BRUSSELS—U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism Elan Carr warned on Tuesday about anti-Semitism from three different directions and stressed the importance of education ”not only about the Holocaust but about the contribution of Jews to European values” in fighting anti-Semitism.
“In Europe, we have a confluence of anti-Semitism, from ultra-right ethnic supremacist movements to the ultra-left anti-Israel, anti-Zionist movements, to radical Islam,” he said at the general convention of the Conference of European Rabbis in Antwerp, Belgium.
“These are movements that should hate each other far more than they hate anything else,” continued Carr. “And yet they are united in this age-old sickness of humanity, anti-Semitism—what U.S. President [Donald] Trump calls the vile poison of antisemitism.”
“Anti-Semitism isn’t only about the Jews,” he added. “Anti-Semitism is history’s greatest barometer of human misery, and a society that has imbibed its poison is rotten to the core.”
Carr reiterated that the Trump administration is “committed in an unprecedented fashion to the Jewish people, to the fight against antisemitism in the world or to the state of Israel.”
He added that the kosher-slaughter bans in places, such as in Belgian regions Wallonia and Flanders, are “nothing other than a forced expulsion of the Jewish community from the countries that adopt this kind of legislation. It is intolerable.”
The Flanders ban took effect on Januaru. 1, while the Wallonia one will take effect in September.
Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia all ban religious slaughter without pre-stunning.
Carr told the audience, “You are the key to solving this problem [of anti-Semitism]. You the spiritual leaders who stand with congregations throughout Europe and throughout the world, who help Jews redefine Judaism, who make us rediscover our love and passion for the Jewish people. You hold your fingers on the pulse of exactly what we need today.”
Earlier, at a meeting with Jewish organisations representatives at the EU Jewish Building in Brussels, Elan Carr stressed that the U.S. administration is passionate about the fight against antisemitism.’’ But he insisted on the importance of Jewish unity. ‘’In fighting our enemies we have to come together when it comes to our security.’’
He also emphasized the importance of education in fighting ant-Semitism, ‘’not only about the Holocaust but also about Jewish history in each country and about the Jewish contribution to Europe.’’ ‘’We need to be cherished, loved and not just admitted,’’ he said. ‘’We need to start with education on values and spirituality.’’
An attorney by profession, Elan Carr was appointed in February by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.