By Yossi Lempkowicz, Editor-in-Chief of European Jewish Press (EJP)
A dark curtain of anti-Semitism has fallen over Europe, with record levels of hatred reported and Jewish communities fearing the worst. An anti-Semitic incident is reported every fifteen minutes in Europe…
Europe’s Jews, accustomed to the certainty that ”Never Again” meant exactly that, are seeing the weight of those powerful words crumble in real life, every day. If governments across Europe don’t get to grips with the problem, we’re going to start seeing an exodus of Jews from Europe,” explained one European Jewish leader recently.
Two weeks ago, hatred reached its peak in Amsterdam with a pogrom – for there is no other word for it – in which Jews who had come to watch a soccer match were chased and attacked in the streets.
In truth, these scenes, while shocking, didn’t come out of nowhere, and came as no surprise to the vast majority of the continent’s Jews. With the normalization of Jew-hatred, it was always a question of when, not if.
The crisis we find ourselves in began with significant but gradual steps towards this normalization: swastikas at demonstrations, the defamatory accusation of genocide, the denial of the existence of the only Jewish state in the world with the slogan chanted in the street ”Palestine from the river to the sea”, anti-Semitic graffiti such as ”Kill a Jew””, Jews attacked in their daily lives, on university campuses, daily calls for a ‘’global intifada‘’.
Some seek to analyze the words. They claim that criticism of Israel and its policies is never anti-Semitic. To these voices, we simply reply: if this were true, there would be no anti-Semitic emergency. No record number of anti-Semitic acts would be broken. The Jewish Agency would not be reporting the highest numbers ever of Jews seeking to live in war-torn Israel rather than remain in supposedly peaceful Europe.
If we trace the anti-Zionist discourse as it stands today, we find the same false accusations, the same roots of age-old, unfounded hatred of Jews. It has just adopted an acceptable face in the modern era, with Israel as its dissemination mechanism.
Anti-Semitism – right now – is the worst it’s been since the Second World War. No one, anywhere, thought to write those words again. But here we are, again, unfortunately.
A few days ago, the European Jewish Association, which represents hundreds of Jewish communities across Europe, urged the European Union and its member states to immediately declare “a six-month emergency period” to combat anti-Semitism. A period which should be accompanied by specific measures.
This emergency period, regrettable but absolutely necessary, would involve a heightened level of protection for Jewish communities across Europe, reflecting the nature of the emergency.
This protection should be accompanied by three essential special security measures: Firstly, ensuring that there is appropriate and meaningful regulation of public events, including the prohibition and penalization of expressions, insignia and banners that are anti-Semitic in nature and incite anti-Semitism.
Secondly, the requirement for prior authorization and a code of conduct and language applicable at public events, as well as the appointment of dedicated judicial resources in line with European legal frameworks, which should be put in place before any public demonstration or protest can take place.
It is clear to all that the absolute and fundamental right to freedom of expression is being abused on a daily basis to incite murder, hatred and division. Tolerance of this hatred, underneath our natural reflex to protect this fundamental right, directly fuels the fire of anti-Semitism.
And thirdly, the emergency designation should also translate into an increased police presence around Jewish communities and institutions.
In adopting these three reinforced precautions for an initial period of six months, the European Jewish Association says it seeks not only to protect Jewish communities, but also to defend fundamental European values.
Today, these fundamental values – tolerance, mutual respect, freedom to identify, to be and to live – can no longer be taken for granted by Europe’s Jews.
The European Commission tells us it has taken note of this appeal. The Commission is firmly opposed to all forms of anti-Semitism. Jews must feel safe throughout Europe. We will do everything in our power to guarantee this. And we encourage member states to do the same,” she says, adding ”we have the determination to act and the tools to do so, based on the very first EU strategy on combating anti-Semitism and promoting Jewish life adopted in 2021, which is now more relevant than ever”.
But despite these words of support, every Jewish community on the front line is waiting for the worst and wondering when a real European response to anti-Semitism will be forthcoming. The situation is urgent. The words of Hillel the Elder echo down the ages: “And if not now, when?
Now is the time.