NCSJ - 02.11.2007

NCSJ Presents At Israeli Forum on Global Anti-Semitism

NCSJ Executive Director Mark Levin participated in the International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, in Jerusalem, on February 11-12, 2007, where he co-chaired the working group on FSU and Eastern Europe and presented the following background papers, authored by NCSJ, on anti-Semitism in the region:

Overview: Anti-Semitism in Russia & Ukraine (.pdf) Anti-Semitism in Russia, 2006 (.pdf) Anti-Semitismin Ukraine, 2006 Background on MAUP Links: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs information News: YNetNews: Livni: Anti-Semitism should be top priority Ha'aretz: Who should deal with anti-Semitism?

Feb. 7, 2007: Levin and NCSJ President Lesley Israel with (center) Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, on a Conference of Presidents trip prior to the Forum (link to story)

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YNetNews.com - 02.11.2007

Livni: Anti-Semitism should be top priority

Foreign minister says Israel is under threat. 'Something must be done immediately,' she tells 160 Jewish leaders taking part in Jerusalem forum

By Lilach Shoval

"Anti-Semitism is still very much alive. As the home of the Jewish people, this is a fight that should be led by Israel," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the Foreign Ministry's Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Worrying Statistics Report shows anti-Semitism on the rise / Yaakov Lappin Press conference by Jewish Agency reveals startling rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the world in 2006, including two murders. Austria sees 66 percent rise in incidents, Germany sees 60 percent rise, Russian incidents up by 20 percent 

"Just 60 years after the Holocaust, we continue to witness racist and anti-Semitic phenomena around the world, that threatens the State of Israel … Something must be done immediately," said Livni. 

One hundred and sixty participants from Israel and around the world took part in the forum, which aimed to find practical steps that could be taken in the war on anti-Semitism. 

Livni made it clear that the forum was not meant for talk, but to create a new perception of action against the threats. 

"The war on anti-Semitism should be our top priority. We are witnessing new kinds of cooperation between the radical left, the extreme right and the Islamic jihad across the world. 

"The global Holocaust denial led by Iran is a political move meant to de-legitimize Israel, and it is unacceptable that a country that denies the Holocaust is accepted by the world as part of the international community," said Livni. 

'Greatest danger to Jews is apathy' 

Also speaking at the event was Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, saying that a society is not measured by whether or not it has anti-Semitism, but by how its leaders deal with it. 

"The chance that a Jew in Britain would be harmed is four times greater than the chance that a Muslim would be harmed there, and the chance that a Jew in the United States would be harmed is seven times greater than a Muslim being harmed. 

"The greatest danger to the Jews is the apathy and indifference occurring around then – the future of our children and grandchildren is at risk." 

Addressing Iran, Hoenlein said that "history teaches us to take this threat seriously. This is a global problem that even the Christians and Muslims across the world will have to deal with."

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Ha'aretz - 02.16.2007

Members of the Tribe / Who should deal with anti-Semitism?

By Amiram Barkat 

The fourth conference of the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism took place in Jerusalem this week, for the first time under the patronage of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a break with the past, the foreign ministry is of the opinion today that combating anti-Semitism is an Israeli interest; but subjugating the struggle against anti-Semitism to Israel's diplomatic agenda could be problematic. It is reasonable to assume that Israel will not allow activity against anti-Semitism in a particular country to undermine its interests in that country. 

There has been a reversal in recent years in the way the struggle against anti-Semitism is viewed in the foreign ministry. In the past, the subject was seen as belonging to the Jewish world at large, regarded as an inferior arena in Israeli diplomatic circles. The ministry has since discovered, however, that playing the anti-Semitism card can produce unprecedented diplomatic results. It began with the 2004 Berlin Conference, which for the first time affirmed the Israeli government claim that criticism of its policies was sometimes used as a camouflage for the expression of anti-Semitic attitudes. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly - traditionally a hostile place for Israel - passed by an overwhelming majority an Israeli proposal to declare January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. And just last month, in light of the Tehran conference, the General Assembly voted to condemn the phenomenon of Holocaust denial. 

Israel's decision to coordinate activities dealing with the problem of anti-Semitism is seen in international circles as entirely natural. It is not at all certain, however, that the Israeli and the Jewish interest in fighting anti-Semitism will always coincide. For example, will Israel be prepared to risk compromising its relations with an important country just because there are anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi elements active there? Israeli foreign policy is hardly likely to allow the struggle against anti-Semitism to take place everywhere at all times with equal intensity. 

Another - related - question is whether the struggle against anti-Semitism should be the responsibility of the foreign ministry, or in the hands of a minister who deals with Diaspora affairs. Natan Sharansky, who was minister without portfolio with responsibility for Diaspora affairs in the years 2003-2005, prefers the latter. Sharansky claims that an elected minister is much more suitable than professional diplomats to coordinate between all the different Jewish organizations and personal egos. 

In practice, however, that ministerial portfolio has been vacant for over a year, and there was even a recent decision to close the unit for Diaspora affairs that operated within the Prime Minister's Office. This was the background to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's decision to take the Global Forum under her wing. Had she not done so, it is doubtful whether the struggle against anti-Semitism would have attracted any attention at all from the present Israeli government. 

The foreign ministry wants to retain control of the Forum, even if a new minister for Diaspora affairs is appointed. It is true, as the Israeli diplomats claim, that the foreign ministry is the only governmental body that has the organizational ability and the global reach to pull together a conference on anti-Semitism at an international level. That ability was proven by the unprecedented number of participants the ministry was able to attract, with less than three months to organize the event, and no budget to begin with. Credit for the achievement goes largely to the new Department for Combating Anti-Semitism, headed by Aviva Raz-Shechter, and the Department for Jewish Communities, headed by Akiva Tor. 

This week, for the first time, the list of participants included foreign ambassadors, and a non-Jewish British parliamentarian by the name of John Mann. An outstanding feature of the conference was its practical and workmanlike approach. Apart from the regular sessions and speeches, there were seven working groups on this occasion. Two days of discussions produced a long list of proposals for combating anti-Semitism in different parts of the world, and in the media and academia. 

The legal working group, for instance, shared ideas for special legislation on the subject of anti-Semitism, for an international network of jurists against anti-Semitism, for a professional database, and for activity in the United Nations and other international organizations. 

The foreign ministry hopes to convene the Forum twice a year, and to establish an apparatus for monitoring the execution of its recommendations during the year. Only one thing remains to be seen: Whether the finance ministry will provide the necessary budget for the foreign ministry to realize its vision.