In a video message to the European Jewish Association delegation to Auschwitz, Bart De Wever warned that ”we must remain vigilant. ” He noted that in recent years, incidents of antisemitism have risen dramatically. “Hatred is again being followed  by violence and terror as we have seen in Manchester , Rouen, Berlin and beyond.”

EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin  stressed that Europe’s Jews need ‘’to be recognized with a special protected status — a status that safeguards a people, a culture, a way of life’’.

At a symposium in Krakow, former British Minister Boris Johnson  denounced what he called the ‘’false moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel which has  taken root and is absolute nonsense.”

‘’As Prime Minister I will always take full responsibility to safeguard the security and wellbeing of our Jewish community, in Antwerp, in Belgium and in Europe,’’ declared Monday Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in a video message to participants of a two-day symposium organized in Krakow, Poland, in the framework of the annual European Jewish Association delegation visit and remembrance service to Auschwitz.

De Wever, who had to cancel his visit at the last minutes because of critical budget negotiations within his coalition government, stressed in his address that ‘’ the  infinite pain of the Holocaust continues to live on in our collective memory. These darkest pages of Europe history are engraved in our conscience.’’

‘’We must continue to remember, to study, to witness and to educate,’’ he added.’’ In Belgium, and especially in Antwerp where the Jewish community and its history are deeply woven into the fabric of the city we continue to strenghten our policy of remembrance and education,’’ said De Wever, who is a former Mayor of Antwerp.

But remembrance, he said, is only one part of the story. ‘’We must also remain vigilant,’’ he added, noting that in recent years, incidents of antisemitism have risen dramatically. “Hatred is again being followed  by violence and terror as we have seen in Manchester , Rouen, Berlin and beyond.”

‘’ Just a few weeks ago, a student in the streets of London shouted ‘’put the ziors (zionists) in the ground. This shameless antisemitism is visible everywhere across Europe and we must never, ever giving to it, not by an inch. That is why vigilance is essential,’’ said De Wever.

He mentioned that in recent years he had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz as well as  Buchenwald and Terezin with his own family. ‘’These are places of remembrance that reduces us to humble silence. But they also give us courage, the courage to speak and to teach the story of the Holocaust again and again.’’

‘’That is why gatherings like this conference of the European Jewish Association are so important. They remind us to remember, to remain vigilant and to pass these stories on to our children. In doing so, we ensure that we stay on the path of goodness, the path of righteousnessn so that we may hand over a safer and better world to the generations that follow,’’ concluded the Belgian Prime Minister.

Monday’s symposium, titled ‘’Future proofing against hate and incitement’’, organized in commemoration of Kristallnacht (or the Night of Broken Glass), a pogrom against Jew carried out by the Nazis throughout Germany in November 1938, saw the participation of political leaders, ministers, mayors, prosecutors general, chiefs of police and relevant institutions.

In his opening remarks, Rabbi Menachem Mazrgolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association emphasized that the stoday in Europe situation of Jews ‘’is nothing short of a disaster.’’  ‘’How was this allowed to happen?,’’ he asked, speaking of “a failure for  which we must find answers and solutions.’’

He went on, ‘’when Jews are being murdered for being Jewish again, it is a failure. When we cannot be guaranteed to be safe walking around cities in a kippah or looking visibly Jewish, it is a failure. When our synagogues and buildings are behind fences and armed security, it is a failure.’’

He added that ‘’instead of standing here talking about the need to remember the dangers of the past, I must spend time talking about the present danger affecting Jews today.’’

‘’Instead of talking about creating the conditions for a shared and happy Jewish future, I am forced to talk about our very survival in Europe,deplored Rabbi Margolin.

Noting that today the vast majority of Jews are thinking about ways to defend themselves’’, he asked: ‘’how do we get permission from governments to give every Jew that needs one a Tazer?’’

‘’I ask because every day we are approached, insulted, threatened. We put our heads down, we walk away. It is degrading. It is a humiliation. Each time it happens it could be a knife, a gun, a fist or a foot against us and our families,’’ he said. ‘’We don’t want to carry knives or guns. But the situation is desperate. I believe the Tazer is the right approach,’’ he added, urging the audience ‘’committed to fight the hate that threatens to swallow us again, to help us.’’

‘’Many European countries have signed the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Many have appointed special envoys and launched national strategies. I welcome every sincere effort. But I ask you honestly: How many of you truly believe this has improved the lives of Europe’s Jews?,’’ he asked.

‘’It would be hard to find a single Jew who feels these measures have made our lives safer, better or more hopeful,’’ he continued, stressing that Europe’s Jews need ‘’to be recognized with a special protected status — a status that safeguards a people, a culture, a way of life’’ like it is  the case for the Sami people.

According to Rabbi Margolin, ‘’this means in practice: Security that is planned, funded, and guaranteed by the state — not paid by the victims, it means our faith and practice are not attacked by laws that dictate how we eat or whether we circumcise., it means schools teach about us — our roots, our values, our past, and our future, it means Jewish schools, cultural centers, and museums are properly funded and supported. It means our heritage is not hidden behind fences and armed guards, but celebrated and cherished as part of Europe’s story.’’

‘’This is not about privilege but about the survival of a people and the integrity of a continent,’’ he said.

Among the speakers at the symposium, former British Minister Boris Johnson from 2019 until 2022, denounced what he called the ‘’false moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel which has  taken root and is absolute nonsense.”

‘’When I was running London as a mayor, we didn’t allow foreign conflicts to spill onto our streets and divide our communities,’’ he said.

He also denounced the UK’s ‘’premature’’ recognition of a Palestinian state which , he said, ‘’achieved absolutely nothing for peace and only weakened our hand.” And he  mentioned that as Prime Minister he would never have decided to stop arms sales to Israel at such crucial time. He  noted that there were no demonstrations in London to condemn the summary executions by Hamas. No protest at all.’’

‘’We must show moral clarity about what happened, about the threat Israel faces, and about the tragic resurgence of antisemitism,’’ he added.

‘’A lot of the problem regarding the rise of antisemtism is caused by a failure of  leadership,’’ he said.

He lit a candle to remember lives lost to antisemitism across the world but most recently in the Heaton Park Synagogue attack in Manchester.

‘’We cannot turn a blind eye today, because we know precisely where it leads – to the gates of the concentration camp.It is our duty collectively to call out resurgent anti semitism and stamp it out before it is too late,’’ he said.

Johnson, who received European Jewish Associaion’s King David Award for his longtime support for the Jewish community and Israel, concluded by saying that ‘’it can be turned around – the Jewish people of Europe will come through these dark times stronger, and a greater blessing than ever before.”

The programme of the delegation includes a memorial service at Auschwitz-Birkenau on Tuesday.