Ignoring Anti-Semitism Won’t Make It Go Away

[Behind the Aegis]

THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP!

Sunday was the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and a moment to reflect on that triumph of human freedom. But it was also the 76th anniversary of Kristallnacht, and thus a moment to reflect on the evil that humans perpetrate against one another.

This week in Berlin, the German foreign ministry, the Swiss chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights hosted a high-level event on anti-Semitism. This event commemorated the 10th anniversary of the first OSCE Berlin Conference, where OSCE states pledged to combat anti-Semitism.

Ten years ago, 58 countries were represented, 18 by foreign ministers or other cabinet-level officials. This week, only 38 countries attended, and only six sent ministers. (The U.S. sent a large presidential delegation headed by Samantha Power, ambassador to the United Nations. Dozens of U.S. civil-society representatives—not just from Jewish groups but a range of civil-rights organizations—also participated.)

Several European leaders have recently spoken out condemning anti-Semitism. The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy decried a rising tide of anti-Semitic acts in a joint statement this summer, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave an important speech at a Berlin rally in September in which she declared: “It is our national and civic duty to combat anti-Semitism.”



Firefighters are at the Fasanenstrasse synagogue, Berlin's biggest house of Jewish worship, after Nazis set fire to it in an anti-Jewish demonstration throughout Germany on Nov. 9, 1938.

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But much more is needed. In reflecting on Kristallnacht last week, Morten Kjaerum, the head of the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency, acknowledged that “anti-Semitism remains at worrying levels across Europe despite the many attempts to combat it. As we come together to remember the horrors of the past, it is perhaps time to reflect what more needs to be done to stem the centuries-long persecution of Jews.”

more: http://online.wsj.com/articles/ignoring-anti-semitism-wont-make-it-go-away-1415910262 (subscription needed, unless you haven't been there in awhile..no cookies in your internet history)