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The Scourge of Anti-Semitism
What's New in the EU: Anti-Semitism in
Europe, the 2007 model
By ARI SYRQUIN
"The lessons of the Shoah remain relevant today and for future
generations. Education against racial hatred and intolerance and for
mutual respect is crucial to avoid a repeat of this break in
civilization. Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders and opinion makers.
It is therefore vital that they understand fully what the Shoah means
and how that experience can help shape a more tolerant society. One in
which respect for diversity and protection of minorities is an integral
part of our democracies." [Beate Winkler, EU's Fundamental Rights Agency
Interim Director].
On Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorated Monday, the
EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) organized a video conference with
Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust authority, to emphasize the role of
education in combating anti-Semitism and racial hatred.
The FRA, together with Yad Vashem, brought together a group of Austrian
pupils to speak, via video conference, with holocaust survivors in
Israel. The Holocaust survivors gave testimony about their lives during
the Nazi terror: Without past you do not have a future. The pupils also
learned about current educational initiatives to combat anti-Semitism
and racism.
Beate Winkler, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency Interim Director,
noted that schools can teach against the evils of anti-Semitism to
ensure that never again can it gain a foothold. "There are a variety of
educational initiatives and tools available which provide valuable
support to teachers and educationalists." Mr. Winkler added, "These
require wider distribution and use across the EU."
In Europe, anti-Semitism is a very old and deeply rooted cultural trait
that has found a specific political expression since the 19th century
initially in the context of the development of racist ideology and later
in the context of national socialist ideology. However, there is also
some research evidence that European anti-Semitic stereotypes have in
recent decades gradually been adopted by sections of Muslim communities
around Europe.
In accordance to a summary paper produced by the European Monitoring
Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in December 2006* (the center was
established by Council Regulation 1035/97 (EC) in 1997 and is an agency
of the EU), major aspects of post-1945 anti-Semitism are the emergence
of so-called secondary anti-Semitism and the transformation of
anti-Semitic expressions through the existence of Israel. Since open
anti-Semitism, in the sense of the often self-declared anti-Semitism
from before the Second World War, after 1945 was censored, anti-Semitic
statements had to be rephrased so as to avoid being labeled as such. The
result of this transformation is that post- 1945 anti-Semitism can be
characterized as an "anti-Semitism without anti-Semites."
However, the EUMC paper states that anti-Semitism since 1945 is not just
characterized by the absence of self-labeled anti-Semites, but also by
"secondary anti-Semitism," which, broadly defined, is any form of
anti-Semitism that is itself a reflection of the establishment of the
taboo of expressing anti-Semitism. The notion is commonly used primarily
to describe anti-Semitism in Austria and Germany, where secondary
anti-Semitism is usually deceitfully considered as a reaction to the
debates on national identity and National Socialism. Drawing on older
stereotypes about Jewish power and influence in the media, a typical
false claim of secondary anti-Semitism is, for example, that Jews are
manipulating Germans or Austrians, exploiting feelings of guilt. The
term has proliferated in "scholarly analyses," particularly to explain
the debates on National Socialism and anti-Semitism in Germany in the
1980s. Characteristic of all forms of "secondary anti-Semitism" is that
they relate directly to the Holocaust and that they maliciously allow
speakers to so-called "avoid expressing open anti-Semitism."
The latest (2005) transnational survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
on anti-Semitic attitudes covering 11 EU Member States and Switzerland
was carried out by "Taylor Nelson Sofres," which conducted between 6,000
telephone interviews among the general public between April 11 and May
6, 2005. The ADL found that "a plurality of Europeans believe Jews are
not loyal to their country and that they have too much power in business
and finance," which means that "despite good faith efforts by government
and the international community to counteract the anti-Semitism plaguing
Europe, millions of Europeans continue to believe the classical
anti-Semitic canards that have dogged Jews through the centuries."
The 2005 survey indicates that over that year there had been some
decline in the acceptance of certain traditional anti-Semitic
stereotypes in the European countries tested. However, the opposite is
true among respondents in Denmark, where trends actually point to an
increase in the percentage of people agreeing with each of the
traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes tested. Additionally, Spanish
respondents were more likely to question the loyalty of their Jewish
citizens than in 2004. Since 2004, there has been an increase in the
percentage of Italian respondents who believe that Jews have too much
power in the business world. The data indicates that those surveyed in
Italy and Spain are now more likely to think that Jews still talk too
much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.
Recently, the UK has been reported to have removed the Holocaust from
its school curriculum because it "offended" the Muslim population, which
claims it never occurred. This is a frightening example of the fear that
is gripping Europe and how easily some countries are giving into it.
The above strengthens the decree passed on to all of us to
"Remember…that which Amalek did to us; remember everything do not forget
for the rest of your lives and pass on as a holy testament to the coming
generations that the Germans killed, slaughtered and murdered us..."
[from the Testament of Elkhanan Elkes, leader of the Kovno Jewish
Council].
On the evolution of anti-Semitism in the EU, check the EUMC update
report "Anti-Semitism Summary overview of the situation in the European
Union" (December 2006) at:
http://eumc.europa.eu/eumc/material/pub/AS/Antisemitism_Overview_December_2006_en.pdf
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