The European Jewish Association published the appeal below in French in the Monday morning 4 Sivan edition of La Libre, one of Belgium’s leading newspapers, calling for action on anti-Semitism, following last weekend’s deadly attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels, which claimed the lives of four adults. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, General Director of the European Jewish Association invites you to read the appeal which is included in full below in both French and English and to offer your support to the initiatives it promotes.

The effort seeks support the campaign by donating an hour of one’s time to speak in a school across Europe on the phenomenon of anti-Semitism and racism. Anyone wishing to participate in the program is urged to contact organizers to arrange for an event in a school. The contact email is [email protected]

The translation of the La Libre appeal:

Anti-Semitism – a danger for everyone

Act before it’s too late

In the history of Europe, each time that murderous and violent anti-Semitism appears, it serves as advanced warning of grave danger for the rest of society.

Berlin, July 1925:

The first edition of the anti-Semitic work Meine Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler in Prison, is published. (70,000,000 copies have been sold since the FALL of the Third Reich)

Toulouse, March 2012:

A terrorist shot young French soldiers in cold blood, before murdering four people, three of whom children, at a Jewish school.

Brussels, May 2014:

An as-yet  identified killer shot four people in cold blood at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, including two Israeli tourists and one French national.

Anti-Jewish feeling has spread beyond our community borders and touched society as a whole.

69 years after the Holocaust, a recent survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) shows a resurgence of anti-Semitic ideology, more concentrated in Belgium than in other European countries, and particularly on the internet, with a European average of 30%

Faced with an urgent and increasing awareness of the anti-Semitic and anti-democratic extremism that always go hand in hand, it is essential to react in a swift and appropriate manner.

The European Jewish Association (EJA) calls instantly for:

1.     The Belgian government, as well as the governments of all 27 other EU member states to put in place an official governmental body, under the supervision of the prime minister, to fight against anti-Semitism with all available means and tools at their disposal.

2.     Various information networks to suggest that all Belgian schools integrate at least one hour a month of education of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and all other forms of racism on their syllabus. To reinforce democratic values and respect for all minorities in their education programs.

3.     Political leaders, journalists and other opinion formers to make the population, and in particular school students, aware of the importance of solidarity and responsible citizenship.

Should any school bodies or other individuals like to dedicate time to participate in this initiative, please send us an email to[email protected]

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)