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The Fight Against Anti-Semitism:
From Policy to Action

 
As Prepared for Delivery by B’nai B’rith International CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin
European Parliament
Brussels
February 7, 2019

Madame Moderator, Prime Minster Dăncilă, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Today we convene on the premises of the European Parliament, a venerable symbol of the democratic experiment Europe which began with the Treaty of Rome in 1957.  B’nai B’rith, a 175-year-old global organization whose presence in Europe dates back to the 1800s, has gladly welcomed the robust enlargement of the European Union over the years.  At the same time, we have advocated for the growth of other vital multilateral organizations, such as NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.  Through these organizations, member-states and non-governmental organizations such as B’nai B’rith are deeply engaged in efforts to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance.  With our rich history in pre-war Europe and our burgeoning membership throughout contemporary Europe, B’nai B’rith has actively supported the trans-Atlantic partnership and a strong European umbrella. 

There is no doubting that the growth of the European Union in recent years has furthered the broader goal of a peaceful, undivided, and democratic Europe.  Far more than a mere free trade area, the EU is a union based on shared goals and shared values – an increasingly vast zone of peace, stability, and respect for human rights and democratic principles.  Following a century in which Nazism, Fascism, and Communism reigned on this continent, the prospect today of a Europe in which there is no fear of war among member nations – unthinkable before the end of the Cold War in 1989 – has become an established reality.

But the democratic values we all hold dear are under assault today, as familiar hatreds and social illnesses have resurfaced and, in some cases, gained momentum.  Chief among these poisonous maladies is anti-Semitism, which could fairly be described as the cultural virus of Europe.  Anti-Semitism in its modern manifestations is a variation of the world’s most resilient hatred; today it appears in both new and ancient forms.

Here in Europe, the continent that experienced the Holocaust, the legacy of that historical episode figures somehow in the psychological calculus that has produced the burgeoning anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment so pervasive in Europe today, just as the escalating tension between Arabs and Israelis also contributes to this European phenomenon.  Add to this combustible mix Europe’s historical predilection toward anti-Semitism, and what results is the ugliness that has tarnished European society for much of the past 20 years and posed the greatest threat that has faced the Jewish community at any point since World War II.

It has long been a fear of Jews and other supporters of Israel that the generation of European politicians who grew up either during the war or in its immediate aftermath would give way to a younger generation for whom the Holocaust was merely a distant historical tragedy, its lessons substantially faded, if not forgotten altogether.  This helps explain the easy embrace of anti-Semitic attitudes—taboo for many years after the war, but no longer, apparently.  Also compromised is the bedrock understanding of the crucial importance of Israel’s existence, as some of the country’s critics have begun to argue for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would steadily lead to the eradication of Israel’s Jewish character.

Hatred of Jews today often manifests itself in the form of the persistent demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state. Right now Israel’s prized status as host of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest is under assault from entertainers, particularly in the United Kingdom, who are calling for the event to be moved to another country.  51 British artists signed a letter to the BBC slanderously referring to Israel as an apartheid state and asking the BBC to demand the contest be relocated.  These entertainers never objected when any other country, regardless of its policies or its human rights record, hosted Eurovision.  But the double standard that so often is applied to the Jewish state – and that is a blatant manifestation of anti-Semitism – has once again emerged.  Israel haters are advocating a move that will do nothing to advance the peace process but will instead merely cast Israel as a pariah nation and intensify its isolation in the international community.

Ladies and gentlemen, the fight against hatred is an ethical obligation, and this obligation remains as strong now as ever before, in light of the dramatic surge in anti-Semitism in recent years.  We must continue the difficult struggle against anti-Semitism, the distinct and uniquely resilient social illness that gave rise to the Holocaust and that persists, in both new and old variations, today.

B’nai B’rith is grateful for the Romanian government and our good friend Prime Minister Dancila for prioritizing the fight against anti-Semitism during their EU Council Presidency, as well as focusing on concrete policy implementation in close cooperation with the Jewish community and international organizations.  We are also pleased to see so many esteemed partners from EU institutions and EU governments here today that we have been working closely with toward the same goal.  Together with you, and in many European countries, B’nai B’rith is working to implement concrete actions.

On the European level, we are an advisory board member of the European Parliament’s anti-Semitism working group and work closely with the EU Council, Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, and her Fundamental Rights unit.  We also appreciate the cooperation of EU anti-Semitism coordinator Katharina von Schnurbein and her office.

Together with our B’nai B’rith Europe President Serge Dahan present here today, and through our representation in 22 European countries, B’nai B’rith strongly emphasizes transforming policy into action with the aim of protecting and nourishing Jewish life and culture throughout Europe and the world.  To give you a few examples, B’nai B’rith Barcelona launched an educational program in cooperation with the city municipality and Yad Vashem to teach the Holocaust in schools. The program will, after its continued success over the last six years, soon expand on a national level.  Nearby in Antwerp, B’nai B’rith is part of a joint initiative that organizes the annual Shalom Festival to celebrate peace, tolerance, and co-existence.  In Romania, where B’nai B’rith has a rich history and robust relationships, we have organized for the past five consecutive years a series of conferences and events called “Bridges of Tolerance,” which highlights the rich Jewish contribution to culture, the arts, and science for Romanian society.

But educational programs alone are not enough. Parallel efforts need to be undertaken in the spheres of law enforcement, the judicial system, and in the daily work of governments and organizations.  The request catalogue, which was coordinated and drafted among the leading Jewish organizations present here today, is an outgrowth of the Austrian Council Declaration on Anti-Semitism — unanimously adopted by all 28 member-states in December.  The document gives both EU institutions and member-states concrete and specific action plans that must be implemented to protect and support Jewish communities in their respective countries.

The work continues, as much remains to be done in the struggle against anti-Semitism.  The critical lesson we have learned from the experience of those who perished in the Holocaust is that indifference to the suffering of others is a failure of conscience and of leadership.  Therefore, we must aggressively confront every form of racial, religious, or ethnic hatred.  As the Holocaust recedes further into the past, its lessons faded if not altogether lost, it becomes even more crucial that post-Holocaust generations raise our collective voices on behalf of all groups, anywhere in the world, who are subjected to discrimination and persecution, or who are threatened by annihilation.

Seventy-four years after the Holocaust, and nearly two decades after the start of the current rise of anti-Semitism around the world, one simple imperative can serve as a rallying principle:  that complacency and inaction in the face of hatred can no longer be tolerated.  The obligation to confront anti-Semitism – and to make clear that the demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state is often none other than a pretext for the hatred of Jews themselves – falls on all of us.