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Statement by President von der Leyen on the one-year anniversary of the 7 October 2023 acts of terror against Israel

October 7, 2024
EU Based

On 7 October 2023, the world awoke to horrifying images of unspeakable savagery, scenes that will remain etched in our minds forever.

There can be no justification for Hamas’ acts of terror. I condemn once again, and in the strongest possible terms, those barbarous attacks.

They brought immense suffering not only upon the people of Israel, but also upon innocent Palestinians. On this tragic anniversary, I want to honour the memories of the victims. The European Union stands with all the innocent people whose lives have been shattered to the core since that fateful day.

We reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for the unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to the conflict. We support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement.

One year on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is appalling. The European Union will keep doing its utmost to mobilise financial assistance and facilitate deliveries and distribution of humanitarian aid, to the Palestinian people, and now also in Lebanon.

Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel ignited a spiral of violence which has brought the entire region to a state of extreme tension and volatility.

All parties must act responsibly, with restraint, and engage to de-escalate the current tensions.

While we address the immediate crisis, the European Union is ready to help prepare for the day after. We will work in support of all efforts to set the conditions for a durable peace, leading to a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine coexist side-by-side in peace, with security for both. It’s the only viable path forward, to finally end the suffering.

Today our hearts are also with the Jewish communities across the world. Antisemitic incidents are again rising sharply. We must collectively fight this evil wherever it spreads – including online. We will keep implementing and update as necessary our Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. I will devote more resources to this goal. Everyone should be free to profess their faith in our Union. We take pride in our diversity. We must protect it at all costs.

Additional Articles

Belgium

European Jews Demand Unprecedented Scrutiny of Arrests Amid Rising Anti-Semitic Incitement

Amid the dramatic rise in levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and violent demonstrations on campuses across Europe, encountering a lack of action by European governments or even a tacit encouragement in cases like Belgium and Spain, the European Jewish Association (EJA), representing hundreds of communities across the continent, established a forum of senior lawyers and Jewish jurists from across the continent to develop legal tools to enhance enforcement against manifestations of anti-Semitism.

The lawyers surveyed the legal tools – laws and enforcement mechanisms existing in each country – and discussed current challenges, such as the lack of knowledge among plaintiffs and police, legal loopholes, the sluggishness of the judicial system, and also addressed the distorted reception of the International Criminal Court in the case of the aggression between Hamas leaders who instigated the terrible massacre of October 7 and the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the attacked state.

The forum decided on a series of operative steps, including calling for examining arrests until the completion of proceedings against inciters against Jews and Israelis in order to create deterrence, legislative processes to define the personal responsibility of politicians and government officials to prevent incitement and hate speech, measures to expedite and accelerate legal proceedings against anti-Semitic attacks, and of course, legal action against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.

The Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, who initiated the forum, noted that: “Unfortunately, too many governments across Europe are not truly willing to combat the plague of anti-Semitism that has reached unprecedented levels since October 7. The ‘National Plans to Combat Anti-Semitism’ and the IHRA definitions are a good tools, but as long as they are not implemented, they remain merely declarative. The plans are shelved and reality is worsening and becoming more dangerous day by day. It begins with people being afraid or hesitant to file complaints against anti-Semitic attackers, continues with the lack of response and the absence of an effective response from law enforcement authorities, and strengthens in the face of the fact that even when an offender is brought to court, the process takes years and in the case of punishment – there is no longer an effective message for deterrence and prevention. If governments, law enforcement authorities, and university officials fail or refuse to address the challenge, then Jewish lawyers will do so. We intend to confront anti-Semitism directly, develop evidence-based legal tools, and disseminate an operative guide that will define to the police what constitutes anti-Semitic incidents and how they should act in each such case. Rabbi Margolin noted that all Jewish lawyers who are members of the forum volunteer fully and out of deep commitment.”

Adv. Pascal Markovitz, European Jewish Association Advisory Board Member and Lawyer at the Paris Bar, a pioneer in the legal fight against anti-Semitic phenomena in Europe, noted that in France, effective legislation has been developed against anti-Semitism and BDS, and the country has also adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. However, Markovitz noted that there is significant difficulty in enforcing the laws and imposing sanctions on anti-Semites.

Adv. Avram Ishai Head of the Legal Center for Combatting Antisemitism – The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJLL), which partnered in convening the forum, noted that in Germany too, there is appropriate legislation against anti-Semitism, but the problem lies in enforcement when police lack the tools to identify and address incidents of anti-Semitism.

Wester Meijdam, Policy Officer at the Office of the European Commission Coordinator on combatting Antisemitism, revealed to the lawyers that 71% of Jews in Europe refrain from wearing or wearing items that could identify them as Jews. About 38% of European Jews have considered or are considering emigrating because they do not feel safe in their countries. 9 out of 10 Jews believe that anti-Semitism in their country has worsened.

Adv. Jonathan Turner, Chief Executive, UK Lawyers for Israel, noted that the police in Britain are ignoring the Jewish community – especially in London. While some police officers are very good and deserving, unfortunately, it seems that police commanders are reluctant to deal with the problem of anti-Semitism directly and comprehensively and fear internal rebellion, as a significant number of the officers under their command are Muslims.

The legal advisor to the European Jewish Association, EJA, Adv. Shlomo Dahan, noted that the guide to be developed for enforcement agencies will clarify to officers in the field how to identify and act from the moment a complaint is received to bringing the suspects to justice. The guide will detail to prosecutors in each country the legal channels they must take to achieve justice and how to distinguish when an utterance or act is an anti-Semitic statement or incitement, defined as a crime according to European Union guidelines.

 

  • May 23, 2024
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Belgium

Norway Withholds Funding to Palestinian Authority Over Antisemitic and Jihadist Content in School Textbooks

Norway’s foreign minister on Thursday announced that funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority’s education sector would be withheld until changes were made to schoolbooks that promoted antisemitism and terrorist violence against Israelis.
The decision followed a vote last December in the Norwegian parliament to demand such changes after the publication of a report by IMPACT-se — an NGO that analyzes school textbooks around the world for signs of intolerance — that demonstrated systematic insertions of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects in the textbooks used by the PA.
Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide said that when she met with PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah in February, she had “communicated the government’s views on the matter, stressing that lack of improvements in the school curriculum could have budgetary implications for future Norwegian aid.”
Søreide expressed optimism that changes to the textbooks would be implemented. “We feel that there is a good and close dialogue with the Palestinian education authorities on the issue,” she said. “Some of the curriculum changes have already been made by Palestine’s own textbook quality control committee.”
A statement from IMPACT-se praised Søreide for her “unprecedented decision.”
“This remarkable pronouncement is a clear message that Norway’s elected leaders will not allow their generosity to be abused, to deliver a daily diet of violence, bigotry and incitement against Jews and Israel in Palestinian schools,” the NGO declared.
The article was published in the Algemeiner

  • June 5, 2020
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France

Antisemitism in Paris university: Jewish student barred from entering because she was “Jewish” and therefore “Zionist”

The student was prevented from entering because she was J”ewish and therefore a Zionist.”

French President Emmanuel Macron called the incident “unspeakable and perfectly intolerable.”

A Jewish student was barred from entering a lecture hall at the elite French university Sciences Po by pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied the place and renamed it “Gaza Amphitheater”.

The student, who is a member of the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF),  was greeted with shouts of “Don’t let her in, she’s a Zionist.’’

The hall was lined with Palestinian flags and keffiyehs. Outside the university, students, including UEJF members, were also taken to task by pro-Palestinian activists. While the UEJF members called for a minute’s silence for all the victims of Hamas and for the release of the hostages, the pro-Palestinian activists responded in the negative, chanting “From the river to the sea,’’ a slogan which means the destruction of the State of Israel.

At a cabinet meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron, who is himself a Sciences Po alumnus, called the incident “unspeakable and perfectly intolerable.”

The Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé,  wrote on X that “what’s going on here has a name, anti-Semitism.’’.

The student was encouraged to file a legal complaint.µ

France – which is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the United States and to Europe’s biggest Muslim community – has seen a rise in anti-Semitic acts and pro-Palestinian protests since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

According to a survey  published at the end of last year, 9 in 10 French Jews attending universities have had an experience with antisemitism.

  • March 15, 2024
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Ukraine

New Jewish European campaign seeks to house Jewish refugees from Ukraine

“The history of the Jewish people is one of displacement, either because of pogrom or war,” said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, EJA chairman. “We are only too aware of what it means to be forced to up and leave at a moment’s notice. In almost every one of our communities you will hear such stories. We, the Jewish people, are especially attuned to these catastrophes. And because we are so attuned, we are pre-programmed to help our Jewish neighbors, just as we always have.

“I have faith that this campaign will deliver. Since the war started, Jews from all over Europe have been getting in touch with us to see what can be done to help their Ukrainian Jewish brothers and sisters in need. We are providing them with the vehicle to do just that, by offering shelter, food and clothing to those who left in a hurry, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs.”

Rabbi Menachem Margolin the chairman of EJA (credit: EJA)Rabbi Menachem Margolin the chairman of EJA (credit: EJA)

Another European Jewish organization very active on the ground is the Conference of European Rabbis, which announced this week that Israeli technology investor Yuri Milner has donated $3 million to the CER to help Jewish refugees from Ukraine.

“As we witness the terrible human suffering in Ukraine, the Conference of European Rabbis would like to announce a special donation of $3m. from the foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner,” said the conference. “Yuri is an Israeli technology investor and science philanthropist.”

The emergency funds will support humanitarian efforts to help Jewish refugees from Ukraine who, like so many vulnerable civilians, are in need of urgent assistance.

“The CER is grateful to Yuri and Julia Milner for their long-standing support and for this latest commitment to the Jewish community at this perilous time,” said CER President Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt.

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-700758?fbclid=IwAR2yLD2JGbS7tCP5k3V7SblC-mEcqpkkWByXPlxN0m8H2x8xnW0K8kTcsLs

  • May 2, 2022
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