Hitler wanted to destroy us because we are morally strong, Shimon Peres says

On the Eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the former president releases a video in support of the European Jewish Association campaign to fight anti-Semitism.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Shimon Peres video in solidarity with European Jews
Former president Shimon Peres showed his support for a new European campaign to fight anti-Semitism in a special video on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Hitler wanted to destroy us not because we are physically strong, but because we are morally strong,” Peres said.
“We paid a high price but ... to be a Jew means still to follow the moral call and keep our children Jewish.”
On April 8, the Brussels- based European Jewish Association launched the unique campaign calling on people in Europe, of all beliefs and backgrounds, to don kippot and other Jewish apparel, then film themselves walking down the street to show their opposition to rising anti-Semitism.
After posting their videos on social media, participants are then asked to challenge five friends to take part in the campaign, or to otherwise donate $18 to the Jewish advocacy group.
Anti-Semitism has been rising significantly in Europe and experienced a large bump during last summer’s Israel- Hamas war. In the past year Jewish institutions in Copenhagen, Paris, and Brussels have been targeted in violent attacks and both verbal and physical harassment of Jews have increased.
A third of Jews polled by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency in 2013 indicated that they have refrained from wearing religious garb or Jewish symbols out of fear, while 23 percent avoided attending Jewish events or going to Jewish venues.
A recent video of Israeli journalist Zvika Klein being verbally abused while walking through Paris while wearing a kippa and tzitzit went viral, receiving 4,726,814 views and generating media interest worldwide.
A similar video in Malmo, Sweden, showed invective being hurled at a non-Jewish Swedish journalist posing as a member of the tribe as he walked down the street.
Take part in the campaign. Send your video to: office@ejassociation.eu.