Amsterdam emergency summit to protect the jews and jewish life in Europe
This is confirmed by Yossi Lempkowicz, director of the International Jewish Press Association in Europe (EIJA), who also explains the content and development of these two intense days: ‘Fighting for our future’ is the title of this conference, which affects all Jewish communities in Europe, with three pressing issues: firstly, security, ensuring that Jewish communities are safe and can continue to live unharmed. Secondly, education, both about the horrors of the Holocaust and about the lessons that new generations need to know and learn. And thirdly, freedom of religion, which should include the freedom to exercise the central tenets of Jewish faith and practice’.
To organise this emergency summit, the EJA has partnered with Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the Centraal, Joods Overleg (CJO) in the Netherlands and other leading Jewish organisations across Europe. The EJA is the leading association of Jewish organisations in Europe and represents hundreds of communities across the continent. It works to strengthen Jewish identity, expand Jewish activities in Europe and defend Jewish interests, including by creating political initiatives against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement against Israel, and representing Jews in European conversations affecting minorities.
The event comes against a backdrop of tensions between Jerusalem, the seat of Israel's government, and several European governments over the war in Gaza, and after Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition of the Palestinian state. EJA president Menachem Margolin stresses that ‘Europe is our home, and while Israel is always our insurance policy, we will not declare it until we have exhausted all options. We are not there yet, but in fact we are not far from it. In Amsterdam we are coming together to fight for what is our home‘.
During the conference, one panel discussion will focus on policies and solutions to strengthen European governments' response to anti-Semitism; another on their responsibilities to ensure the safety of Jewish communities and institutions and the steps needed to build their resilience. A third panel will describe practical self-defence techniques, including Krav Maga, the official fighting and self-defence system used by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), capable of responding to a wide range of aggression from single or multiple attackers, without weapons, with weapons, but in any case in a forceful manner.
Convinced of the rise of Jew-hatred on European university campuses, a session will also be devoted to providing solutions for Jewish and Zionist students. In Amsterdam itself, 150 members of a pro-Hamas university camp were arrested by police last month after reiterating their calls for the destruction of Israel and using slogans aimed at the complete annihilation of Israel, such as ‘There is only one solution: the revolution of the intifada’, or ‘From the river to the sea’, also used by the second vice-president of the Spanish government, Yolanda Díaz.
In addition to the debates, the 100 or so participants will visit the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, the National Holocaust Museum and the Hollandsche Schouwburg (Dutch Theatre), which was used as a deportation centre by the Nazis. They will also tour Anne Frank's house, which has been converted into a museum dedicated to the young chronicler who hid there with her family until she finally died and is part of the Holocaust.