Consensus that antisemitism is a global problem, not just a Jewish one
The antisemitism conference was attended by special envoys, coordinators and diplomats representing the US, UK, the European Commission and Israel.
By GREER FAY CASHMANPresident Rueven Rivlin with US and European Envoys to Combat Antisemitism (photo credit: MARK NEIMAN - GPO)Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem, but a global problem that poses a threat not only to the Jewish people but to democracy.This was the consensus on Monday at a conference on antisemitism that was held at the initiative of President Reuven Rivlin, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, Gesher and the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the President’s Residence, in advance of the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht: the “night of the broken glass,” which falls at the end of this week.The conference was attended by special envoys, coordinators and diplomats representing the US, UK, the European Commission and Israel.The key speakers were Elan Carr, US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism; Katherina von Schnurbein, European Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism; Lord Eric Pickles, UK Special Envoy for Post Holocaust Issues; Dr. Felix Klein, a career diplomat who is Germany’s first Federal Commissioner to Combat Antisemitism; and Frederic Poitier, France’s Special Representative on Racism, Antisemitism and Discrimination.In addition to agreeing that antisemitism is a global problem, participants also concurred on the evils of social media, underscoring that it is one of the most pernicious tools for spreading antisemitism in particular and racial hatred in general.While acknowledging that it is a wonderful platform for acquiring and disseminating knowledge, participants made the point that it is also the most widely used means for promoting hatred of others.This has prompted the European Commission to introduce special legislation that makes antisemitic content and other racial incitement online a criminal offense, for which platform providers are punished if the offensive material is not removed within 24 hours.According to von Schnurbein, the next step will be to introduce similar but more severe legislation with regard to terrorism, giving platform providers only one hour to get rid of material that incites terrorism.Pickles and his European colleagues seemed less concerned than Carr over what is happening on college campuses.“America’s college campus has become a place of staggering antisemitism,” said Carr, who warned that unless such antisemitic inoculation was eradicated at its core, there was a danger that brainwashed future leaders of society would be antisemites.
Carr later told The Jerusalem Post that he has met many radical “foaming at the mouth” antisemites on campus, but they’re not the ones he’s worried about. The greatest challenge is to win over and change the large component of middle Americans and make them philo-Israel, while simultaneously combating radical hate on campus, he said.Rivlin said that antisemitic incitement soon spreads to violence and murder.He refused to differentiate between antisemitism and anti-Israelism, saying that the latter is the modern form of antisemitism and that one can’t profess to admire Israel while hating Jews. It is difficult to believe, Rivlin declared, that 81 years after Kristallnacht, Jews are afraid to wear a kippah in the street and Jewish university students have to hide their religious identities on campus for fear of the far Right, the far Left and radical Islam.All spheres of law enforcement must be used as tools to eradicate hate crimes, he insisted, adding that it is not normal to protect Jews with guards or behind gates and walls.“Security does not solve the problem of antisemitism,” Rivlin said.
