After 2015, combating anti-Semitism became one of the pressing issues in the European Union. Mass terrorist attacks against the Jewish community in France, a surge in political

anti-Semitism after 2014, the gradual increase in anti-Semitic sentiments among refugees arriving in the EU, and other factors compelled the EU authorities to pay attention to the problem of anti-Semitism. Starting in 2015, the European Union worked on establishing institutions and consolidating its efforts under the leadership of Jewish communities in combating anti-Semitism and protecting Jewish communities.

Over the course of five years, painstaking work was done in this direction, leading to a new phase – the creation of a special EU strategy that will serve as a road map for the policies of the 27 member countries of the European Union for the period from 2021 to 2030. The work on the strategy was carried out over a year and concluded in October 2021, on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance and anti-Semitism Resistance Forum in Malmö, Sweden [Malmö International Forum…, 2021]. 

On October 5, the European Commission presented its first-ever Strategy on Combating anti-Semitism and Promoting Jewish Life until 2030. The strategy focuses on raising awareness of Holocaust issues, ensuring the security of Jewish communal facilities, monitoring anti-Semitism, and cooperation with the State of Israel within joint initiatives. The authors of the 26-page document, who worked on it for a year, identified three main goals: preventing anti-Semitism in all its forms, protecting and developing Jewish life in the EU, and promoting research, education, and the preservation of Holocaust memory.

"We want Jewish life to flourish again in the hearts of our communities. This is how it should be. The strategy we are presenting today is a gradual change in how we respond to anti-Semitism. Europe can only thrive when its Jewish communities feel safe and thrive", said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presenting the document [Commission presents…, 2021]. 

Within the "EU Strategy on Combating anti-Semitism and Strengthening Jewish Life (2021–2030)", a series of specific measures are proposed. To combat anti-Semitism, the Commission will initiate the creation of a network of organizations across Europe that will monitor anti-Semitism on the internet and take necessary actions afterward. Moreover, in order to prevent online sales of Nazi-themed products, work will be conducted with retailers [Commission presents…, 2021]. 

In 2022, the EU will allocate 24 million euro for the enhanced protection of Jewish facilities, as well as initiate programmes to raise Europeans' awareness of Jewish life and culture in Europe. Additionally, the EU will strengthen its cooperation with Israel in the fight against anti-Semitism and the revival of Jewish heritage. To oversee these efforts, the Commission's Working Group on Combating anti-Semitism will transform into a permanently operating body. Reports on the progress of the work will be published in 2024 and 2029. "Anti-Semitism is incompatible with EU values and our European way of life. This strategy, the first of its kind, is our commitment to tackling the problem in all its forms and ensuring the future of Jewish life in Europe and beyond", noted Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the Commission for Promoting the European Way of Life, who will oversee the implementation of the Strategy [EU releases first-ever…, 2021]. 

One of the points of the Strategy is dedicated to combating anti-Semitism in all areas of European policy. "Combating anti-Semitism is a complex task. Its multifaceted manifestations and prevalence in the social and political spectrum require comprehensive responses, starting from the creation of a strong legal framework, properly enforced, to aspects of security, policy, education, and integration, and these are just some of them. Thus, the Commission will systematically take into account the fight against anti-Semitism in the development of policies, legislation, and funding programmes and invites other EU institutions to cooperate..." note the document's authors [EU Strategy on combating…, 2021]. 

In the Strategy, it is also emphasized that targeted actions to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination based on nationality will be carried out through the "Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values" (CERV) program, which has a budget of 1.55 billion euro. Furthermore, financial support for the Strategy will be provided through EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, Erasmus+, the Justice Program, the Internal Security Fund, the Neighborhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), cohesion policy funds, and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) [EU Strategy on combating…, 2021]. 

Within this Strategy, the organization of an annual civil society forum on combating anti-Semitism is also envisaged, bringing together representatives of the European Commission and Jewish communities. Additionally, the European Commission will support the efforts of member states in developing and implementing their national strategies to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination through the Technical Support Instrument and will assess this work by the end of 2023. 

EU member states are recommended to develop national strategies to combat anti-Semitism by the end of 2022 or incorporate relevant measures into their national plans to combat racism, providing adequate funding for their implementation. Member states are also encouraged to adopt and use the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and urge local authorities, regions, cities, and other institutions and organizations to do the same. In this document, the European Commission called for close cooperation with Europol, including its EU Internet Referral Unit, to combat online ant-Semitic terrorism by taking action against groups and individuals disseminating terrorist content on the internet [EU Strategy on combating…, 2021]. 

The document also proposes measures for the development of Jewish life in the EU, including strengthening the connection between Jewish tradition of planting trees on Tu BiShvat and the EU's commitment to plant an additional 3 billion trees as part of biodiversity preservation strategy. It supports the exchange of best practices through the European Integration Network on informing migrants about EU values, including the fight against anti-Semitism. It ensures, through political and legal measures, that religious groups or communities, including Jews, can live in accordance with their religious and cultural traditions. It promotes the exchange of practices related to Jewish life and traditions between government authorities and Jewish communities, including publicly commemorating days significant to the history of the Jewish people and funding projects and campaigns [EU Strategy on combating…, 2021]. 

The creation of this programmatic document was a significant milestone in the development of the European Union's policy regarding Jewish communities. The most crucial decision in this regard was the transformation of the Commission's Working Group on Combating anti-Semitism into a permanently operating EU management body that will coordinate efforts to combat anti-Semitism in all 27 countries of the European Union. Additionally, the European Commission's support for the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism will be a new impetus in the EU countries' policies regarding the promotion and recognition of this definition by a greater number of European countries. 

It should be noted that after the publication of the Strategy, some leaders of Jewish communities criticized it for lacking solutions to urgent problems they face in everyday life and for not addressing religious freedoms. "They took the easy way out and did not act correctly", said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, head of the European Jewish Association, on October 12 [EU Plan to fight anti-semitism…, 2021]. In his opinion, the problem lies in the fact that the Strategy does not mention the recent bans on ritual animal slaughter introduced in many EU countries, including Belgium in 2019, which is a necessary condition for the production of kosher and halal meat. Ritual animal slaughter is currently prohibited in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Slovenia.

"The European Commission couldn't solve this problem to avoid conflicts with countries where bans and attempts to ban exist", Margolin noted [EU Plan to fight anti-Semitism…, 2021]. "We welcome these plans, but it's hard to take the plans for the development of Jewish life in Europe seriously if they do not address a serious threat to this Jewish life". Joel Mergui, President of France's major Jewish organization "Consistoire", also pointed out the problem of bans on non-medical circumcision of boys in some European organizations. "The Commission is making the plan a hollow set of good theoretical statements without any further action possibilities" [EU Plan to fight anti-Semitism…, 2021], said Benjamin Jacobs, Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands.  

For several years, the European Commission has made significant progress in shaping its policy regarding the “Jewish question.” Unfortunately, over the past two years, this work has been largely put on hold due to new challenges arising from the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Unfortunately, the development of a network of experts within the EU—who could take on the role of formulating a strategy for the European Union’s policy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in the coming years—is also progressing rather slowly.

Links

Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. (2021, October 15). Government Offices of Sweden. https://www.government.se/government-policy/remember--react/

Commission presents first-ever EU Strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life. (2021, October 5). European Commission.https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_4990

EU releases first-ever strategy to fight antisemitism, promote Jewish life. (2021, October 5). Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-releases-first-ever-strategy-to-fight-antisemitism-promote-jewish-life/

EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021–2030). (2021, October 5). European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/combating-antisemitism/eu-strategy-combating-antisemitism-and-fostering-jewish-life-2021-2030_en

EU Plan to fight antisemitism "not serious", Jewish community leaders say. (2021, October 13). Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/eu-plan-to-fight-antisemitism-not-serious-jewish-community-leaders-say/

Oleh Kozerod, Ph.D., D.Litt.