JTA - 11.19.2004

OSCE anti-Semitism rep to be announced

(JTA) -- A European umbrella group is about to name a special representative on anti-Semitism, and Spain will host the next conference on the topic. 

A top Israeli official said the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which brings together 55 countries including the United States, will name three special representatives at a foreign ministers conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Dec. 5 — one for anti-Semitism, one for Islamophobia and one for intolerance. The appointment, and the pending U.S. establishment of an office to monitor international anti-Semitism, will reinforce efforts at the United Nations to combat the phenomenon, the senior official said. 

In June, Spain will host back-to-back OSCE conferences on anti-Semitism and intolerance. Spain also will institute an annual Holocaust remembrance day, the official said.