"The Future of the Jewish communities in Europe": introductory remark by Antonio TAJANI (EPP, IT) and keynote speech by Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS&nbsp;

Brussels

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

debate

inter-religious dialogue (T)

judaism

"The Future of the Jewish communities in Europe": introductory remark by Antonio TAJANI (EPP, IT) and keynote speech by Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS

Poster of the event outside the meeting room.

Arrival of Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS, taking the seat together with greetings to Antonio TAJANI, EP Vice President,

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI (EPP, IT), EP Vice President, We have to face the reality; there is a problem of anti-Semitism in Europe. The terrorist attacks of the last years have impacted the Europeans but also the Jewish citizens. Besides the bloodshed that we all know, from Toulouse to Paris and Brussels, we are experiencing very symbolic aggressions. I think of the stabbing of citizens wearing the kippah in Milan or Strasbourg. As if wearing a kippah was, per se, a challenging act.

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI (EPP, IT), EP Vice President, Europe must engage itself politically and publically in guarantying the Jewish community a prosperous future, so they will not leave to Israel as they do not feel protected in here. We have the obligation of guarantying a future to Jewish of all ages in Europe, but specially, we need to protect the young generation, so they will believe and participate in the European project, which is their future.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS: The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews. That is what I want us to understand today. It wasn&rsquo;t Jews alone who suffered under Hitler. It wasn&rsquo;t Jews alone who suffered under Stalin. It isn&rsquo;t Jews alone who suffer under ISIS or Al Qaeda or Islamic Jihad. We make a great mistake if we think antisemitism is a threat only to Jews. It is a threat, first and foremost, to Europe and to the freedoms it took centuries to achieve.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS: The appearance of antisemitism in a culture is the first symptom of a disease, the early warning sign of collective breakdown. If Europe allows antisemitism to flourish, that will be the beginning of the end of Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS: Let me ask you this. Whether you are Jewish or Christian, Muslim: would you stay in a country where you need armed police to guard you while you prayed? Where your children need armed guards to protect them at school? Where, if you wear a sign of your faith in public, you risk being abused or attacked? Where, when your children go to university, they are insulted and intimidated because of what is happening in some other part of the world? Where, when they present their own view of the situation they are howled down and silenced? This is happening to Jews throughout Europe. In every single country of Europe, without exception, Jews are fearful for their or their children&rsquo;s future.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS: Antisemitism means denying the right of Jews to exist as Jews with the same rights as everyone else. The form this takes today is anti-Zionism. Of course, there is a difference between Zionism and Judaism, and between Jews and Israelis, but this difference does not exist for the new antisemites themselves. It was Jews not Israelis who were murdered in terrorist attacks in Toulouse, Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen. Anti-Zionism is the antisemitism of our time.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lord Rabbi Jonathan SACKS: You know where the road ends. Don&rsquo;t go down there again. You are the leaders of Europe. Its future is in your hands. If you do nothing, Jews will leave, European liberty will die, and there will be a moral stain on Europe&rsquo;s name that all eternity will not erase. Stop it now while there is still time. Standing ovation.