Federal Chancellor of Austria Blessings for Rosh HaShanah

September 29, 2020

The EJA warmly thanks Federal Chancellor of Austria, H.E. Sebastian Kurz for His Excellency’s kind wishes to the European Jewry in light of the recent holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

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Der geplante Verkauf von Gegenständen aus dem früheren Besitz ranghoher Nazis hat für Kritik europäischer Juden gesorgt

Der geplante Verkauf von Gegenständen aus dem früheren Besitz ranghoher Nationalsozialisten hat für Kritik europäischer Juden gesorgt. »Der Verkauf dieser Gegenstände ist eine Abscheulichkeit«, schrieben der Vorsitzende der Europäischen Jüdischen Vereinigung (EJA) mit Sitz in Brüssel, Rabbiner Menachem Margolin, und Vertreter jüdischer Gemeinden und der Zivilgesellschaft in einem am Donnerstag veröffentlichten Brief. Darin fordern sie das auf Militaria spezialisierte amerikanische Auktionshaus »Alexander Historical Auctions« auf, die Auktion abzusagen.

WEHRMACHT Zu den an der für den 29. Juli geplanten Auktion angebotenen Gegenständen gehören demnach unter anderem eine goldene Uhr Hitlers, Toilettenpapier der Wehrmacht sowie Besteck und Sektgläser hochrangiger Nationalsozialisten. Es handele sich nicht um das erste Mal, dass das Auktionshaus vergleichbare Objekte zum Verkauf anbiete.

Nazi-Artefakte gehörten in Museen oder an höhere Bildungseinrichtungen, so die Forderung. Die jetzt angebotenen Objekte hätten jedoch zum überwiegenden Teil »geringen bis keinen historischen Wert«, so Margolin in dem Brief weiter. Die Motivation der Käufer lasse sich entsprechend »nur infrage stellen«. kna

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124 NGOs worldwide urge Facebook to adopt IHRA definition o antisemitism, fight hate speechm

The joint NGOs’ call discloses that in recent remarks given by a senior Facebook representative,  the company “does not have a policy aimed at combatting online antisemitism”, sparking the coalition to urge Facebook to “join the ranks of the historians, advocates, activists, lawmakers, and leaders who compiled the IHRA working definition” and “take responsibility and move toward removing the scourge of antisemitism from today’s most important online public square.”
In an unprecedented joint letter, a coalition of 124 non-profit organizations from around the world have urged Facebook to adopt the widely recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism to fight hate speech on the social media platform.
The letter, which was sent to Facebook’s board and senior management on Friday, follows mounting public pressure urging Facebook to effectively act against hate speech and dangerous disinformation.
The joint NGOs’ call discloses that in recent remarks given by a senior Facebook representative,  the company “does not have a policy aimed at combating online antisemitism”, sparking the coalition to urge Facebook to “join the ranks of the historians, advocates, activists, lawmakers, and leaders who compiled the IHRA working definition” and “take responsibility and move toward removing the scourge of antisemitism from today’s most important online public square.”
In July, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, stated that “Facebook has to get better at finding and removing hateful content.” The joint call by the global coalition of NGOs emphasizes  that antisemitism and effective policies to address it, must be part of Facebook’s decision-making process to tackle hate speech.
Parallel to a surge in violent and murderous attacks against Jewish communities in recent years, online antisemitism has grown exponentially, with social media platforms serving as primary bullying arenas for the world’s oldest hatred. The coalition letter cites studies that “Jews overwhelmingly report that online antisemitism is the most acute form of Jew-hatred they experience.”
So far, nearly 40 countries have already endorsed or adopted the IHRA working definition in some official capacity, either through their membership in the IHRA or independently.
In the US, the definition of antisemitism is clear: The IHRA working definition has been adopted by the State Department, and a recent Presidential Executive Order on Combatting Anti-Semitism instructs the Department of Education to consider the IHRA definition when evaluating Title VI Civil Rights Act complaints of discrimination.
The signatories decision to focus on Facebook stemmed from the social media giant’s recent announcement that it would be revising its policies on hate speech and disinformation. The coalition’s decision was also based on a recognition that Facebook, as the leading social media platform, can set the standard for the social media industry in the fight against online hate. If, and when, Facebook adopts an effective and comprehensive policy to combat online hate speech and antisemitism, other social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok are likely to follow suit.
Irwin Cotler, the Chair of Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Canada, one of the signatories to the letter, stated :”Antisemitism is the oldest, most enduring, most toxic, and most lethal of hatreds – the canary in the minefield of global evil. The IHRA definition is the strongest and most definitive normative framework we have for monitoring and combating antisemitism on a governmental, parliamentary, law-enforcement, and civil society level. Its adoption is as timely as it is necessary.”
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association, a signatory to the letter said: ”With more people than China and over a third of the entire global population with accounts, Facebook is a world of its own. Its power and reach are immense. With such great power should come great responsibility. That social media platforms have become hotbeds of hate and antisemitism is undeniable. So too is a lack of responsible action from the company to tackle it. Signing up to the IHRA definition would be an important step and a visible commitment from Facebook that there is no place, in the virtual, just as the real world, for the virus of antisemitism to thrive unchecked and unfettered.”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Dean and Director Global Social Action Agenda of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the signatories to the letter, noted that ”during the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic and social dislocation following George Floyd’s murder, extremists, including antisemites, leverage the unmatched marketing power of social media to mainstream hate, conspiracy theories and lone wolf terrorism.” ”Facebook must take the lead in the struggle to degrade the mainstreaming of antisemitism via social media. The IHRA definition of antisemitism provides Facebook with a straightforward definition of history’s oldest hate.”
Prof. Dina Porat, who is one of the authors of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism stressed that the definition has become ”a yard stick, a declaration of values.”
”Those who join its adoption are committed to the countering of antisemitism, and of other parallel evils. It is high time that the major social networks, Facebook first and foremost, use the IHRA definition as a criteria to identify antisemitic expressions, and uproot them immediately, thus exercising their responsibility to help create a world better than the one we are living in.”
The article was published on EJP

¿Qué sucede con los judíos que permanecen en Ucrania durante la invasión rusa?

BUDAPEST – Algunos judíos se quedan en Ucrania porque no quieren dejar atrás a sus familiares fallecidos, sin saber lo que les depara el futuro, dijo el martes Aliza, una refugiada de la ciudad de Mariupol, en la conferencia anual de la Asociación Judía Europea (EJA) en Budapest.

Casi 5 millones de ucranianos han sido desplazados desde el comienzo de la invasión rusa de Ucrania el 24 de febrero, según las últimas estimaciones de las Naciones Unidas. Actualmente, según las estadísticas de la Agencia Judía, unos 200.000 judíos siguen allí.

“Nuestro pueblo está destruido”, dijo Aliza. “Antes de la guerra, teníamos una comunidad hermosa y pequeña. Era fuerte”. La comunidad judía de Mariupol tenía su propia escuela sinagoga.

“Todos en Mariupol sabían que si venían a nuestra cocina a las 10, obtendrían lo que necesitaban”, dijo Aliza.

El rabino Raphael Rotman, vicepresidente de la Federación de Comunidades Judías de Ucrania, contó innumerables historias de personas que pidieron ayuda y de familias que se reunieron con éxito fuera de las fronteras de Ucrania.

Cuando un amigo le telefoneó para que le ayudara a sacar a sus tíos de Kiev, le respondió que podía conseguirles un coche, pero que tendrían que hacer las maletas en 20 minutos y marcharse. Así lo hicieron.

Otra familia salió de Kiev un viernes por la mañana. Pasaron seis días hasta que toda la familia se reunió.

Aliza señaló que algunos judíos se quedaron en Mariupol porque tienen parientes enterrados allí -algunos en sus propios patios- que murieron por explosiones aéreas o por enfermedades para las que no podían acceder a los medicamentos porque las tiendas estaban cerradas, habían sido bombardeadas o saqueadas.

Recibió una gran ovación de los asistentes a la conferencia.

¿Qué está haciendo la guerra con los judíos de Ucrania?

Rotman relató sus experiencias en Bucha, Irpin y Hostomel -cerca de Kiev- llegando a los ciudadanos de estas ciudades después de ser liberadas.

En abril, después de que las fuerzas rusas abandonaran Bucha, se encontraron decenas de cadáveres en las calles de la ciudad, lo que provocó una gran conmoción en los medios de comunicación internacionales y en los líderes mundiales, cuando ya habían transcurrido dos meses de guerra.

El marido de una mujer murió durante la ocupación rusa; tardó seis días en ser seguro realizar un entierro.

Las familias están siendo separadas, las esposas de los maridos, los hijos de los padres”, dijo Rotman, que ha estado en Ucrania desde el comienzo de la guerra.

Para algunos de los judíos que Rotman conoció mientras luchaban por escapar del país en guerra, conocerlo fue su primera experiencia con el judaísmo.

“Algunas personas nunca habían asistido a un séder de Pascua; fue necesaria una guerra para que salieran. En Shavuot, un hombre que cumplirá 78 años el mes que viene recibió una aliá por primera vez. Era la celebración de su bar mitzvah.

“Estas son algunas de las alegrías a las que tratamos de aferrarnos en esta época de locura e incertidumbre”, dijo.

https://israelnoticias.com/internacional/que-sucede-con-los-judios-que-permanecen-en-ucrania-durante-la-invasion-rusa/

EJA calls on Split mayor to condemn antisemitism and adopt IHRA definition

In an open letter to the media in Croatia, the EJA called on the newly elected leaders of the city of Split – Mayor Ivica Puljko and his deputy Bojan Ivosevic – both of whom recently used anti-semitic references during their election campaign, to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism in order to draw a line under the incident.
Our Chairman Rabbi Margolin wrote “At a time of growing anti-Semitism in Europe, it is concerning that in the second largest city of an EU member state two people who made anti-Semitic outbursts or pro-Nazi excesses are elected to two leading positions,” the letter said.
“We welcome the courageous and quick condemnation of such behavior sent by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković, as well as the condemnation of Deputy Prime Minister Davor Božinović both (Puljko and Ivošević) on election night…in many cases, such behavior would result in the immediate withdrawal of that person from public life… the European Jewish Association believes that the adoption of the IHRA definition of anti- Semitism in Split would be appropriate to draw a line under this incident.”

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