Lord Pickles joins European leaders to issue new warning about rising antisemitism
Lord Pickles is joined by French and German leaders in warning about rising antisemitism, 20 years after the signing of the OSCE Berlin Declaration.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Leading members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have reaffirmed their commitment to fight rising antisemitism, particularly within schools and universities.
Twenty year years after the signing of the original Berlin Declaration, which noted how anti-Jewish racism had “assumed new forms”, signatories, including Lord Eric Pickles, and Aurore Bergé, the French Minister for Equality, recognised the impact of October 7th on spiralling rates of antisemitism.
They stated:”Since the Hamas terrorist attacks of 7 October, antisemitic comments and hate are spread across all social media platforms.
“But what is said online rarely stays online: antisemitism is also on the rise in our streets. It includes physical abuse, criminal damage to property. Even on our university campuses, intimidation and violence against students are reported.
“This concerns us all, in all countries, in all regions. In the United Kingdom, for the first time ever, antisemitic incidents were recorded in every single police region in the UK.
“In Germany, antisemitic incidents have risen by 320%.
“Between the Hamas attack and the end of January 2024, in Germany 2249 antisemitic crimes have been committed, most of them related to the conflict in the Middle East.
“It calls us to raise awareness at school. In France, 40% of the antisemitic acts committed at school make the apology of Nazism.”
In their defiant message, the signatories added:”We encourage relevant authorities, universities, councils, or companies to work together, to support their Jewish colleagues, employees, or students. In France, this will be at the heart of the national Convention against antisemitism which will be organised (« les Assises de l’Antisémitisme ») on May 6th.
“National Action Plans addressing antisemitism should be at the heart of what we do.
“We all value our Jewish communities and without them we would all be diminished.
“If we lose the battle against antisemitism, we lose our democracies.”
Felix Klein, Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany, also added his name to the statememt.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
