Showing posts with label European Jewish Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European Jewish Congress. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Economic catastrophe awaits if Jews leave Europe, Jewish leader warns - Jerusalem Post

Economic catastrophe awaits if Jews leave Europe, Jewish leader warns.


Moshe Kantor said every Jewish family on the continent is contemplating whether they should "leave or stay" as they fear the levels of anti-Semitism growing.

"This minority is going in case authorities are not delivering some real, real stuff," the Russian told Reuters at London's Kensington Palace. "This minority is going to leave Europe, definitely because this question just now in every Jewish family in Europe: to leave or to stay. There's no other solution. And the only one thing which can stop at the moment this process is real gestures of the authorities on a European level and on a British level."

Last month, the body which advises Britain's estimated 260,000 Jews on security reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had risen to a record level last year.

Many of those incidents were sparked by the 50-day conflict in Gaza that ended in August. Israel launched its Gaza offensive with the declared aim of halting rocket attacks by Hamas. More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed, along with 73 mostly Israeli soldiers.

Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing under-current of anti-Semitism, fueled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity.

Those fears have been exacerbated after an Islamist militant gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris last month as well as other attacks in Copenhagen and Brussels.

Kantor said European lawmakers needed to take action to ensure Jewish communities have the necessary protection from the continuous terrorist threat they face.

Kantor, who's also the president of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, warned if the authorities took no action then the potential Jewish exodus from Europe could create an economic crisis.

"If at the moment authorities are not going to deliver some real gestures, I think it will be the trigger for a very, very important economical crisis in Europe and in any country, any big country," he said.

"I think out of three million Jews that are living in Europe at least one million, very active part or young part, self-sufficient part are going to leave and it will be a disaster, an economical disaster for Europe in general because first of all some supporters, non-Jewish supporters will come with Jews. It's a lot of cash and money currents are going to leave Europe and also businesses," Kantor explained.

"We should react on the level of gestures and intentions, visible intentions, not to wait until it's on the level of murdering people; this is the key point just now. We are in front of a strong demand from civil society to modify the legislation fighting against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism," he added.

Kantor was speaking at an event where the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation awarded Cameroonian soccer player Samuel Eto'o with the European Medal of Tolerance for his stance against inequality.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Israeli Researcher: European Jews Have No Future

Israeli Researcher: European Jews Have No Future


JERUSALEM, Israel -- Anti-Semitism continues to rise in Europe amid a surge in popularity of extremist parties in the region, according to a new study by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University.

The study's findings were released Monday ahead of Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day.

***For more about how Israel is educating people about the evils of the Holocaust, watch this report from CBN News' Mideast Bureau.

"Normative Jewish life in Europe is unsustainable," Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, said in a presentation of the study's results, the Jerusalem Post reported. "Jews do not feel safe or secure in certain communities in Europe."

"The Jews in Europe do not have a future," Kantor told the Post. "I think that their future is bleak."

According to the Kantor Center, European Jews experience anti-Semitic incidents almost every day.

"According to that survey, almost half of the Jewish population is afraid of being verbally or physically attacked in a public place because they are Jewish, and 25 percent of Jews will not wear anything that identifies them as Jewish or go near a Jewish institution for fear of an attack," Kantor said.

Researchers recorded 554 violent anti-Semitic acts in 2013, including attacks on people and vandalism against synagogues, cemeteries, and other Jewish institutions.

For the second year running, France had the highest number of incidents, with Hungary, Belgium, and Sweden following close behind.

The report warns about the increasing popularity of far-right parties, especially in France, Hungary, and Greece, where they're expected to make big gains in European parliamentary elections next month.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

More European Jews Consider Escaping to Israel

More European Jews Consider Escaping to Israel

Sunday, November 24, 2013 |  Miriam Kuhlmann  
Many European Jews no longer feel safe in their home countries. This is evident from a recent survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
On average, 76 percent of Jews surveyed across the continent reported a rise in anti-Semitism in recent years, and 29 percent said they are considering emigrating to Israel as a result.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they had encountered people who did not consider Jews to be their fellow countrymen. The problem appeared to be most acute in Hungary, France and Belgium, where the number of Jews who had thought about emigration was much higher.
One in five respondents said that they purposely avoid wearing anything in public that would identify them as a Jew. That particular problem was more acute in Sweden, where 34 percent don't want others to know they are Jewish.
Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, emphasized the importance of this study. The fact that "Jews are no longer able to express their faith because they are afraid should be a turning point for Europe," he said, calling on European governments to take seriously the results of the survey.
Israel Today will cover the problematic rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, as well as a bold new Christian response in our January issue.
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