EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherni has expressed support for the idea of creating a European task force to combat anti-Semitism, in a statement published in Italian daily La Repubblica.
“I transferred the idea as a policy recommendation to EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who has the formal authority in this issue, and we are already working on various initiatives,” she said.
Frans Timmermans is First Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Mogherini is also a Vice-President of the EU Commission.
Several European groups have recently called on the EU to set up a task force on anti-Semitism in the wake of the attack against a Paris kosher supermarket by an Islamist terrorist in which four Jews were killed and the killing by another terrorist of a guard at the synagogue of Copenhagen.
Some of these leaders have even promoted the idea of the creation of a post of European Commissioner responsible for fighting anti-Semitism on the model of the US Special Representative for Combating anti-Semitism under the Secretary of State.
Anti-Semitic assaults, hate speech, harassment, and vandalism are severely impacting Jewish communities across the EU. These threats know no borders. In May 2014, a French radical Islamist returned from Syria via Germany and murdered four people at the Jewish museum in Brussels.
The rise of anti-Semitism has opened a debate in various Jewish communities over whether Jews should leave the continent.
In an address at a memorial ceremony organized at the EU Jewish building for the victims of the Paris terror attacks last January, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans clearly stated : ‘’The most disturbing news I got recently which quite literally keeps we awake at night is that, when asked, a majority in the Jewish community in France and the Jewish community in the United Kingdom says : ‘’We dont’ know if there is a future for us in Europe.’’
‘’If there i no future for Jews in Europe, there is no future for Europe,’’ Timmermans stressed.
‘’The terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen and the widespread anti-Semitic attacks last summer demand a high-level response, and that response must encompass the entire European Union,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.
“Some national governments are taking important steps to address anti-Semitism, but action is also required at the EU level for Europe’s Jews to truly feel more secure,” said Mr. Foxman.
“The support of Vice President Mogherini and leading Italian parliamentarians will bring this important initiative closer to fruition,’’ he added.
Several Italian politicians have expressed their support for the task force initiative, including Forza Italia leader Renato Brunetta, National Assembly Members Fabrizio Cicchitto of Nuovo Centrodestra, Emanuele Fiano, Andrea Manciulli, and Lia Quartapelle of Partito Democratico.
ADL’s Global 100 survey of anti-Semitic attitudes showed significantly higher rates of anti-Semitism in certain EU member nations when compared with the roughly one quarter of all Europeans harboring anti-Semitic views.