Combating Antisemitism: A New Network Initiative in the European Union

Antisemitism alarm. The creation of a new network against anti-Jewish hate in the European Union has been announced. This will fill a gap in combating an increasingly widespread phenomenon. It is called the European Network for Monitoring Antisemitism (ENMA) and will be a portal containing updated data on phenomena. In part, existing data from individual countries will be used. The incidents detected refer to the criteria of the definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The network is funded by the EU and also by the Alfred Landecker Foundation. At present, the project will last until the end of 2024. "Antisemitism must be made visible in order to be able to fight it," explained European Commissioner Katharina von Schnurbein. By the end of 2023, 25 of the 27 EU Member States had developed or were preparing national programs on the subject. Just these days, the Secretary General of the Jewish community of Vienna, Benjamin Nägele, spoke of a 500 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Austria, and these are only reported cases. Anna Zielinska of the board of the Polish Jewish organization Czulent emphasized that in addition to hatred of Jews, disinformation is now also becoming a problem for public safety. In this context, an important conference has just concluded in Amsterdam, the Liberaal Joodse Gemeente (LJG) in collaboration with HIAS Europe and several Jewish organizations to advance the Neighbours Project, launched in 2022 against antisemitism and xenophobia in Europe. In this context, there was talk of leveraging interreligious dialogue as the basis for a strategy capable of limiting antisemitism. Rabbi Menno ten Brink of LJG spoke at length about how to invest in young people. Among the interventions was that of Chantal Suissa-Runne co-founder of the Muslim-Jewish network Yalla!: "My answer to those who are critical of interreligious dialogue and coalition-building is simple: If you're not at the table, you're on the menu!"