ISRAEL AT WAREuropean Commission: Must act against anti-Semitism, “never again' is now”
ISRAEL AT WAR
European Commission: Must act against anti-Semitism, “never again' is now”
A statement published by the EU executive body stated that anti-Semitism in Europe has “reached extraordinary levels” and is “reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history." The Commission emphasized its commitment to European Jews.
Due to the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Europe and across the world, the European Union (EU) Commission published a statement Sunday calling on EU member states to take uncompromising action to combat hate crimes and protect Jewish communities in their territories. "It is our shared responsibility as Europeans to call out hate in all its forms and stand up against it," the statement said. Margaritis Schinas, the Vice President of the EU Commission, published the statement on the social network X and wrote, "Hate has no place in the European Union. Never again is now."
The EU Commission is the most important body within the EU, as it is the EU’s implementing body, and leading legislation including budget allocation, similar to a government. The Commission's statement said: "The spike of anti-Semitic incidents across Europe has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history. European Jews today are again living in fear.
“We have seen a resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union and worldwide: Molotov cocktails thrown on a synagogue in Germany, Stars of David sprayed on residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish stores and synagogues attacked in Spain, demonstrators chanting hate slogans against Jews.”
The Commission emphasized, "The EU stands by its Jewish communities. We condemn these despicable acts in the strongest possible terms. They go against everything that Europe stands for. Against our core values and our way of life. Against the model of society that we represent: one based on equality, inclusiveness, and the full respect of human rights. Jewish, Muslim, Christian – no one should live in fear of discrimination or violence because of their religion or their identity. The EU is determined to protect the well-being of all its communities, ethnic, religious, or other. We have to push back against this rise in anti-Semitism, as well as the rise in anti-Muslim hatred that we have been witnessing over the past weeks – which has no place in Europe.”
In recent weeks, security has been increased at synagogues and Jewish community events in EU countries, and the Commission emphasizes that it will continue to allocate resources for the physical protection of communities, as funding for this purpose has already increased. In addition, the Commission stressed that EU countries have "powerful tools" to deal with hate crimes, and it is urging them to take action on this matter.
According to the Commission, "EU law criminalizes public incitement to hatred and violence and sets out a common approach to tackling racist and xenophobic hate speech and hate crimes. Ensuring its rigorous enforcement is now more imperative than ever.”
“In cooperation with Member States, we will continue to step up security measures. We have already increased EU funding to protect places of worship and other premises and are working to make more support available. In parallel, we are stepping up the enforcement of relevant legislation to ensure online platforms react swiftly and effectively to anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim content online, be it terrorist content, hate speech, or disinformation.”
On October 26, the EU Council reiterated its strong condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack, saying “The European Council reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Hamas for its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel. The use of civilians as human shields by Hamas is a particularly deplorable atrocity. The European Council strongly emphasizes Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law and international humanitarian law. It reiterates its call on Hamas to immediately release all hostages without any precondition.”
