“The book is a wake-up call by young Jewish men and women scattered around the four corners of the Earth.” 

”Jewish human rights have been forgotten or minimized in the service of a narrow yet hateful ideology, sadly led by those for whom human rights is a mere slogan.”

In reaction to the unprecedented attacks on Jews around the world and the appropriation of human rights to attack the one Jewish State, a new book was released titled “Human Rights: Written by Young Jews from 40 Countries” at a high-level ceremony earlier this week in Portugal.

The ceremony took place with the participation of Israel’s Ambassador to Portugal, Dor Shapira, who highlighted the challenges that Jews and Israel are facing. Also speaking were Ambassador Manuela Franco, National Coordinator of the European Strategy to Combat Antisemitism and Promote Jewish Life, and Luís Campos Ferreira, chairman of the ruling party’s international relations commission.

The book, an initiative of Bnai Brith Portugal together with the International Observatory for Human Rights, has chapters about human rights written by young Jews aged between 16 to 30 from 40 countries around the world. The writers were from all continents and spanned the globe, from China to Tunisia, from Australia to Guatemala, from the U.S. to India.

The book is in English and Hebrew and is available free of charge through international organizations and is already online (https://www.bneibrit-humanrights.org/).

The book highlights the global Jewish commitment to human rights and the minimizing of the human rights of Jews amid a surge of Antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Luís Andrade, President of the International Observatory of Human Rights, said: “The book is a wake-up call by young Jewish men and women scattered around the four corners of the Earth. This exercise of active citizenship leads these youths, who are governed by the highest moral and ethical values, to contribute to the construction of a more just, more equal world of greater solidarity that is also fraternal, tolerant and happy.”

David Nataf, the Vice President of B’nai B’rith Portugal, said “A world where human rights are paramount is dependent on people understanding their duties and responsibilities towards greater tolerance on the one hand, but also intolerance of hate, discrimination, racism and Antisemitism. The book comes in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre and seeks to highlight that Jewish human rights have been forgotten or minimized in the service of a narrow yet hateful ideology, sadly led by those for whom human rights is a mere slogan.”

The authors of the chapters in the book have varying and different viewpoints, but all have a passionate commitment to the Jewish people and human rights.

In his chapter Josef Eskenazi, 26, from Switzerland, wrote that “The exact content of human rights must be interpreted in the light of history. Any excess leads to a poor result. The Jews crossed paths with people from all over the world and today present features that are typical of peoples of all nations. But they were never welcome anywhere. They always suffered persecutions and miseries. Save for relatively short periods of time, everywhere the Jews had less rights than native inhabitants and were always the scapegoats for social ills. Those who were surprised by the events of October 2023 do not know their history.”

Gershon Stein, 22, from the USA, wrote “Like, similar to the acts of terror which came before it, 10/7 has changed the contemporary reality for Jews around the world. The resulting hostage crisis, Israel-Hamas war, and surge of antisemitism have shaped the contemporary experience for all.”

Writing about justice, Mara Garrett, 17 from Portugal, recalled that “The Jewish people created national and international law, dinim, which imposes on humanity a system of justice with honest laws and honest judges operating in a context of truth and good faith. However, exactly three months after Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel was tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice. This demonstrates a lack of a real commitment to law, if it just becomes a weapon in the service of political attacks.”

Several texts in the book address the current rise of antisemitism and discrimination that are felt in the countries where the young writers live. Yochanan Caldes, 26, from Belgium, wrote “The Holocaust happened 80 years ago. I always imagined that it would be centuries before there were further discriminations against human beings in general and the Jews in particular. But, today, I can testify to the opposite in Brussels, at the heart of Europe.”

Shlomo Elijah, 24 from the UK, wrote that “Antisemitism has always been used to express a prejudiced aversion to Jews, viewed as the root of all society’s evils. In a world that protects minorities in extreme and passionate form, the Jews are forgotten. Again.”

Aarishaa Mudaliar, 25 from India, wrote that “Jews have faced discrimination and persecution throughout history, often being denied equal rights and opportunities in various societies. From the Roman Empire to medieval Europe to the modern era, Jews have been subjected to systemic oppression, pogroms, and expulsions yet I can say with a lot of pride that we remain propagators of equality even today.”

Isaac Toledano, 27, from Egypt, wrote that “In the Jewish Constitution (the Torah), instead of reading us our rights, tells us to be respectful to others. “You shall love your fellow as yourself”. This major principle is comparable to the US Declaration of Independence opening with “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created to treat others with love and dignity.”

Tali Meoded, 17, from China, wrote: “By reminding ourselves that peace does not solely depend on policymakers drafting diplomatic agreements, but rather starts with ordinary people embracing the concept of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world through acts of kindness — our journey towards a brighter tomorrow becomes clearer and the tranquil shore seems much closer.”