Undiplomatic EU diplomats

"European diplomats helped draft the unilateral Palestinian statehood bid at the UN in November and they also helped to push it through. Now they want to isolate Israel further by recycling some of the most vicious accusations against Israel from the Arab league."

Thomas Sandell @ The Times of Israel

An internal report issued by EU countries consuls general in Jerusalem and Ramallah has called upon the EU member states to prevent financial transactions, including foreign direct investments from within the EU, in support of settlement activities, infrastructure and services.

Reading through the one-sided report leaves one with a Kafkaesque sense of reality. It is a bit like sitting through a one day UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva discussing only Israeli human rights violations. The discussion leaves out – per definition – any mentioning of Palestinian violations. When the question is raised, from time to time, why this is the case the answer is simple. The agenda item is about Israel, not about the Palestinians. This can be understood – though never accepted – in an international forum where human rights standards are defined by some of the cruelest authoritarian regimes in the world.

But Brussels is not Geneva. The European Union is said to be a community of values. These values, however, are shared today by only one country in the Middle East, namely Israel. How can it then be that the EU is constantly putting all the blame for the failed Middle East peace process on the Jewish state? Perhaps the values have disappeared and have been replaced with something else? Did anyone say "petro dollars"?

 The recent diplomatic report is nothing but a verbal onslaught against the Israeli government and in particular those living in the disputed territories. It suggests that "individual member states should consider denying entry to known settler activists". It also calls for "guidelines on retail labels for settler made products, such as wine or cosmetics, in order to guarantee consumers’ right to an informed choice". A rather sophisticated way of echoing the Nazi call, "kauf nicht bei Juden" (don’t buy from Jews). In one of the most mindboggling parts of the report, the diplomats are openly complaining that archeological sites are being dug up which creates a "partisan historical narrative of Jerusalem, placing emphasis on biblical and Jewish connotations of the area, while neglecting Christian and Muslim ties". What exactly does the report mean by "partisan historical narrative"? Are the authors perhaps suggesting, like Mahmoud Abbas, that there was never a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and that all Jews in Jerusalem are trespassers who will eventually have to be evacuated once Jerusalem has been proclaimed the capital of a Palestinian state? The report does not say, it only insinuates.

Alex Springer: German media firm fights for Israel's security

"Israel and Europe should have an understanding of absolutely common interests in the defense of democracy and the values of the free Western world. Israel is the bridgehead of democracy in the Middle East. So it is in the interests of Europe to support it and to strengthen it. We share the same cultural roots and we share the same security interests and foreign policy interests. Let's bring it closer together." (Dr. Mathias Döpfner)

Source: article by Benjamin Weinthal in The Jerusalem Post

The journalistic ethos of the Axel Springer publishing house - Europe's largest media conglomerate - is governed by a set of principles spelled out in the employment contract of each journalist, one of which advocates "the support of the State of Israel and its existence and reconciliation between Germans and Jews."

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The Jerusalem Post earlier this month, Dr. Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the Berlin-based Axel Springer AG media empire and a self-described "non-Jewish Zionist," explained the philosophy behind Springer's support for Israel and his coordination of the 10th annual European-Israel Dialogue taking place for the first time in Israel on Monday and Tuesday in Jerusalem.

According to Dr. Döpfner, Axel Springer (1912-1985), the self-made founder of the media giant, "thought that a new Germany can only develop if it is somehow defining its relationship to Israel." He clearly said that "the Holocaust cannot be compensated, but in order to find a new self-definition, Germany has to support from now on the State of Israel and its people."

The magazines and daily newspapers of the Axel Springer publishing empire span Europe, and within Germany its mass-circulation Bild newspaper reaches more than three million readers. German media critics argue that within a European media landscape filled at times by shoddy and a one-sided press coverage of Israel, Axel Springer has been cutting against the grain by presenting a refreshingly balanced and objective view.

"Israel and Europe should have an understanding of absolutely common interests in the defense of democracy and the values of the free Western world," Döpfner told the Post. "Israel is the bridgehead of democracy in the Middle East. So it is in the interests of Europe to support it and to strengthen it. We share the same cultural roots and we share the same security interests and foreign policy interests. Let's bring it closer together," he said.

In this vein, Springer AG jump-started the European-Israeli Dialogue 10 years ago, to foster "a political, social, cultural and scientific dialogue" that has "brought together business, media, politicians, scientists, artists, business people from major European countries," Döpfner said.

The Dialogue's founding statement said that "Israel should be a member of the EU," he said.

As a result of Döpfner's success in running the European-Israeli Dialogue, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen turned to him in 2007 to chair the European Union-Israel Business Dialogue.

Döpfner said the aim of the EU-Israel Business Dialogue "is to bring together Israeli and European business people to talk to about common interests with regard to their businesses. It can be very concrete. They can talk about joint-ventures. But also to talk to about common interests with regard to a political frame in which they can start and grow successful businesses. In the end, it leads to a closer relationship and more reliable support of European nations and the European Commission of Israel."

Last year, Axel Springer's headquarters hosted the EU-Israeli Business Dialogue, which showcased 15 Israeli companies from the new media sector to German visitors.

Döpfner added that "it is very important that we, on the one hand, never forget about Germany history... and what Germany has done, and because of that we have a special responsibility to support Israel and this is something we have to continue from generation to generation to make sure that it will never be forgotten. On the other hand, I think it is absolutely vital to define apart from that historical obligation from Germany, and from other European countries, a future-oriented interest in Israel."

Read the whole article HERE

European Christians remember Evian 1938

"Let the spirit of Evian 2009 symbolize our commitment to learn from history and to stand up for the Jewish people at this critical time. Let Evian no longer only be known as the place which paved the way for the Holocaust but a place which is known for bringing peace and justice to the world" (Tomas Sandell)

Recommit to the security and safety of the Jewish people in Evian 2009

Evian les-Bains 24 April, 2009 – Christians from many European nations, and from from countries as far away as Australia, USA and Israel, crossed the Lake Geneva on Tuesday from the European UN headquarter in Geneva to Evian, to commemorate the failed Evian conference in 1938 [photo above]. In Geneva the Iranian president Ahmadinejad had been allowed to speak at the World Conference against Racism on Monday, calling Israel a "racist state". In Evian the delegates were reminded of a similar conference in 1938 where leaders of the 33 nations had gathered to deal with the consequences of Nazi annexation of Austria and the growing number of Jewish refugees in Germany and Austria.

"Hitler wanted to test the nations if they were willing to receive the Jews so he forced a Jewish man to go to the conference with the offer to sell Jews for 250 USD per person, otherwise the first 40,000 Jews would be sent straight to the concentrations camps. The man was ridiculed and thrown out of the conference and no nation opened their borders", said the Mayor of Evian, Member of French Parliament, Marc Francina, who greeted the international guests to the event.

Among the guests were Member of European Parliament, Hannu Takkula of Finland and Member of Swedish Parliament Mikael Oscarsson. Other parliamentarians, from the House of Commons in London and the parliament in the Netherlands, had sent their personal messages to the event.

"Though Finland did not take part in the conference as such the government adapted the same negative position as the conference did", said MEP Hannu Takkula of Finland. "When a ship with 53 Jewish refugees tried to disembark in Helsinki on August 17, 1938 they were simply not allowed in to Finland though they had all their papers in order. On the ship was a mother who had just been given birth to a baby but the ship was sent back to Hamburg and the passengers were taken to concentration camps and ended up in the hands of the Nazis", said Takkula who as an elected leader of Finland asked for forgiveness on behalf of his country.

"Please remember that these men and women were no different than any of us", said former minister of the French government, Georgina Dufoix, referring to the delegates which gathered in Evian in 1938 and rejected the Jewish refugees. Ahmadinejad is no fool either, he is an intelligent man but he is influenced by the most vicious spirit of racism there is, namely anti-Semitism. "This is not just another form or racism but something much worse. We only have to look at all the great disasters in Europe over the last centuries to understand the true nature of this spirit", she said.

"The question is not whether the spirit of anti-Semitism will return to Europe or not, it is already here and we need to do something about it now while there is still time", said Eliyahu Ben-Haim from Jerusalem. "The question in 1938 is the same question that we are asking ourselves today. Would anyone be willing to stop Hitler where there were still time? The answer in Evian in 1938 was "no". But will Christians in Europe do anything to call their governments to stop Ahmadinejad today while there is still time? This is the question wee need to ask ourselves today in Evian 2009" , he said.

The gathering issued a strong call to the governments of Europe to understand the seriousness of the rise of anti- Semitism in Europe and the existential threat of Israel and to learn from the mistakes of Evian 1938.

In a private written message to the meeting the Italian Foreign minister Franco Frattini said: "We cannot underestimate the challenge of anti-Semitism, as the Western World did in 1938 at the Evian conference; we cannot allow ourselves to hesitate in firmly reacting to any indication that anti-Semitism is gaining ground. History clearly shows us that any hesitancy can pave the way to horrible tragedies."

"Our voice must be strong and uncontroversial about the new forms of anti-Semitism, that commonly manifest themselves in the guise of opposition to Zionism and the existence of the State of Israel", he concluded.

"May there be another voice coming out of Evian in 2009, one of determination and recommitment to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel", said the event organizer Tomas Sandell of the European Coalition for Israel. "Let us declare once and for all that Evian shall no longer only be known as the Evian of 1938 but as Evian of 2009."

"Let the spirit of Evian 2009 symbolize our commitment to learn from history and to stand up for the Jewish people at this critical time. Let Evian no longer only be known as the place which paved the way for the Holocaust but a place which is known for bringing peace and justice to the world", he said.

Source: European Coalition for Israel (a Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation)

Related:
Evian 1938 - Geneva 2009, Tomas Sandell

Nonie Darwish and Tawfik Hamid discuss Hamas at European Parliament

"We cannot continue to tolerate intolerance. It is not a virtue – it is gross negligence." (Nonie Darwish)

"Accepting and legitimizing Hamas is an obstacle to peace. If the international community tells Hamas that via terrorism and killing civilian we will still legitimatize you, why would they turn to the path of peace?" (Dr. Tawfik Hamid)

"Hamas obstacle to peace

On the 15th of April, MEP Nickolay Mladenov hosted a conference in the European Parliament dedicated to the Hamas Organization and the implications of European engagement with it on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Mr. Mladenov invited two distinguished guests from the United States, Mrs. Nonie Darwish and Dr. Tawfik Hamid, to share their deep understanding of the motives and goals of the fundamentalist Islamic Movements and the implications of it receiving legitimacy.

Nonie Darwish, daughter of Lt.-Gen. Mustafa Hafez, who founded the Palestinian fedayeen units, which launched terrorist raids across Israel's border during the 50s and 60s, grew up in Gaza. She told the audience of a number of her experiences there and how the spreading of hate towards Jews and Israel was a common day affair:

"The hatred was mainstream, it was preached in the Mosques, schools, in theater, TV, movies – everywhere we were taught to hate the Jews…"

"Money was never given to build housing or factories, it was always to fund organizations such as the fedayeen in the 1950's and Hamas today."

She further emphasized the dire consequences of Europe engaging Hamas:

"The conflict is not over land anymore. Listen to what they are saying in Arabic to their citizens. They are subjected to daily indoctrination to kill Jews wherever you find them."

"There are many moderates in the Arab world, who want to end the hate speech, but engaging Hamas would weaken them. By talking to Hamas we say that terrorism and violence are the way of doing things. If Hamas will receive legitimization, it will mean that the Hamas methods work."

"We cannot continue to tolerate intolerance. It is not a virtue – it is gross negligence."

Dr. Tawfik Hamid, a former member of an Egyptian terrorist organization (and former colleague of Dr. Aiman Al-Zawaherri, who later became the second in command of Al-Qaeda) is today an Islamic reformer and a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Dr. Hamid's exceptional knowledge of the jihadi mindset led him to the following conclusions:

"Hamas are liars, they say they are not anti-Semitic and are not a religious organization, while the name of their organization is called the Islamic Resistance Movement and their flag says 'No God aside of Allah and Mohamed is a prophet of Allah' – the sentence one states to become a Muslim."

"Accepting and legitimizing Hamas is an obstacle to peace. If the international community tells Hamas that via terrorism and killing civilian we will still legitimatize you, why would they turn to the path of peace?"

"Only when the international community will have a clear a strong stance against Hamas demanding they hold to the three conditions, only then will Hamas turn to the path of peace."

Today, after recognizing the threat of Radical Islam and the need for a reformation based upon modern peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic core texts, Dr. Hamid has completed a fresh and theologically valid interpretation of the Quran to counterbalance radical teachings and has recently published a book named "Inside Jihad".

Following a heated and emotional Q&A, MEP Mladenov summarized the conference, stating:

"Hamas’ success would fan the flames of terrorists who will feel empowered that by randomly killing civilians they can achieve their goals. Its victory would be a victory for religious extremists who want to hijack an otherwise peaceful religion. Its triumph would not deliver the free and secular Palestine that people living in Gaza and the West Bank want.""

Source: European Friends of Israel

Evian 1938 - Geneva 2009, Tomas Sandell

"In 1938 the world was said to be divided up in two categories, those nations which Jews could not enter and those which wanted to expel them. The promised Jewish homeland was not even considered as an option for resettlement since it was believed to create more tension in then British Mandate Palestine. A few years later there would be six million Jews less to accommodate but then, finally, the urgency of creating a Jewish homeland was realized by the world community. But the prize to pay was far too high."

Source: article by Tomas Sandell in TJP

"It is less than three quarter of an hour by car from Geneva to its much smaller sister city Evian-les-Bains on the French side of Lake Geneva. What Evian lacks in size and political importance, it makes up in history and style. This rather sleepy, but healthy, town at the foot of the Alps can boast with one the grandest fin-de-siècle resort hotels of its kind as well as the bottled water which bears its name.

But Evian has a less friendly side which has left its mark in history. Simply Google "Evian" and you come up with a resort, a water and a conference which by some historians has been called "Hitler's green light for genocide." Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the Evian conference on the future of the Jewish refugees, but it was effectively forgotten as France at the time chaired the European Union.

As President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted the conference which was to launch a new era of cooperation around the Mediterranean Sea, the last thing France wanted to be reminded about was Evian 1938. You cannot blame it. Evian goes down as one of the darkest chapters of modern European history when appeasement was the mode of the day and anyone who did not believe in "peace in our time" was simply disregarded as a warmonger.

It is not only the proximity between the two cities which is striking but also the zeitgeist of Evian 1938 and this year's United Nations Conference against Racism. Whereas the original UN conference against racism in Durban in 2001 spiraled out of control with its obsession with the Judenfrage, there are no guarantees that this year will not be a repeat. Western governments have been paying lip service to their commitment to withdraw from anything that would resemble the hate fest in 2001, but words will be cheap when the commitment of the Western nations to stand true to our universal values is tested.

BACK TO EVIAN in 1938. As Hitler had annexed Austria and hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees were seeking a safe haven outside of the Nazi-controlled areas, the free world knew that something had to be done. It was the US president Franklin Roosevelt who finally called together the conference with the objective of seeking a solution to the Jewish refugee problem. Thirty-two nations were invited to participate. It soon became clear that the conference was not going to solve anything, as one country after another explained that they all agreed that this was a major humanitarian problem which needed to be solved, but that their respective country could not do anything about it. Others were less diplomatically skilled.

"Our country is simply not big enough to receive any Jewish refugees," said the Canadian representative. When asked how many refugees Canada could receive the answer was, "One is too many." "Australia has no racial problem and we are not desirous of importing one," is a quote which today is on display in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

The list of obscenities does not stop there. A proposal to rescue the refugees by simply letting 10 countries receive 25,000 Jews each was flatly rejected. While these tragic decisions were made, which would ultimately have consequences for millions of Jews, some historians note that pleasure cruises on Lake Geneva were very popular among the delegates, as were tennis and golf in the fresh mountain air.

PERHAPS IT is again the allure of cosmopolitan Geneva and the same mountain climate which makes it so difficult for Western diplomats to simply say no to the UN conference which singles out only one country, Israel, as the racist state of the world and calls its policies "apartheid." What makes this conclusion even more surreal is the fact that the working group, which has been drafting the text, consists of human rights champions such as Libya, Iran and Cuba. The language in the draft resolution has been unacceptable for many, still the decision to withdraw seems difficult to make. At the moment only a few governments beside Israel has decided to boycott the conference, namely the US, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Italy.

One thing is clear. The UN conference in Geneva, which starts today and runs through Friday, will not be a friendly place for any of us who sympathize with the Jewish cause. But things could be worse. In 1938 the world was said to be divided up in two categories, those nations which Jews could not enter and those which wanted to expel them. The promised Jewish homeland was not even considered as an option for resettlement since it was believed to create more tension in then British Mandate Palestine. A few years later there would be six million Jews less to accommodate but then, finally, the urgency of creating a Jewish homeland was realized by the world community. But the prize to pay was far too high.

It is of course the irony of time that a conference dedicating itself to fighting racism, the very disease which lead to Hitler's Holocaust, is currently paving the way for a legitimizing of Jew hatred and Israel bashing around the world.

Let us hope that the world will have learned its lesson this time. When only one people's state is singled out as racist in the whole world, we are awfully near to Evian 1938. On the second day of the UN conference, Tuesday, April 21, which also happens to be Holocaust Remembrance Day, a commemoration event will be held in the small synagogue in the city that hosted the fateful 1938 conference."

The writer is the founding director of the European Coalition for Israel (a Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation)

- European Coalition for Israel director calls for broad coalition against anti-Semitism
- European Parliament conference vows to fight anti-Semitism
- "Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today", Hanna Orgonikova (ECI)
- European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
- European Coalition for Israel on working visit to Paris

European Coalition for Israel director calls for broad coalition against anti-Semitism

"As faith leaders we have a duty to be "our brothers’ keeper" and cannot keep silent when Jews are again threatened on the streets of Europe." (Tomas Sandell)

"These conspiracy theories of Jews taking over the world have been presented many times before in European history but are now resurfacing with new intensity on the internet and in other media." (Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos)

"ECI director Tomas Sandell called for "a broad coalition of faith leaders for fighting the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe" when he spoke at a one-day conference in the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.

"The enemies of Israel and the Jewish people are plotting together like never before. This is our opportunity to find new partnerships for defending our European values and supporting the Jewish people", he said in a panel discussion together with, among others, Archbishop Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schrudrich and Imam Hassen Chalghoumi of Drancy in Paris.

"As faith leaders we have a duty to be "our brothers’ keeper" and cannot keep silent when Jews are again threatened on the streets of Europe", he said in his speech. He also called upon the European Union, as well as civil society organizations, to withdraw from the planned UN World Conference on Racism in Geneva in order not to legitimize those powers who want to demonize Israel and wipe out the Jewish state from the world map. In the draft resolution, which is being prepared for the UN conference by a working group consisting of, among others, Libya, Cuba and Iran, only one state is singled out as a "racist state", namely Israel.

"This is unacceptable", said vice-president Jacques Barrot of the European Commission who promised to personally follow the developments leading up to the UN conference starting on April 20 in order to blow the whistle if the final resolution text is not compatible with EU values as they are codified in the Charter for Fundamental Rights but Sandell objected.

"There is no need to wait," he said. "The draft text is known to everyone and now is the right time to withdraw, not later".

The one day conference "Building Together the Future of Europe - The fight against anti-Semitism, defending European values and co-existence" was initiated by the European Jewish Congress and organized under the patronage of the European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pöttering. In presentations both from Head of Unit Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos from the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency and Jewish representatives from various countries the message was same; the level of anti-Semitic violence has now reached its highest level since the end of the Second World War and the month of February has been the most violently anti-Semitic in Europe during this whole period.

"It is both the high number of anti-Semitic incidents as well as the intensity of these incidents which gives us causes for concerns", admitted Dimitrakopolus. "It is not only the military operation in Gaza which has contributed to this rise of anti-Semitism but also the current financial crisis where the Jews are openly accused for being behind the financial meltdown."

"These conspiracy theories of Jews taking over the world have been presented many times before in European history but are now resurfacing with new intensity on the internet and in other media," he warned.

Several speakers noted how the criticism of Israel has become radicalized. The last few weeks banners of terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, have been openly displayed in marches where many mainstream political leaders have also taken part. Both terrorist organizations call for the dismantling of the Jewish state.

Though there were few reasons to be optimistic in the present climate the chairman of the Finnish Jewish Community Ronny Smolar presented one.

"In the Nordic countries the small Jewish communities have been living in relative peace up till now. Now many feel that they are being personally blamed and targeted because of the events in Gaza. Many feel insecure."

"But the situation is not out of hand. When Jews in the Nordic countries have been targeted in street demonstrations our Christian friends have come to our help", he said.

Several national leaders of Jewish communities called upon the ECI to come alongside to help stand against the new threats.

"This is perfectly in line with what the ECI wants to accomplish", replied Sandell. He recalled that in a similar conference at the European Commission in Brussels in 2004 Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel spoke about the lack of support from other groups than the Jewish organizations. "Where are all the others", he asked.

"We want to be that coalition of "all the others", concluded Sandell. " This is the time to stand together as one to prevent history from repeating itself."

Source: ECI (A Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation)

- European Parliament conference vows to fight anti-Semitism
- "Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today", Hanna Orgonikova (ECI)
- European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
- European Coalition for Israel on working visit to Paris

"Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today", Hanna Orgonikova (ECI)

"Do not let Israel become the Sudetenland of today." (Hanna Orgonikova, Czech member of Parliament)

European Coalition for Israel (ECI) marked the 70th anniversary of the Munich Treaty in Prague.

"The historical lesson of the Munich treaty in 1938 is clear. Appeasement does not lead to peace. Those forces which in 1939 invaded Czechoslovakia but ultimately wanted to exterminate the Jewish people can be compared to those powers of today that have as their ultimate goal the complete destruction of Israel and promise the world community peace if only Israel is sacrificed. But appeasing these powers will not lead to peace just as betraying Czechoslovakia did not bring peace but war."

This was the message of the European Coalition of Israel during a three day working visit to Prague which ended on Thursday. Prague is the current seat of the rotating EU-presidency which is now held by the Czech government. The message resonated well with those members of parliament and of the Czech government with whom the ECI met. "Israel cannot become the Sudetenland of today", warned Czech member of Parliament Hanna Orgonikova, who urged all people of good will in Europe, elected members of Parliaments as well as members of civil society, to work together in order to raise awareness about the current existential threat to Israel and the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe. (Sudetenland was the part of Czechoslovakia which was given to Hitler in the Munich treaty in an attempt to appease him.)

The same message of support for Israel was echoed also by other members of parliament who commended the recent Czech appeal by Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg to withdraw EU participation from the upcoming UN world conference on racism in Geneva as a protest against the slanted anti-Israel agenda. The message from ECI was the same: "Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past by letting a UN lead conference single out one nation as the root cause for international conflict, namely Israel." A growing number of EU member states now support a boycott of the Durban II conference.

At an emotional meeting with the vice-president of the Czech senate, Peter Pithart, Harald Eckert, a Christian leader from Munich and a board member of the European Coalition for Israel, presented a letter from the office of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel which affirmed the historical role of Nazi Germany in the Munich treaty and the invasion which followed. The meeting between ECI and the vice-president took place in the exact same room in the senate building where the Munich treaty was announced to the Czechoslovakian government in 1938. This week also marked the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 and the ECI delegation, consisting of both German and British representatives, together acknowledged the guilt of their governments in betraying Czechoslovakia in order to appease Hitler. In the framework of the ongoing United Nation Year of Reconciliation Harald Eckert of Germany and David Noakes of Great Britain asked the Czech vice-president of the Senate for forgiveness for the role of their countries in the betrayal of Czechoslovakia and the invasion which followed.

Apart from meeting with political leaders the delegation also visited an exhibition in the National Museum where the original Munich treaty in four languages is on display, borrowed from the four signatory countries, Germany, Britain, Italy and France. Prior to the political meetings the ECI delegation met with local Christian leaders in Prague for a reconciliation event. A similar people-to-people reconciliation event with representatives also from France and Italy is planned for later this year."

Source: ECI - A Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation

- European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe

- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director

- European Coalition for Israel on working visit to Paris

European Coalition for Israel warns against surge of anti-Semitism in Europe

"We sinners of the past are called to become the allies of the future and stand faithfully by our Jewish friends." Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn

Source: European Coalition for Israel (A Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation)

"European Coalition for Israel chairman Helmut Specht last night called on the European Union and civil society across Europe to raise their voices in protest against the current Iranian threat to wipe Israel off the map. The appeal came at the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day event which is organized in the European Parliament by the European Coalition for Israel under the patronage of the president of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering.

Specht alerted the audience about the fact that anti-Semitism is again becoming a real threat to European society. According to recent studies anti-Semitic violence has grown with over 300 percent in the last few weeks. In Stockholm participants at a peaceful rally for Israel had to be escorted out of a building in groups of five to secure their safety.

"This can simply not be explained by the military operations in Gaza because a year ago, with relative calm in the Middle East, participants of a Holocaust Memorial Service in the synagogue in Stockholm also had to be escorted out in the same way", he said.

The Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Brussels was part of a pan-European campaign to raise awareness of the Holocaust in churches and faith communities in Europe. The campaign "Learn from History" has this year focused on the failure of the Evian conference in 1938 to solve the Jewish refugee problem at that time. When offered the chance to save fleeing Jews from Nazi-Germany and Austria in 1938 the nations of the world said simply no. Today ECI is involved, together with individual members of parliaments around the world, to bring this dark chapter to a close by recognizing once and for all the failure of this international conference and by asking for forgiveness.

At the memorial service Member of Bundestag, Professor Gert Weisskirchen [photo] quoted in his speech Simon Dubnow, an 81-year-old historian of Judaism, who was among the last inhabitants of Riga's ghetto as they were being transported to their execution. According to survivor testimony, Dubnow called to his younger compatriots: "People, do not forget. Talk about this, people. Record it all." Moments later, he was shot in the back of his head by a Latvian auxiliary policeman.

Weisskirchen, who until recently was the personal representative of the chairman-in-office of the OSCE on the fight against anti-Semitism, reiterated the words of Dubnow, "people do not forget. If this is possible, anything is possible."

At the event, which was this year jointly organized by European Coalition for Israel, European Jewish Community Centre and Yad Vashem, Christian clergy from the Roman-Catholic and the Protestant side acknowledged the sins of the past about not reacting in time. Head deacon of the Roman-Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna Johannes Fichtenbauer brought a message from the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn where he said that "Holocaust was only possible because the church did not understand its Jewish roots." He went on to say that "Church unity can only be established when we understand and appreciate these Jewish roots."

In closing Fichtenbauer quoted cardinal Schönborn by saying that "we sinners of the past are called to become the allies of the future and stand faithfully by our Jewish friends."

Read Professor Gert Weisskirchen's full speech at the European Parliament here
"... historians are creating a model of narrating the Holocaust, not closing up a horrifying past, but to create for the generations to come the sensitivity for a common future in peace."

EU parliament resolution on Gaza is ‘balanced’, says EJC

"By avoiding a one-sided position, the European Parliament resolution enables the EU to remain a key interlocutor in the political dialogue that the EJC hopes will resume between Israel and Hamas."

"The European Jewish Congress (EJC) said a resolution on the Gaza conflict adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday is “balanced” and "identifies with the suffering of civilian populations on both sides of the conflict."

The EU parliament resolution, voted by a large majority of MEPs during the plenary session in Strasbourg, calls for an "immediate and permanent ceasefire" in the Gaza strip.

It also calls on Hamas "to end rocket attacks and to assume its own responsibilities by committing itself to a political process aimed at restoring inter-Palestinian dialogue and contributing to the ongoing process of negotiation."

"By avoiding a one-sided position, the European Parliament resolution enables the EU to remain a key interlocutor in the political dialogue that the EJC hopes will resume between Israel and Hamas," the European Jewish Congress said in statement.

Based in Paris, the EJC is a political umbrella organization that represents 42 European Jewish communities.

The EJC said it has been actively lobbying in Strasbourg for a parliamentary resolution that takes into account Hamas’ provocations and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

The EJC also urged the European institutions, in particular the EU Parliament, to pass a separate resolution that openly condemns the recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have been taking place throughout Europe.

"European authorities have a responsibility to speak out against the alarming recrudescence of anti-Semitism and condemn all anti-Semitic acts of violence and vandalism," the Jewish group said. "

Source: EJP

EU, Israel call 'time out' in upgrade talks
ECI stands by Czech EU presidency in supporting Israel’s right to self defense