The incumbent president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, was re-elected to serve another four years.

Sixty out of 86 representatives of European Jewish communities voted for Kantor at the EJC general assembly meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, and 22 voted for Richard Prasquier, the president of the umbrella group of France’s Jewish communities, CRIF. Four representatives cast blank votes.

Kantor, a Russian space engineer and businessman who resides in London, thanked Prasquier for his candidacy, “which helped strengthen the democracy of the EJC.” He added: “Richard is an outstanding personality, devoted and highly intelligent and a real asset to our organization.”

Kantor, who became president in 2007, said he and the executive “cannot afford to rest on any laurels” because of rising anti-Semitism in the continent and greater security threats. On Tuesday, Kantor announced the initiation of a new fund to accommodate security and crisis management needs of Jewish communities. The level of funding will be determined later this year, a spokesperson for the EJC said.

At the general assembly in Brussels, Jewish community representatives elected Vivian Wineman, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, to preside as chairman of the EJC Council.

Founded in 1986, EJC began as an offshoot of the World Jewish Congress and since has evolved into an organization with two offices, in Paris and Brussels. It represents 42 Jewish communities from Turkey to Portugal.

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