The European Jewish Congress is extremely disappointed concerning the European Parliament’s lack of action and refusal to openly denounce the recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have been taking place throughout Europe.
In a span of four weeks, several western European countries, including France, Belgium and the UK, have witnessed an alarming number of anti-Semitic incidents (physical violence, vandalism, threats) – almost half of the total number of incidents monitored in these countries during all of 2008.
European parliamentarians and parliamentary groups have been reluctant to heed EP President Hans-Gert Pöttering’s strong statements against anti-Semitism. In a letter addressed to EJC President Moshe Kantor, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th, President Pöttering stated that : “[the European Parliament is] called upon to speak out clearly and reject any instances of anti-Semitism and intolerance in our own countries and in our own time. These are phenomena which have no place in our modern European community of values.”
“The European Parliament’s current session in Strasbourg will unfortunately not deal with the issue of anti-Semitism. It seems that MEPs would not discuss this issue while the President of the Palestinian Authority is addressing the Plenary. By doing so, MEPs are forgetting their responsibility towards the citizens of Europe” said EJC President Moshe Kantor.
The European Jewish Congress is again strongly urging EU institutions, in particular the EU Parliament, to pass a resolution that openly condemns anti-Semitism in Europe.