Labour councillor under investigation over pictures of him in an Adolf Hitler costume for children’s hospice fancy dress fundraiser

The Chairman of the European Jewish Association Rabbi Menachem Margolin this morning welcomed the apparent demise Iceland’s controversial circumcision bill, that sought to criminalise the act and threatened imprisonment to adherents, regardless of religious practice or obligation. 

Rabbi Margolin however cautioned that continued vigilance of contagion was a necessity not only in Iceland but across Europe.

On March 1 the Icelandic parliament sent the bill to the committee on Judicial affairs for comment, where it has been stuck since. The committee has now decided not to let the bill go forward for a vote on the floor.

As the legislative session is drawing to a close it is all but guaranteed that the decision to refer the bill to the cabinet kills its chances of becoming law. Whether the bill will then be re-introduced is still an open question

In a statement from Brussels, Rabbi Margolin said, 

“I welcome the apparent demise of what was a discriminatory, unnecessary and fundamentally anti-Jewish bill. The European Jewish Association, along with many other groups, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, made repeated and vociferous representations to the Icelandic government, registering our strong opposition to legislation that sought to criminalise an entire faith.

“Whilst we welcome the news, we must remain vigilant. In our experience bills such as this do not come out in isolation but represent an idea that knows no borders. It is sadly often the case that there is contagion where one bill fails in one country, it gets picked up by another.”

In first detailed country study for Moldova, 36% of respondents feel Jews use dishonest means to achieve aims, 19% have a negative perception of Jewish people and around 14% “really don’t like them” Other concerning findings: 32% say Jews exploit non-Jews and 36% Jews seek to gain advantage from the Holocaust and 37% said that Jews talk too much about it.  

(Brussels 5 March 2024) The Brussels-based European Jewish Association (EJA), representing hundreds of Jewish Communities across the continent, and Budapest-based Action and Protection League today published a comprehensive report on antisemitic attitudes in the Republic of Moldova, as part of shared efforts to get an accurate continent-wide picture of current attitudes towards Jews.  

The land-locked country of 2.5 million citizens has a small Jewish population of around 1,900, equating to 0.7% of all citizens, which, says EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, shows an irrational and alarmingly high prevalence of antisemitic attitudes.  

The survey, conducted between October 20th and November 14th, 2023, gathered 923 valid responses from the adult population of Moldova. The study utilized a stratified, probabilistic sampling method to ensure the sample’s representativeness. 

The Moldovan government has taken some actions in combatting antisemitism such as adopting the IHRA definition and changing the penal code to include the promotion of fascist, racist or xenophobic ideologies, public denial of the Holocaust, glorification of exponents of fascism/Nazism and the use in public or for political purposes of fascist, racist or xenophobic symbols.  

Speaking as the survey was published, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association said today: “The Moldova survey on antisemitism is part of our ongoing efforts to properly map the situation affecting Jews across the continent. “It is sadly clear that – despite some government efforts – deep-rooted antisemitism persists in Moldova. There can be no rational explanation as to why a community that represents such a tiny fraction of the overall population bears the brunt of such an alarmingly high number of stereotypes and tropes.  

“It will take much more than the adoption of the IHRA definition and changes to the legal code to make an impact on the antisemitic attitudes present in the Country. Change in the classroom is as a matter of urgency, if not the next generation will perpetuate and carry the virus of antisemitism with them. The Moldovan government has a tough road ahead in eradicating these old antisemitic attitudes that have no place in any modern country, especially one that seeks to join the European Union.” Ends