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Topic

Antisemitism

Combating Antisemitism and all Forms of Bigotry.

Within living memory of the Holocaust, the remnants of Europe’s Jewish communities have endured a steep rise in anti-Semitism. Since 2012 alone, at least 14 people have been killed in anti-Jewish violence in the EU. The numbers of European Jews emigrating to Israel or the United States has also increased significantly.

 

AJC Strategy Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism

The AJC Transatlantic Institute, together with AJC offices in Berlin, Paris, Rome and Warsaw, works together with EU officials, policy makers and civil society to expose and combat anti-Semitism. In 2015 the AJC Transatlantic Institute hosted in Brussels the ground-breaking conference “A Defining Moment for Europe,” where it presented an action plan for European governments to address the intensifying crisis of anti-Semitism.

⇨ Learn more about this event

 

Identifying Anti-Semitism – The Working Definition of Anti-Semitism

In order to effectively confront anti-Semitism, we must first define it. In June 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which includes 25 of the EU’s 28 Member States, adopted the so-called Working Definition of Anti-Semitism. That definition crucially encompasses contemporary forms of anti-Semitism, such as the demonization of Israel and holding all Jews responsible for Israel’s actions. The AJC Transatlantic Institute has consistently called for the EU and its Member States to officially adopt this definition as well. In a first step, the European Parliament in May 2017 did so and urged member states to follow suit.

⇨ Learn more about we're doing to promote the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism

Related events

January 24, 2024

AJC, Partner Organizations Honor Holocaust Remembrance Day

On Wednesday, January 24 AJC Transatlantic Institute, in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Israeli Mission to the EU, organized its annual Holocaust Remembrance event under the patronage of the German state of Hesse. This year’s event featured a keynote speech from Dani Dayan, Director of Yad Vashem, and a panel discussion between TAI’s Daniel Schwammenthal, EU Commission Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life Katharina von Schnurbein, and Yohan Benziri, World Jewish Congress Executive Board Member. All speakers emphasized the need to not only remember the past, but to also combat the current explosion of antisemitism.
January 28, 2020

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020

The AJC Transatlantic Institute partnered with the Mission of Israel to the EU and NATO, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and B’nai B’rith International to commemorate the Holocaust. As part of an “Intergenerational Conversation,” Belgian Holocaust survivor Baron Julien Klener and British Jewish youth activist Hannah Rose shared their very personal experiences about the past and present. Commission Vice President Margaritas Schinas, the Israeli and German ambassadors, and AJC CEO David Harris also addressed the 150 guests who were invited to view artwork of Holocaust survivors made available by Yad Vashem.
February 21, 2019

The Rise of Anti-Zonism: Countering the Threat to Jewish Life in Europe

Watch the highlights of the breakfast discussion "The Rise of Anti-Zionism: Countering the Threat to Jewish Life in Europe” the AJC Transatlantic Institute co-organized at the European Parliament with MEPs Lukas Mandl (EPP), Doru-Claudian Frunzulică (S&D), and Ilhan Kyuchyuk (ALDE).

Media

22/12/2014

European Parliament Steps Backward on Tackling Anti-Semitism

December 22, 2014 – New York – AJC is deeply disappointed with the European Parliament's failure to establish a task force to fight the rise of anti-Semitism across Europe. 

"European Parliament inaction on an anti-Semitism...

15/09/2014

Europe’s Jews under Assault

By Daniel Schwammenthal

The Miami Herald

15 September 2014

With thousands of European Jihadists fighting in Syria...

11/09/2014

Nurit Peled Urges MEPs to Call Israel's Actions "Holocaust"

Nurit Peled, an Israeli professor of linguistics and Sakharov Prize laureate, urged MEPs to use the term “Holocaust” to describe Israel's actions in Gaza in 2014. The incident occured on 11 September 2014 during a hearing of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human...

11/09/2014

AJC Transatlantic Institute shocked as Members of the EU Parliament are encouraged to call Israel's actions "Holocaust"

11 September 2014 – Brussels – The  AJC Transatlantic Institute is shocked that a panelist invited by the EU Parliament Human Rights Subcommittee encouraged MEP's to call Israel's actions in Gaza “Holocaust."

"Comparing Israel's self...

24/07/2014

AJC Transatlantic Institute Calls on European Parliament to Address New Wave of Anti-Semitism

24 July 2014 – Brussels – The AJC Transatlantic Institute calls on Members of the European Parliament to address the new wave of anti-Semitism in the European Union and urges as a first concrete step a public hearing on this issue in Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and...

22/07/2014

AJC Calls on EU Ministers to Convene Special Meeting on Anti-Semitism

July 21, 2014 – Brussels -- AJC calls on the European Union to convene an extraordinary meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers to address the wave of violence against Jews across Europe.

“From Berlin to Paris, from London to Brussels, we...

26/06/2014

Greek Prime Minister Samaras Addresses AJC Transatlantic Institute

June 26, 2014 – Brussels – Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras addressed an AJC Transatlantic Institute dinner last night. While acknowledging the immense challenges facing his country since 2008, including nearly 60 percent youth unemployment, he presented a generally...

11/06/2014

Do Jews Have a Future in Europe?

By Simone Rodan-Benzaquen and Daniel Schwammenthal

The Wall Street Journal Europe

11 June 2014...

26/05/2014

AJC Transatlantic Institute Greatly Concerned By Extremists' Success in EU Elections

May 26, 2014 - Brussels - The AJC Transatlantic Institute expressed its great concern over the success of extremist parties in a number of member states in the European Parliament elections.

While the center-right European People's Party...

21/03/2014

Vatican, EU Allies in Fighting Anti-Semitism

By Stanley M. Bergman

JNS

20 March 2014

“It is important that we dedicate...