Europeans Set Action Plan To Battle Anti-Semitism
By Andrew Silow-Carroll September 30, 2016
— The 57 European and Eurasian countries that comprise the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are embarking on a three-year initiative to promote education and awareness about anti-Semitism and to address Jewish community security.
The initiative, titled “Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism,” was announced Sept. 28. It was initiated by the parliament of Germany, which currently chairs the OSCE.
The initiative is being spearheaded by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Rabbi Andrew Baker, the American Jewish Committee’s director of International Jewish Affairs, serves as OSCE’s Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism.
“OSCE participating states have recognized that anti-Semitism poses a threat to stability and security in the OSCE region,” Michael Georg Link, director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said in a statement. “They agreed to undertake a number of steps to address the problem in co-operation with civil society.”
Earlier this year the OSCE sought grant applications from universities, museums, schools, ministries of education and civil society organizations to develop programs for countering anti-Semitism through the arts, education, media and coalition building. The grants for the chosen projects will range from 5,000-40,000 euros.
Earlier this week, the Anti-Defamation League presented recommendations to the OSCE’s annual human rights conference on advancing security for targets of anti-Semitism and hate crimes.
“The participating European and Eurasian states have recognized the serious threat posed by anti-Semitism and have made critical commitments to address this concerning issue,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said in a statement welcoming the OSCE initiative. “We commend the German government for challenging states to put their commitments into action and for funding and catalyzing this initiative.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
