Jewish World Leaders Discuss Anti-Semitism

The situation of Jews in Ukraine, and in France; growing anti-Semitism in Europe; the boycott campaign against Israel; and the upcoming 20th anniversary of the AMIA center bombing in Argentina were among the topics discussed by the members of the Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in Paris. The meeting was chaired by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder.

Against Anti-Semitism in France
The Jewish leaders praised new French Prime Minister Manuel Valls for his measures to restrict free speech where it is deemed necessary to protect citizens from the spread of anti-Semitic and racist incitement.
There was a presentation from Roger Cukierman, the head of the French Jewish umbrella body CRIF (Charter of the Representative Council of the Jews of France), who expressed grave concern at the recent growth of anti-Semitism in the country. France has the third largest Jewish community in the world and the largest in Europe. Cukierman expressed great appreciation to President François Hollande and his government for their strong fight against anti-Semitism.
The WJC also welcomed action taken by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls—who was appointed as the new French prime minister by Hollande recently—to seek bans against performances by the anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala for incitement against Jews.
The WJC lauded a five-match ban and fine—imposed by England’s Football Association—on the French player Nicolas Anelka for showing the Nazi-style salute in solidarity with his friend Dieudonné, during a match. The WJC urged the European Soccer Federation to ensure that strong action is taken against any expression of racism and anti-Semitism in stadiums.

The Jews of Australia
The Jewish leaders, which included representatives from over 20 Jewish communities, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and the United States, called on the government of Australia not to repeal or reduce the impact of those sections of the Racial Discrimination Act that have, for over 20 years, protected the Jewish and other religious and ethnic communities from hate speech, including Holocaust denial.

Greek Leadership
They also expressed support for the efforts of the Greek Jewish leadership to combat rising anti-Semitism in Greece and commended the Greek authorities for bringing to bear the full force of the law on the leaders of the extreme-right and anti-Semitic Golden Dawn party.

The Situation in Ukraine
The situation in Ukraine was discussed in depth. There were presentations from WJC Vice-Presidents Yaakov Bleich (Chief Rabbi of Ukraine), Boris Fuchsmann (Jewish Confederation of Ukraine) and Josef Zissels (VAAD of Ukraine), who voiced their opinions on the severity of the situation.
Recent political developments in Ukraine have created a complex situation and have raised a feeling of insecurity among some Jews and other religious/ethnic minorities, living there. There was a unanimous resolution to recognize the new Ukrainian government’s assurances and actions, that Jews and Jewish life in Ukraine will be protected. The executives also expressed concern that the ultra-nationalist Svoboda party is represented in the new Ukrainian government, and that other extremist groups have played a prominent role in recent protests.
All parties were urged to ensure that anti-Semitic and anti-minority incitement is not tolerated, and further that the ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic expression of all minorities is protected. The WJC condemned all anti-Semitic attacks in Ukraine and called on the Ukrainian authorities to properly investigate them and bring the perpetrators to justice.
All governments, media and non-governmental organizations and their representatives were told not to make unfounded accusations, or give exaggerated accounts of the situation of the Ukrainian Jewish population, because their reports were what caused the complex situation. Authorities were asked to reinforce security to protect Jewish and other ethnic minorities’ sites in the country.

Anti-Israel Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
In another resolution, the organization decided that the fight against the anti-Israeli Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement was a top priority. Underpinning the BDS movement is the notorious rumor that Israel is an apartheid state and that one of the BDS campaign’s principals aims to achieve equal rights for Arab citizens of Israel, who already enjoy full civil and political rights.

The Two State Solution
In a separate motion, adopted unanimously, the WJC reiterated its long-standing support for the two-state solution as the only workable, realistic and principled basis for a true and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
They advised all parties not to relent in their efforts to reach a fair conclusion of the peace talks. They commended the considerable efforts undertaken by the United States administration, and called upon the Palestinian leadership to recognize Israel as the Jewish State, to engender an atmosphere of trust. The WJC noted that  recent criticism expressed by several Israeli politicians, that the United States may not have Israel’s true interests at heart and is not a true friend of the Jewish State is completely unhelpful and counterproductive.

Argentina and Iran
The WJC Committee called on the government of Argentina to rescind the memorandum of understanding signed last year with Iran, because the Iranian regime sponsors terrorism and has systematically refused to cooperate with Argentina in the investigation of the attack, which occurred in July, 1994, leaving 85 people dead and is being blamed on Iran.

Extremist Parties in Europe
Finally, the WJC Executive Committee urged European nations to take measures to diminish the effect of extremist parties and, if necessary, establish the legal framework for decisive action against those that pose a threat to democracy, and thus follow the example of the Greek authorities against Golden Dawn.