Sites where Germans killed Jews are dedicated in Poland

On behalf of the hundreds of communities across Europe that we represent, and for European Jewry as a whole, we at the EJA would like to express our deep gratitude to all the Presidents, Prime Ministers, European Commissioners, permanent representatives, MP’s, MEPs and members of the public who took part in our ‘not on my watch’ candle campaign for Holocaust Memorial Day. Together, your important voice showed the world our shared purpose and goal, rooting out and obliterating antisemitism wherever it lies. Thank you.

(to see all pictures click HERE)|

Israel will be allowed to compete in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest with the reworked entry “Hurricane,” organizers informed Jerusalem on Thursday.

After the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the annual musical extravaganza, threatened to disqualify two of Israel’s entries over perceived political messaging, the Kan broadcaster worked to modify the lyrics to ensure the country’s participation in May.

The last lines of “October Rain” described the condition of Israelis during the Oct. 7  attacks, in which some 1,200 people were slaughtered: “There’s’ no air left to breathe / No place, no me from day to day.”

In one of the verses, the Israeli contestant, Eden Golan, sang the word “flowers,” which is Israel Defense Forces slang for fallen soldiers, but which does not carry that connotation for European viewers.

Israel’s second choice song, “Dance Forever,” was an apparent reference to the massacre at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, where Hamas terrorists murdered 364 people on Oct. 7.

Kan has said that the Jewish state’s third submission tells the story of a “young woman who is surviving a personal crisis.” The song, set to the tune of “October Rain,” will be presented to the public during a live TV broadcast on Sunday.

Last month, the EBU reaffirmed that Israel would be allowed to compete amid the war against Hamas in Gaza, rejecting parallels drawn by pro-Palestinian activists with Russia’s exclusion over its invasion of Ukraine.

“Comparisons between war and conflict are complex and difficult and, as an apolitical media organization, it is not our place to make them,” EBU Director-General Noel Curran told AFP.

A review by EBU’s governing bodies found “that the Israeli public broadcaster Kan met all the competition rules for this year and can participate, as it has for the past 50 years,” Curran noted.

The EBU head said his organization was “aware” of voices calling for the Jewish state to be excluded from this year’s competition.

“However, the Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political musical event and a competition between public service broadcasters that are members of EBU. It is not a competition between governments,” he said.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is taking place in Malmö, Sweden, following the Scandinavian country’s victory at the 2023 song contest. Golan, 20, will represent the Jewish state in the second semifinal on May 9. The grand final will take place two days later.

Last year, Israeli pop star Noa Kirel finished in third place in the Eurovision final in Liverpool, behind Sweden and Finland.

European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin asked Mr Musk to come to Auschwitz “to walk there, to feel it, to understand it”.

In a wide ranging live discussion with key Jewish leaders and figures across the world this evening on his X platform, European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin asked Mr Musk to come to Auschwitz “to walk there, to feel it, to understand it”. Mr Musk, reflecting on the question posed by the Rabbi gave a tentative yes to the proposal.

The EJA, one of Europe’s largest Jewish organisations representing hundreds of communities across the continent regularly brings European leaders for combined symposiums and remembrance visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau, to remember but also to find ways of combatting antisemitism and ensuring that its lessons are learned.

In a statement this evening, Rabbi Margolin welcomed Mr Musk’s tentative commitment to join the EJA delegation, which includes many European Leaders.

“It is one thing to read a history book or see pictures. But to really understand what the end station of antisemitism looks like, to really understand the depths to which the freedom of the Jewish people was denied and obliterated, to fully understand why we Jews are so worried about antisemitism, a visit to Auschwitz is a necessary and life-changing experience.

“We have brought many European Leaders to Auschwitz-Birkenau, many of whom have never been, and it changes them. It drives them to fight the hate.

“Mr Musk has said he supports the Jewish people, and he supports Israel. I believe that him visiting our ground zero will not only help him understand better the battle ahead against antisemitism and what is at stake, but will reassure Jews everywhere that he is taking the battle seriously.

“We are very much looking forward to turning the tentative to a firm yes in the weeks ahead.”

Every Day during the Corona crisis our Advisory Board Member Chief Rabbi 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.
Here, the Rabbi offers his unique and refreshing take on the portion. For our Dutch readers you can follow the diary every day at NIW home page: https://niw.nl and then: scroll down.
Caught with a cap!
It’s hard to find the right balance between exaggeration and naivety. The happy medium is the right way to walk, that should be clear. But where does that sweet spot lie?
I had not heard from an older intelligent lady, a brave woman, for several weeks. And so I called her up and it turned out that she had been struggling a bit with her health for a while.
Good that I called her, but I do feel guilty that I had only noticed her absence now, after a few weeks. In the meantime, since I called her, she has started reading some of my diaries and sends me the following response:
“Dear Rabbi Jacobs. I read in your diary pieces that you meet many people with personal problems and are very concerned about the rising anti-Semitism. That seems very difficult. I find it terrible to read those experiences. It’s too much for me. And after the war I had to hear in technicolour stereo about all the horrors of survivors of the camps. For me, the war started after May ‘45. I’d rather not read all that misery you have to hear and deal with. ”
And so, after this response, I wonder what the happy medium is. I try to warn against  rising anti-Semitism, but I absolutely must. Conversely I do not want to cause more pain to anyone who is already in pain.
I received a lot of WhatsApps to make “the Jewish voice” heard about the riot around Forum for Democracy. But what is “the Jewish voice”? And am I then “the Jewish  voice”? But keep silent? I presented my problem to a good friend of mine, a non-Jewish psychiatrist. When I open my mouth, some of them start to scream or I, for example hurt this brave woman unnecessarily. And when I remain silent, I get complaints that I am not speaking. His response was very clear:
“If you don’t open your mouth now, you’re no longer a rabbi to me. And if your comments make people sad, help them. That is your primary task as a rabbi. ”
But in addition to concerns about rising anti-Semitism and all the tensions associated with it, Hanukkah is getting very close. Today a phone call from Jerusalem to make a video while lighting the menorah at my house, without guests, with a call to light the menorah outside even if it is not possible outside due to corona, especially to do it indoors.
The call must be in Dutch after lighting the third light. A second phone call, also today, from Brussels to, even after the third light has been lit, a message in English about a non-religious subject, but about Hanukkah.
And the third assignment, a request came from South America to give a speech in Dutch of 25 minutes. That will be asked of another seven Chief Rabbis. Every evening a rabbi from another country will speak and subtitles will be provided. Apart from this I also have three TV recordings about… Chanukah next week! After all those telephone requests for TV, zoom, videos, Whatsapps and YouTube, I wonder if I could become a better director.
But in the meantime I will have to work very hard on the preparations for the coming week. I have already found a volunteer professional to record the videos. But the words are on me. That is a nice bit of creative tension.
Yet all these problems create tension, sadness and disappointment. It got a bit too much for me. And so I skipped schul tonight. My wife and I took the car to the beach.
Of course I didn’t wear my hat, but a cap. Just incognito. Get some fresh air. Delicious! We walk on the boulevard for less than twenty minutes, smell the water, feel the wind or suddenly someone behind me shouts: Rabbi Jacobs! Why don’t you wear a hat? You always say that we should not give in to anti-Semitism and keep our Jewish clothing like our ancestors in Egypt. You always say you are not willing to exchange your hat for a baseball cap! I didn’t know what to answer for a moment, I felt caught with my cap, but the walk was very refreshing…