BRUSSELS (EJP)---Prime Minister of Flanders Kris Peeters said "history has shown that populist parties are not the solution to the economic crisis but rather a way to aggravate the problems."  

"It is easy to mobilize people around very simple and false slogans," he told Wednesday the members of the European Jewish Parliament in Brussels who discussed the impact of economic crisis on the rise of extremism, populism and anti-Semitism in Europe in the light of recent worrying important electoral gains of the neo-Nazi ‘Golden Dawn’ party in Greece, whose symbol is a swastika, and the rise of the extreme-right in France.  

The leader of the Greek party has denied in an interview the existence of gas chambers in Nazi death camps during World War II. 

“I hope that the Greeks who are going to vote again realize that populist parties are not the answer and that they will be more wiser this time,” he told EJP. He said he was confident that a solution would be found to the current crisis.  

“It is very important to stimulate dialogue  between people, communities and religions,” he said.  

“I am living in Antwerp where there is an important Jewish community. The city can be an example in Flanders for coexistence,” he said.  

The two-day General Assembly of the 120-member European Jewish Parliament  discussed what the body’s co-chairman Joel Rubinfeld described as the “banalization of neo-Nazism in Europe” and how Europe should “adequately” respond to this problem.

“European institutions and European leaders should have a position towards the major political families that it is unacceptable to come into coalition or government with neo-Nazi, nationalist or extreme-right or extreme-left parties. This position should be advised to the EU leaders,” said Antoniya Parvanova, Bulgarian member of the European Parliament,  who hosted the meeting.  

“If we have a position that the nationalist parties are bad why do we accept to come in coalition with such parties when we have to form a government,” she asked. “This is for me double standard and we should have a clear position,” she told EJP.  

“If it is not possible to form a government without the support of these parties, then further negotiations are needed but not a compromise to come in coalition with them. This should be clearly communicated and committed.”  

'No double standard'

“I don’t accept the party leaders to play this unfair double game.”  

“If they said that they are against euroscepticism, against anti-Semitism, against neo-Nazism, they have to do so not only in their political behavior but also in their action,” Parvanova said.

The European Parliament, she said, has the responsibility to ask the EU leaders “to clarify and identify what are the limits under which we perform on the political stage.”   

“If it is irrelevant to negotiate in the EU parliament with extreme-right and extreme-left parties why is it acceptable on the national level?,” she asked.  

“We at the European Parliament have to be consistent and responsible. The message has to be sent to the major European political parties leaders and to their representatives in the national governments.”  

“European institutions and European leaders should have a position towards the major political families that it is unacceptable to come into coalition or government with neo-Nazi, nationalist or extreme-right or extreme-left parties. This position should be advised to the EU leaders,” said Antoniya Parvanova, Bulgarian member of the European Parliament,  who hosted the meeting.   Picture: Antoniya Parvanova (L) honored by European Jewish Union co-chairman Vadim Rabinovitch (R) and EJU CEO Tomer Orni.

But Guy Milliere, a university professor in Paris and author of books on radical Islam and populism, believes that the crisis will aggravate in Europe. “This is only a beginning”.  

“Contrary to the US, there is no European dream around values and suspicion towards Europe leads to nationalism," he said;

“Parties find scapegoats for the crisis, like the EU institutions considered as too ‘liberal’ and the international finance, misrepresented as 'the Jews,' and this leads to anti-Semitism,” he said.  

Milliere believes that anti-Semitism is also reinforced by anti-Zionism and violent rejection of Israel. “Extreme left radicalism encourages anti-Zionist Islamism.”  

Inaugurated last February, the European Jewish Parliament, which consists of 120 members elected in 47 countries across Europe, “brings together and coordinate the voices of Jewish communities across the European continent to address the main challenges facing Jews in Europe and elsewhere.”

It gathers in the building of the European Parliament.  

Relations with the Knesset

Zeev Elkin, Likud member of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, where he heads the government coalition group, hailed the importance of the Jewish body and called its creation a “revolutionary idea.” “The fact that the European Jewish Parliament was democratically elected is not a common practice,” he said.   

He said the Knesset would be glad to cooperate with the Jewish Parliament in all fields. “We need your help and support in today’s complex reality,” Elkin told the MEJPs.

“Israel is not part of Europe but we look at Europe and European Jewry as very important partners with close ties.”  

He invited the European Jewish Parliament to hold its future General Assembly not only in Europe “but also in Jerusalem.”  

On the agenda of the parliament’s first General Assembly was also the constitution of 10 committees in various fields such as Israel, foreign affairs, anti-Semitism, culture, education, media, youth.... and the preparation of a Constitution. The committees started working on various projects and suggestions on the most pressing issues of European Jewish communities life.

"Expressed opinions are interesting, new and sometimes are quite groundbreaking," said European Jewish Parliament co-chairman Vadim Rabinovich. "We see how the situation in Europe, sometimes comes to a standstill, and members of Parliament should really offer revolutionary ideas."

"We need new and fresh thoughts, conceptual solutions for radical changes in European Jewry,  in communities of European countries, in relationships between Europe and Israel and many other questions," he added.

"The European Jewish Parliament is a step forward for European Jewry," declared Tomer Orni, CEO of the European Jewish Union, the organization that initiated the parliament. “The EJU is very proud of the progress made in advancing our goals," he added.

EJU is co-chaired by Igor Kolomoisky and Vadim Rabinovich.