In view of this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th, Katharina Von Schnurbein, the European Commission’s coordinator on combating anti-Semitism gave us her perspective on the current situation in Europe and on Israel:
The situation of contemporary anti-Semitism varies significantly across Europe. The European Commission is extremely worried about the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in some EU Member States and the creation of a coordinator shows the political importance the European Commission is according to this problem.
According to the Jewish Community Security Service, in France the number of recorded anti-Semitic acts doubled in 2014 in comparison to the year before. Jews represent less than one percent of the French population, but are the target of half of all racist acts committed in France. This is very worrying. Europe without Jews would be no longer Europe. It is clear that action is needed on all levels.
The main challenge in tackling the problem is ages old: creating a society where Jews feel secure and can live their lives without fear and the way they like – which should be the right of everyone in Europe. In order to achieve that, we need to address anti-Semitism wherever it comes from.
We have started a dialogue with the big IT companies to address hate speech inciting to violence on the Internet, and we have also allocated 5.4 million Euro for 2016 to support projects against hate speech and hate crime. We are ensuring existing legislation is properly implemented and applied. Holocaust denial is prohibited under criminal law Europe wide, but only 13 out of 28 Member States have so far transposed this into national law. Finally, in close cooperation with the EU Member States, we are also looking into how to improve our education, not only about the Holocaust, but also about civic values.
The focus of my work is indeed on Europe and the prevention and combating of anti-Semitism here. But I am aware of the special place that Israel holds in the hearts of many European Jews and the fact that – as First Vice President Timmermans said - anti-Semitism nowadays often hides behind anti-Zionism.
During my visits, I have come to know Israel as a multifaceted, pluralistic and open society with all the beauty and the challenges this entails. European and Israeli societies have much in common in our thrive for equality, non-discrimination and inclusion.