At AJC, world leaders tackle anti-Jewish hate

At the American Jewish Committee Global Forum in New York last week, there was a lot catching up to do as the Jewish world changed rapidly in the last two years durng the COVID-19 pandemic, a new war in Europe, and economic uncertainty.

European “governments have significantly increased their actions against anti-Semitism. They support Jewish communities on a larger scale than before, and yet anti-Semitism is increasing because we have come out of a pandemic where we saw anti-Semitic content explode on the Internet,” Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life, told JNS.

“We have a war on Ukraine where the propaganda very clearly uses Nazi language and distorts the Holocaust,” she said. “And we have an economic downslope on the horizon where traditionally Jews have been scapegoated. So all of this together means the challenges are increasing while, at the same time, our actions are also increasing.”

Mayor Eric Adams addressed a spike in hate crimes plaguing New York City and America as a whole.

“We’re at an interesting place in America. Two individual groups that don’t realize that they are assisting each other: the far, far left and the far, far right,”Adams said. “We must not alleviate, we must eradicate hate — that’s the focus that we’re going to have.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who addressed the forum in a prerecorded video, appealed for additional help to battle Russian invaders, noting AJC’s long-standing involvement with Ukraine — from its push to the Bush White House to recognize Ukrainian sovereignty in 1991 to its sponsorship of flights for Ukrainian Jews to Israel during the current crisis.

“I am aware of your substantive help for our state, but I ask you to redouble your efforts to stop Russian hatred. Hatred for humanity,” Zelensky said. “Yes, it is hatred that is the driving force of this ongoing Russian war against Ukraine and against freedom in Europe.”

Monday’s session opened with a panel discussion titled, “Can Governments Win the Fight Against Anti-Semitism?” featuring von Schnurbein and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.

In an interview with JNS, von Schnurbein said including the goal of fostering Jewish life that the European Commission adopted in October was paramount for two objectives.

“One is to ensure the security of Jewish communities. … The other aspect is ensuring that Jews can go about their lives in accordance with the religious and cultural traditions that they choose as part of their Judaism,” she said.

“The majority of countries actually have good solutions to ensure that Jews can live with shechitah and brit milah,” Von Schnurbein said, reporting that the European Commission will hold a conference this fall to find political compromises between member states and Jewish communities, along with Muslim communities that are often the intended targets of religious bans and restrictions.

Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid addressed the forum via pre-recorded video messages.

“Where anti-Semitism and Holocaust-denial spread, repression and democratic backsliding are often not far behind,” said Blinken, reaffirming the Biden administration’s pledges to combat Jew-hatred worldwide, preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and expanding normalization with Arab states.

Lapid delved into the connection between Israelis and Ukrainians in fending off aggressors to maintain their national homes.

“This past year has reminded us that the biggest struggle in our world is not complicated,” he said. “It is simple: There is a struggle between good and evil, between terror and violence on one side, and freedom and democracy on the other.”

At Monday morning’s plenary, the UN ambassadors from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco spoke about the tangible effects of the Abraham Accords on their respective countries.

“Ultimately, the Abraham Accords are not just a peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. I think it’s also a step-change in the relationship globally between Islam and the Jewish faith, and that’s really important,” said UAE Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh.

Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan signaled hope about the potential of the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He said he is “praying and wishing that [President Biden’s] stop in Saudi Arabia [in July] would help to expand the new circle of peace.”

The forum marked the swan song for AJC CEO David Harris, once dubbed by Israeli President Shimon Peres as “the foreign minister of the Jewish people.” Harris, who has led the AJC since 1990, is stepping down at the end of September, to be replaced by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.). Deutch is set to host the 2023 AJC Global Forum next June in Tel Aviv.