How the European Union's Antisemitism Czar Became an 'Unofficial Israeli Ambassador' - Jewish World
https://x.com/MaryKostakidis/status/2026242836375711922
How the European Union's Antisemitism Czar Became an 'Unofficial Israeli Ambassador' - Jewish World
'Von Schnurbein described "new forms" of antisemitism in Europe, what she called "ambient antisemitism," that make Jews "feel uncomfortable," even within European institutions. As an example, she cited "bake sales for Gaza" organized by some EU staff to raise money for humanitarian relief, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. The cable reveals she also "challenged some UN reports on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza."'
'Von Schnurbein's key legacy policy achievement in the EU is the 2017 adoption and implementation of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism. A senior European Commission official, who worked in parallel with her, said the IHRA definition was "pushed aggressively by KVS," despite internal pushback and the fact that it was "not unanimous" at the time. In an interview with Israel Hayom last June, she said: "Anti-Zionism, then, is a denial of the Jewish people. And that in itself is antisemitism. So I believe that ultimately, if you look at it, it's an artificial separation."The official warned that instead of a universal framework to combat all forms of hate speech, which had previously been the norm, IHRA was implemented in a way that created a "chilling effect" on criticism of Israel within the EU.'
"She has overstretched her mandate," said Berlin-based Alon Sahar, a policy analyst on Israel-German relations and co-founder of Israelis for Peace, one of the groups in the coalition. He said that "in practice" she had at times acted in ways closely aligned with the Netanyahu government and Europe's pro-Israel lobby. "By conflating Jewish safety with political alignment to Israel's far-right policies and downplaying Palestinian suffering, she risks undermining the trust of European Jewish communities," Sahar added.'

'The Catalonian former chief EU diplomat added that labeling the institutions mandated to uphold international law – including the UN, the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice – as "antisemitic" implies that, by opposing crimes against humanity, you oppose Jews. "That is playing into the hands of Jew-haters," he says.'
'Borrell says "Defending Jewish life, Jewish culture and Jewish people is a completely different thing from taking a certain position on whether to sanction or not sanction Israel. This is not the coordinator's job. This is foreign policy. It is not her job to lobby against sanctions against Israel,"'
'"It's unusual for the EU to retain someone who so actively advocates on behalf of another country," one Brussels-based source said, citing her office's unchecked embrace of Israel's line. The debate should now focus, another Commission source said, "on what happens when the EU policy on combating antisemitism contradicts international law."'
posted by Satish Sharma at
05:57
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home