. Rabbi Jacobs is the head of Inter Governmental Relationships at the Rabbinical Centre of Europe. We will be regularly publishing a selection of his informative, sometimes light hearted, but always wise pieces.

For our Dutch readers you can follow the diary every day at NIW home page: https://niw.nl
Column NIW 38 GB
Sara wants to tell her husband something positive and something negative. What do you want to hear first, she asks him? Start with the good news, her husband replied. Well, Sara enthuses, your Lexus’airbags worked very well. After two weeks holiday of writing my diary, I also have something positive and something negative to say. I'll start with the negative. I had to go to England for a few days. The reason why is irrelevant, but I want to share the corona bombardment surrounding this trip. The ferry ticket was easily booked, but then the test circus started. I checked online which test is required to cross the sea. €130 PCR. Afterwards, the test of €39 turned out to be sufficient. I had to be at the test site at 11:05 am, preferable not earlier. I was there at 11:04, but had to queue until 12:15! Two days later, after lengthy paper statements about testing, whereabouts and quarantine, I was in London. Four times a day I got a call from the local authority asking how I was feeling and where I was. They also send inspectors to check us at the door every other day. And then back home again. I expected the return journey to be easy as I am Dutch and fully vaccinated. Mais non! I was bombed by text, WhatsApp and email by the Ferry company. I had to have an urgent reason, which officially falls under the exceptions, to be allowed to return home. My full vaccination was not recognized as I am entering Holland from England and I had to have a negative PCR test less than 24 hours old. The latter was a difficult one, because my ferry left at 11 p.m. So, I could only go to a test location the next morning, on the day of departure, but I would receive the results after 24 hours, not earlier. I was quite upset about it. It seemed like mission impossible. After a few days in England and five tests with negative results, I was back in Holland. At the border I was kindly welcomed by our Royal Military Police. I just had to show my ID. No test results and not even my app showing that I’m vaccinated. That friendly “welcome back to the Netherlands and have a nice” made me forget all threatening emails, text messages and WhatsApp’s in no time and therefore my quarantine after returning passed without any emotional problems. Which shows the importance of a few kind and
friendly words!

ATTACKS AGAINST JEWS HAS STARTED – “WAKE UP, NEVER AGAIN IS NOW! - EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADER TELLS EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS.

“This is not about Palestine and Israel, this is not about politics, these are attacks against Jews everywhere in Europe” states Rabbi Menachem Margolin.

(Brussels 19 October 2023) Synagogues attacked in Spain, Germany, incitement all over Europe, reported antisemitism rises over 1200%. The European Jewish Association, one of Europe’s largest Jewish associations representing hundreds of communities across the continent, delivered a stark assessment this morning: Attacks against Europe’s Jews has started

EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin sounded the alarm and demanded that European governments wake up and protect all Jewish Communities across Europe. Never again (the phrase used on international holocaust memorial day) is now, he emphasised.

In a statement today, the EJA Chairman said,

“Our communities and synagogues like Melilla in Spain, and in Germany are being attacked, antisemitism hate has multiplied over 1000% times from already alarming levels, we are being insulted, assaulted verbally and in many cases physically in the street.

“I am of course writing to governments in Spain and in Germany. But Jews shouldn’t have to ask for help! My message to European governments is stark: WAKE UP!!! Never again is now!!

“Anybody who thinks this is about Israel and Palestine, or politics is living under a stone. This is merely a pretext for starting attacks on every Jew in Europe.”

“Governments across Europe mut immediately step up, protect JewIsh communities across the continent now. Right now.”

Additional Communities
United Kingdom
Ukraine
Turkey
Schweiz
Switzerland
Sweden
Spain
Slovenia
Slovakia
Serbia
Russia