For the first time in history, the president of the European Union plans to hold a conference on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
The "Europe Beyond Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism – Securing Jewish Life in Europe" conference is scheduled to take place in Vienna on Wednesday. It is the initiative of Austrian Chancellor and current EU President Sebastian Kurz, in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress and Austria's Jewish community.
Among those set to address the event is German politician Manfred Weber, 46, head of the European People's Party in the European Parliament and a member of the conservative Christian Social Union in Bavaria.
Weber has been a delegate in the European Parliament since 2004 and was elected head of the European People's Party in 2014. If the conservatives continue to maintain their majority in the European Parliament after the coming May elections, Weber will become the parliament's president.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, his first with an Israel media outlet, Weber warned of growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
"The development in recent years is an absolute warning sign," he said.
"The vicious murder of 85-year-old Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll, in her apartment in Paris was regrettably the lowest point of a clear trend: In France, the number of violent anti-Semitic incidents rose by an inconceivable 69% in the first nine months of the year. In Britain, there was an increase of around 30%.
"In Germany, too, people are attacked for being Jews. The growing anti-Semitism makes me uneasy. Not just the public attacks but the 'relativization' of anti-Semitism creeping into people's minds. It seems that for far too long, many were convinced that the situation in Europe was under control. There is nothing more to add other than we must act against this phenomenon while it is limited. My demand is that everyone rise up and oppose anti-Semitism," he said.
Q: Do Jews have a future in Europe?
"Jews and Jewish life belong in Europe unconditionally. If Jews do not have a future in Europe, Europe will no longer be Europe. Maintaining the security of the Jews and daily Jewish life is, for me, a topmost European interest."
Q: Can left-wing parties with anti-Semitic tendencies be part of the European Parliament?
"I am very grateful to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who as rotating president of the European Council, brought this issue to the agenda and as chancellor, decisively acts as a friend of Europe's Jews.
"Indeed, I would not have imagined that in certain countries in the European Union, it would be the left-wing parties that would show tolerance toward open anti-Semitism and implement anti-Israel policy. There is a genuine risk that such parties will enter the European Parliament. I intend to make this clear during the election campaign."
