JERUSALEM—‘’Today, Europe Is once again pursued by the ghosts of the past. Ideas of superiority, national purity, xenophobia, blatant anti-Semitism from left and right are hovering over Europe,’’ declared Israel’s Presdident Reuven Rivlin in a speech on the occasion of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Marty’s and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
He added : ‘’ We are not in the 1930s; we are not on the brink of a second Holocaust or anything like it. But we cannot ignore the old-new anti-Semitism which is once more raising its head, fueled by waves of immigration, by economic crises and by disillusionment with the political establishment.’’
He continued : ‘’From the right and the hard left anti-Semitism is permeating the heart of European leadership and we see record levels of anti-Semitic attacks in Britain and in France. A third of Europe’s Jews say they avoid Jewish events for fear of their lives. There is a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Jews in the United States (and again, just last Shabbat, on the last day of Pesach). In eastern and western Europe, we see how racist and anti-Semitic movements and ideas are coming back to life, even taking their place in parliaments and governments.’’
The president stressed that the Jewish people ‘’is no longer weak.’’ ‘’We are not powerless. The State of Israel is not only a stable democracy. We also possess great power – military, diplomatic and economic power.’’ ‘’We will always defend ourselves, defend the State of Israel and be committed to the safety and security of Jewish communities around the world,’’ he added.