JERUSALEM (WJC) –Hours before the lethal terrorist outrage in Nice, in a speech to the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR), which operates under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress, the European Commission’s coordinator on combating anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, said that although there had been a spike of anti-Semitic incidents recently, especially in France, this was not due to the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe.
Nevertheless, the migration issue has created tremendous challenges, she said. “The fear of others was central to the Brexit debate. Some are turning to populism.”
One of the goals of the EU’s efforts, she said, is to adopt a working definition of antisemitism and propose it to the different member states. She added that anti-Semitism must be fought in all its manifestations, whether it emerges from the right wing, left wing, is religion-based, or presented as anti-Zionism.
Anti-Semitic hate speech and incitement to violence in general has spread on social media, she said. Von Schnurbein, who was appointed to the position in December 2015, declared: “We must create a link between what people do online and the real world.” France and her native Germany, she noted, had been particularly active in cracking down on online incitement.
Turning to the issue of education, the EU official said that a more holistic approach to learning about Jews and their contribution to European culture was necessary, and it was important that this be a part of the education of every child in Europe.
She also noted that another of her goals was to build coalitions and that her priority is to visit Jewish communities in member states as well as organizations fighting antisemitism, including Muslim groups. “This struggle is not for Jews alone.” Jews, said von Schnurbein, had been the targets of violent attacks in Europe, “but as we know, it always starts with Jews but never ends there.”
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