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.

9 April 2024, 12:00 pm

Protestors take part in a demonstration against antisemitism in France, outside the French Embassy in Knightsbridge, London, following a decision by FranceOs highest court to spare the killer of Sarah Halimi from trial because the alleged perpetrator was high on cannabis at the time of the crime. Picture date: Sunday April 25, 2021.

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.