European Jewish Congress holds meeting of directors of European Jewish communities in Brussels ...

The gathering, which brought together national directors of Jewish communities from EJC’s affiliates across Europe, took place over two days, and was preceded by a lunch discussion in the European Parliament hosted by the Working Group on Antisemitism (WGAS), of which the EJC acts as the group’s secretariat.  

Keynote speaker at the lunch was H.E. Ambassador David Walzer of the Israeli Mission to the EU, who elaborated on the links between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. The Chair of the WGAS Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, and Vice-Chairs MEP Heinz Becker and MEP Cecilia Wikström delivered inspiring speeches and comments. 

The meeting kicked off with an interesting discussion with Katharina von Schnurbein, the incoming European Commission’s Coordinator on Antisemitism. Directors were given a platform to ask questions and to gain a better understanding of the new role of the coordinator.  

Several other speakers from the represented Jewish communities and the European Commission briefed the directors on different topics including religious freedoms, the security of Jewish communities in Europe, crisis management, the impact of the refugee crisis on Europe and terrorist networks across the continent. 

The Directors discussed also how to approach specific challenges within several European Jewish communities and exchanged best practices. 

During the dinner the President of the Belgian Jewish affiliate, the CCOJB, Serge Rozen, and the Honorary President of the Consistoire Central Israélite de Belgique, Baron Julien Klener, addressed the audience.

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