AJC Leadership Meets with European Officials, Demands Jewish Safety Be Prioritized

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch brought a clear message to government officials across Western Europe last week: safety for Jews in Europe must be a priority.

Alongside AJC President Michael Tichnor, AJC Europe Managing Director Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal, Deputy Director for AJC Europe Julie Decroix, and AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache, Deutch urged government leaders and elected officials in the major capitals of London, Paris, and Amsterdam to take concrete action now to combat antisemitism and safeguard their Jewish communities.

"As we saw most horrifically with the Jew-hunt in Amsterdam last month, violent antisemitism is on the rise in Europe and must be addressed immediately by governments across the continent," said Deutch. "Increasing polarization and the normalization of antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric in political discourse have put a target on the backs of European Jewish communities. Europe once prided itself on learning from its history and vowing 'Never Again.' Europe must now demonstrate that it is still capable of protecting its Jewish communities, its democracies, and our shared values."

Following up on AJC's call in the wake of the modern-day pogrom in Amsterdam on November 7, the group impressed on government officials the urgent need to:

• Enforce National Action Plans Against Antisemitism: Countries must create internal monitoring and enforcement mechanisms that can evaluate how the plans are being implemented, where the gaps are, and create accountability.
• Protect Jewish Communities: European countries must do more to safeguard their Jewish communities by establishing an intergovernmental task force on antisemitism to increase information sharing, coordination, and training among law enforcement officials across Europe.
• Secure Justice for Perpetrators of Antisemitic Violence: Governments must adopt zero tolerance for antisemitism policies that include full prosecution of hate crimes with clear penalties that are communicated to the public at large.

The delegation met with senior government officials, in all three cities, including Lord John Mann, the UK Government's Independent Adviser on Antisemitism; Alexis Kohler, Secretary General to French President Emmanuel Macron; U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Bauer, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, Eddo Verdoner, Netherlands' National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism; Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp, Dutch Members of Parliament, and Ambassador of Israel in the Netherlands Modi Ephraim.

In addition to discussing key steps governments must take to protect their Jewish communities, the delegation spoke with officials about the dangerous rise of the delegitimization of Israel and the importance of affirming Israel's right to defend itself against the Iranian regime and its terror proxies.

The delegation also met with civil society and Jewish community leaders, including AJC partner organization the Board of Deputies in London; the Union of Jewish Students in London; the CRIF, France's umbrella organization of Jewish institutions; the French Union of Jewish Students; and Dutch journalist Esther Voet.

Following the violent, antisemitic "Jew Hunt" assaults on Israelis and Jews in Amsterdam last month, AJC called for immediate action in the fight against antisemitism resulting in an emergency high-level meeting with ministers, permanent representatives, and ambassadors to the European Union. Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, AJC Europe Managing Director, represented AJC at that briefing-the only non-governmental organization (NGO) invited to present-and laid out recommendations for the implementation of new enforcement, protection, and justice-related actions in the fight against anti-Jewish hate.

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org .

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