More than 100 Jewish leaders from across Europe voted to push for special protected minority status for Jewish communities, citing growing antisemitism and security threats across the continent.

The initiative, led by the European Jewish Association, seeks formal recognition of Jews as a protected national minority while safeguarding key Jewish practices such as circumcision, kosher slaughter, and religious burial rites.

Jewish leaders warned that rising attacks, fear, and anti-Jewish hostility have made existing protections insufficient, arguing that Jewish life in Europe can no longer depend on the “goodwill” of changing governments.

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‘It has strong echoes of the Nazi past,’ said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chair of the European Jewish Association.

By JNS

An art center that receives public funding in Antwerp, Belgium, apologized after canceling a rental to a Jewish school, citing what it called the “genocide” in Gaza.

“We reviewed your request internally and realized that we responded too quickly,” Monty Hall wrote back to the school, after initially accepting the booking, the European Jewish Press reported.

“Although we have not yet spoken out explicitly about the Palestinian cause, we look with horror at the genocide that is currently taking place in Gaza,” the art center wrote.

“We also work closely with several Palestinian artists, who are also suffering from the occupation. For these reasons, we cannot currently respond to a rental request from an organization for which we see links with present-day Israel.”

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chair of the European Jewish Association, stated that new management was needed at the art center which “was prepared to discriminate so brazenly and openly.”

“This space is wholly unfit for public funding. We can only imagine what would happen if this space refused access to any other minority. But for Jews all is permitted,” he added. “No, this cannot stand.”

“It is naked discrimination based on a conflict thousands of kilometers away on the most innocent of all, Jewish schoolchildren,” the rabbi said.

“If it is allowed to stand, the message is simple: ‘Jews, you are second class citizens and you are to be punished for events elsewhere.”

“It also has strong echoes of the Nazi past,” he said.

The European Jewish Press reported on Saturday that Lana Willems, director of Monty, told the Belgian news agency Belga that she “made a mistake” and apologized to the school.

“The current situation in Gaza is heating up spirits and discussions, as can be seen in universities in particular, and our organization is no exception,” she told the news agency.

“In this context, I erroneously and too quickly established a link between the Jewish school and the Israeli government—with which we do not wish to cooperate, nor with the organizations affiliated to it.”

“I would like to apologize explicitly to those I have hurt with this email. I share the concerns expressed about the rise of antisemitism, racism and polarization in our society in general,” she added.

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Since Oct. 7, the number of antisemitic incidents has skyrocketed to record highs in several countries.

By The Algemeiner

A top European Rabbi is calling on Israel to “develop a practical contingency plan for the absorption of European Jewry in Israel,” as antisemitism spreads across the continent.

“We are in a battle for the continuation of Jewish life in Europe,” European Jewish Association (EJA) Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said last week. “Jews in traditional dress or those with mezuzahs on their doors are experiencing relentless harassment. Jewish students face threats to their lives and are excluded from university courses, while hate slogans are freely scrawled on Jewish homes, synagogues, and cemeteries.”

Margolin said that the EJA is working on formulating an emergency plan to fight antisemitism “on all fronts: politically, legally, publicly, and by increasing community and personal security.” But he warned that European Jewry’s efforts may fall short.

“Unfortunately, this is no longer a hypothetical situation but a real existential threat that European governments are failing or unwilling to address,” he said.

Antisemitic attitudes remain alarmingly high across Europe — particularly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 onslaught against Israel — with one in four Europeans harboring antisemitic prejudices according to an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) survey published last year before the Gaza war.

Since Oct. 7, the number of antisemitic incidents has skyrocketed to record highs in several countries.

In November, the executive body of the European Union issued a forthright condemnation of rising antisemitism across the continent, declaring that hatred of Jews “goes against everything which Europe stands for.”

The statement cited a handful of the thousands of incidents targeting Jews in EU member states. “Molotov cocktails thrown at a synagogue in Germany, Stars of David sprayed at residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish stores and synagogues attacked in Spain, demonstrators chanting hateful slogans against Jews,” the statement noted.

Last month, a 64-year-old Israel tourist was attacked by a mob in the Belgian city of Bruges and suffered a broken jaw after he and his daughter removed an anti-Israel sticker in a train station.

Margolin’s comments came after the EJA inaugurated a new self-defense program teaching Jews how to fight back against violent antisemitism.

Last week over 100 heads of Jewish communities from across Europe participated in a self-defense and knife attack neutralization workshop as part of an emergency EJA conference.

The training session was intended to “formulate operational methods to combat the harassment of Jews across Europe and the rising tide of antisemitic hate since October,” the organization said in a press release.

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The BBC had issued a statement of ‘apology’ for the questioning that was “not phrased well” while insisting that its reporting has been impartial.

By World Israel News Staff

BBC journalist Anjana Gadgil, who was reprimanded for her outrageous statements about the Jewish state, has closed her Twitter account after the broadcaster issued somewhat of an apology for her outrageous remarks.

In an interview Tuesday evening with former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, Gadgil claimed that the IDF intentionally murders Palestinian children.

“The Israeli military are calling this a ‘military operation,’ but we know that young people are being killed, four of them under 18,” Anjana Gadgil told Bennett. “Is that really what the military set out to do, to kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?”

When Bennett challenged her claim, she doubled down, saying, “Terrorists, but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children.”

On Wednesday, the BBC issued a statement of ‘apology’ while insisting that its reporting has been impartial.

“Across the BBC’s platforms—including the BBC News channel—these events have been covered in an impartial and robust way. The United Nations raised the issue of the impact of the operation in Jenin on children and young people,” the BBC stated.

“While this was a legitimate subject to examine in the interview, we apologize that the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate.”

Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, tweeted that she was pleased that the BBC apologized “for the clearly unacceptable language which was used in their interview with Naftali Bennett.”

‘Blood libel’

In a letter to the BBC following the interview, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, slammed the broadcaster.

“An assertion such as ‘the Israeli forces are happy to kill children’ cannot possibly meet the standards of journalistic probity that the BBC is world-renowned for. This blatant untruth, heavily loaded with emotion, and sinisterly reminiscent of the blood libel that has plagued Jewish communities over millennia, was broadcast to a potential audience of millions and articulated by BBC News anchor Anjana Gadjil,” Margolin wrote.

“Happy to kill children? What a disgusting accusation to make about a country whose armed forces go to enormous lengths to avoid civilian casualties. These children? They are 17- and 18-year-old armed terrorists out to kill Israeli soldiers and civilians! Sir, this cannot stand. Such a blatant lie is not befitting of journalism, much less the code of conduct of the BBC. We urge you to reprimand Anjana Gadjil and retract the assertion as soon as possible.”

“I see Anjana Gadgil from @BBCNews @BBCWorld has disabled her account. Guess she didn’t like being called out for her outrageous interview with PM Bennett,” tweeted international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky.

I see Anjana Gadgil from @BBCNews @BBCWorld has disabled her account. Guess she didn’t like being called out for her outrageous interview with PM Bennett. https://t.co/X5n7WOlgtM pic.twitter.com/4dQmTSlGx9

— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 5, 2023

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European Jews need to be consulted when it comes to plans that concern them, says EJA chairman Menachem Margolin.

By David Isaac, JNS

The European Jewish Association (EJA) delivered a straightforward message to Europe’s leaders at its annual conference, held in Porto, Portugal on May 15: When planning for the future of Europe’s Jews, let us have a say.

The conference’s title, “Shaping the Future of European Jewry Together,” captured that message.

“As we meet, leaders of the European Union and European governments are discussing and moving forward with their plans to combat antisemitism and plan the future of European Jewry,” said EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin in his opening remarks. “But how many of you were directly contacted by a diplomat or politician to ask: ‘What do you think should be the plan?”

“As you can see, not nearly enough,” said Margolin after a show of hands. A situation where European leaders didn’t consult the “more than one hundred representatives” of Jewish communities in attendance was unacceptable, he added.

Several European officials addressed the conference. Margaritis Schinas, European Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life, said, “Unfortunately, Jewish institutions across the continent are required to invest more and more in security. The data shows that approximately 38% of Jews have at some point considered leaving Europe precisely because they do not feel safe.”

Schinas went on to state that he was “very pleased” that 14 E.U. member states had already adopted national strategies to combat antisemitism, noting that at the 2022 European Council all member states had agreed to do so.

Elise Fajgeles, general secretary of the French inter-ministerial delegation for the fight against racism and antisemitism, said that her department works with more than 90 associations engaged in the fight against racism and antisemitism in France.

While France faces antisemitism from both the far right and the far left, she said, it was on the latter that it was “the most visible and vocal.” However, she continued, on the far right, “prominent political figures want to ban ritual slaughter that will eventually prevent Jews from practicing their own religion and consequently jeopardize their very future in France.”

Antisemitism has been allowed to fester in Europe because European leaders have other pressing issues and the Jewish community is tiny, Margolin explained to JNS. “Our work is to make sure that the governments pay more attention to this phenomenon.”

Margolin rated it a “great success” that European leaders now speak about the importance of Jewish life in Europe, and that there are plans to fight Jew hatred. Though modest about EJA’s contributions, Margolin admitted that the idea of European coordinators to combat antisemitism came from his organization.

The EJA, founded in 2000, has a multi-pronged mission: to fight antisemitism, promote Holocaust remembrance, ensure freedom of religion, strengthen Jewish identity in Europe and improve Israel’s image in Europe.

Reject antisemitism – reject intersectionality

In the battle against antisemitism, the EJA warns when it sees pitfalls ahead. It passed a resolution by a unanimous conference vote declaring that “antisemitism is unique and must be separated in national plans from other forms of hate.” It called on Jewish groups to reject “intersectionality,” a theoretical framework that separates groups into “oppressed” and “privileged,” and which typically puts Jews into the oppressor category.

“There is little to no solidarity or empathy towards Jewish communities from other groups affected by hate when antisemitic atrocities occur or when Israelis are murdered in terrorist acts,” the resolution states. “Other target groups against hate do not recognize antisemitism as racism but instead [as] a form of discrimination. Jews are additionally accused of ‘privilege’ or ‘leveraging’ the Holocaust.”

EJA had decided to focus on this topic in its resolution, said Margolin, “because the plans of the different governments in Europe did not really identify antisemitism as a unique phenomenon. We have no doubt that if antisemitism is placed together with other discriminations, it won’t get the attention it needs.”

Panels included community representatives from across Europe, who outlined the situation in their respective countries. One of the bleaker assessments came from Holland. Ellen Van Praagh, chairwoman of the Inter Provincial Chief Rabbinate for The Netherlands (IPOR), said that the media in Holland is anti-Israel and “on top of this, we have quite a few parties in our parliament that are opposed to Israel.” Jews are leaving Holland, she said, for Israel, the United States, “or anywhere in the world except Holland.”

Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binyomin Jacobs said that the Dutch have a skewed view of their actions toward Jews during the Holocaust, viewing themselves in a heroic light when, in fact, the Netherlands had the highest number of Jewish victims in Western Europe; that it was the Dutch police, not the German police, who rounded up the Jews, and that “the Jews who came back were not welcome at all.”

Anti-Zionism on the rise in the Netherlands

Jacobs told JNS that Dutch Jews are facing several issues, including anti-Israel hostility from the Dutch Protestant Church, (the Catholic church, he said, is much better in this regard), and a large Muslim population (about 5% of the total), which leads Dutch politicians to take anti-Israel positions.

“Anti-Zionism is growing and very strong in Holland,” he said. “It’s antisemitism, the same virus with another name,” he said, adding, “I’m not optimistic for the future of Jews in Europe.”

Reports from U.K. representatives were more encouraging. Steven Winston, managing director of the National Jewish Assembly, said that there are definitely “signs of improvement” as the Labour Party distances itself from its descent into antisemitism led by its former head Jeremy Corbyn.

The government is sending favorable signs with talk of legislation targeting BDS, said Winston, noting also that the United Kingdom has “widely accepted” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Winston said his organization “is developing some very fruitful connections with members of parliament and other key figures.”

Poland’s Jews also presented a more reassuring report. Edward Odoner, chairman of the review board of TSKZ (Social and Cultural Society of Jews in Poland), noted that Poland recently commemorated the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising’s 80th anniversary, with the main organizer of the event being the Polish government.

Poland has been unfairly faulted for not doing enough to combat antisemitism, he said, as criticism is based on how much Poland spends to keep Jews safe, overlooking the fact that Polish Jews aren’t threatened. It was due to this, he said, that “the government expenditure when it comes to the safety of the Jewish community is very minimal.”

Klaudia Klimek, vice president of TSKZ, warned that European politics were changing and that right-wing parties would gain still more ground. It was imperative for European Jewry, therefore, to make sure it remains able to reach decision-makers regardless of which side is in power. “It’s up to us if we are going to see this as an opportunity or a threat,” said Klimek.

With its eye to developing future Jewish leaders, the EJA announced a campus leaders academy and scholarship program. Offering a course, training camps and a stipend, the program’s goal is to give Jewish students the “necessary tools” to confront antisemitism.

“Some might ask themselves, ‘Isn’t it better I stay quiet and keep my head down?’ This is the worst possible outcome and exactly what our opponents want—scared Jews,” said Juan Caldes Rodriguez, the EJA’s E.U. Affairs Officer.

“Universities, places that were once the site for exchanging different ideas, have become the latest casualty in the battle of ideas, and it is brutal out there if you’re Jewish and a Zionist,” he added.

On the second day of the conference, attendees took a tour of Jewish Porto, including a museum commemorating the community’s history, its Holocaust museum and the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue, the largest synagogue on the Iberian Peninsula, which was inaugurated in 1938.

The community, which largely disintegrated after an antisemitic campaign against its founder, Capt. Arthur Carlos Barros Basto (1887-1961), a decorated Portuguese army officer who fought in World War I, revived in the last decade thanks to a determined and energetic leadership.

Margolin recognized the community’s achievements in an impromptu speech at the synagogue in which he said that if all of Europe’s Jewish communities were like that of Porto, then the European Jewish future was assured.

Their success isn’t found in the buildings and museums, he said, “It’s about, first of all, having their heart in the right place, having this agenda to reach every Jew in the city, and to make sure that every Jew will feel proud, that every Jew will feel welcome, that every Jew will have everything he needs in order to lead a Jewish life. I really admire you, the leaders of the Jewish community of Porto.”

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European Jewish Association slams sale as an “abhorrence.”

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

A watch that was said to have belonged to Adolf Hitler sold for $1.1 million in a controversial Maryland auction this week.

The engraved gold watch — presented to Adolf Hitler as a sign of gratitude from Nazi party members — was purchased by an anonymous buyer. According to auction house, the watch was taken as loot by a French soldier from Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s retreat in the Bavarian Alps.

The Huber watch, made of gold featured a swastika, a German imperial eagle and Hitler’s initials.

Jewish groups had called on the Alexander Auction House of Chesapeake City, Maryland, not to follow through with a two-day auction of personal items belonging to Hitler and his mistress, Eva Braun on July 28-29

Other items sold during the July 28-29 auction included a golden eagle from Hitler’s bedroom, Hitler’s personal stationary, a candy dish, a dog collar used by one of Miss Braun’s dogs, and a beer-serving tray.

The European Jewish Association denounced the sale in a letter co-signed by 34 members and leaders of European Jewish communities.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the the Brussel-based advocacy organization said Hitler’s personal items only give “succor to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for” and provide “buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters.”

“The sale of these items is an abhorrence. There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display,” Margolin stressed.

But in a letter to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Bill Panagopulos, the president of Alexander Historical Auctions, rejected the criticism as “nonsense and sensationalism.”

“What we sell is criminal evidence, no matter how insignificant. It is tangible, real in-your-face proof that Hitler and Nazis lived, and also persecuted and killed tens of millions of people. To destroy or in any way impede the display or protection of this material is a crime against history,” Panagopulos wrote.

The purchasers, he added, “are NOT neo-Nazis, who are too poor and too stupid to appreciate any kind of historic material.”

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Bill Panagopulos, president of Alexander Historical Auctions, dismissed the criticism as “nonsense and sensationalism” in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

By World Israel News Staff

European rabbis and comunity leaders called on a prominent auction house in Maryland to cancel the sale of Nazi memorabilia, but to no avail.

Items up for sale, among others, at Alexander Historical Auctions on July 28-29 include a golden eagle from Hitler’s bedroom, Nazi toilet paper, a concentration camp “crusher” visor cap, and an engraved gold watch presented to Adolf Hitler as a sign of gratitude from Nazi party members — currently valued at 2 million dollars.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman and founder of the European Jewish Association, signed a letter urging the auction house to call off the sale. It was co-signed by Binyomin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands; Rev. Cornelis Kant, executive director of Christians for Israel International; and Andrew Cohen, President of the Federation of Synagogues in the United Kingdom, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Alexander Historical Auctions is known for its sales of high-value, high-profile pieces, including Frank Sinatra’s performance stool and the Rolex wristwatch gifted to President John Kennedy by Marilyn Monroe, the Post noted.

But some of the items sold at the prominent auction house were used for the persecution of Jews. The personal diaries of Josef Mengele were sold by the same auctioneer, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“That they [items] are sold to the highest bidder, on the open market is an indictment to our society, one in which the memory, suffering and pain of others is overridden for financial gain,” Margolin said.

The purpose of the auction is “giving succor to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for” or “offering buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters,” the letter states.

“Indeed, one can only question the motivation of those buying them [the items],” Margolin wrote.

Bill Panagopulos, president of Alexander Historical Auctions, dismissed the criticism as “nonsense and sensationalism” in an email to the JTA.

“What we sell is criminal evidence, no matter how insignificant. It is tangible, real in-your-face proof that Hitler and Nazis lived, and also persecuted and killed tens of millions of people,” Panagopulos said.

“To destroy or in any way impede the display or protection of this material is a crime against history,” he added. They “are NOT neo-Nazis, who are too poor and too stupid to appreciate any kind of historic material.”

“The sale of these items is an abhorrence. There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display,” Margolin stated in his letter.

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The scores of several countries were compromised by the feelings of insecurity reported in their Jewish communities, creating some striking discrepancies.

By The Algemeiner

Italy has the highest quality of Jewish life on the European continent, with Poland and Belgium identified as the most troubling countries in that regard, according to a new index published by the European Jewish Association (EJA).

Unveiled at the EJA’s leadership conference in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Tuesday, the index covers 12 EU member states, combining facts about government policy and polling data to create a single metric with which to measure the quality of Jewish life in those countries.

Designed by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a London-based think tank, the index measures the quality of life on a scale from 0-100.

Five countries — Italy, Hungary, Denmark, the UK and Austria — all received “A” grades, with scores of 75 or more. Both France and Poland were given a “C” grade, with respective scores of 68 and 66, while Belgium, with a “D” grade, came at the bottom of the list with an index score of 60.

The scores of several countries were compromised by the feelings of insecurity reported in their Jewish communities, creating some striking discrepancies.

While the German government was given a performance score of 89 due to its federal budget for securing Jewish institutions, its creation of a federal commissioner to combat antisemitism and similar measures, the sense of security among German Jews was measured at just 46, compared with 73 for Denmark and 72 for Hungary.

France performed similarly; despite having adopted many of the same measures as Germany, the sense of insecurity among French Jews is the most intense in Europe, with a score of just 31.

By comparison, Belgium’s government performance was weak when it came to security for the Jewish community.

“The Belgian government, which holds the last place in the study, significantly reduced security around the Jewish communities without even consulting them, banned kosher slaughter and threatened the issue of circumcision, did not appoint a coordinator for the fight against antisemitism and more,” an accompanying statement from the EJA declared.

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“It reminds us that during the country’s occupation, most mayors in the Netherlands cooperated and gave the names of Jewish residents of their cities to the Nazis,” the Netherlands Chief Rabbi said.

By World Israel News Staff

A pro-Palestinian rights group in the Netherlands pressured Dutch universities to reveal any ties their staff may have with Israeli and Jewish organizations, European Jewish Press reported.

Organizations include, for example, Magen David Adom medical emergency services, Taglit-Birthright Israel and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Heads of Dutch universities went forward with the move this week, as requested last month by the anti-Zionist group ‘The Rights Forum.’

Hanna Luden, director of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel, said:  “According to the custom in the Netherlands, the request itself is legitimate, although the letter that was sent reeks of [antisemitism],” Israel Hayom reported.

“The biggest problem,” according to Luden,  “Is that it seems the universities have accepted it, and this by definition, raises concerns.”

Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Binyomin Jacobs, who also heads the European Jewish Association’s committee to combat antisemitism,  likened the scenario to the Holocaust, and said what worries him most is that the universities agreed to comply with the request.

“This is a demand that reeks of antisemitism and is reminiscent of demands Dutch mayors provide information on Jews to German occupiers during the Holocaust,” he said.

“It reminds us that during the country’s occupation, most mayors in the Netherlands cooperated and gave the names of Jewish residents of their cities to the Nazis. It must be emphasized that there is very little difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” the rabbi said.

He added that in all his year, he has never seen such a “toxic environment for Jews. It is a shocking submission to the demands of a group that is openly hostile to Israel, which is the world’s only Jewish state.”

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European Jewish leaders gathered in Brussels on Tuesday as part of an event organized by the European Jewish  Association (EJA) in order to address the alarming rise in antisemitism throughout the continent.

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