On the 03rd and 4th of June, B’nai B’rith Europe, along with major Jewish organizations working with the EU institutions attended the European Commission Working Group on Antisemitism. The event is periodically organized by the European Commission’s department on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, coordinated by Katharina von Schnurbein.

The 5th meeting of the Working Group on combating antisemitism was a key event to consult Member States and Jewish communities on their ideas for the first-ever EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life. The strategy will be adopted by the European Commission by the end of 2021, as announced in its Work Programme 2021. The objective of the meeting was to gain input from national authorities and stakeholders on the most important issues that the strategy should address and concrete actions to tackle them.

Vice-President for promoting our European Way of life, Margaritis Schinas, presented the work that paved the way in the fight against discrimination, racism and antisemitism.

The aim of the Strategy is threefold: I) to prevent and combat all forms of antisemitism (online and offline), II) to foster Jewish life and safeguard Jewish heritage and III) to ensure and strengthen Holocaust remembrance, education and research. These objectives form the pillars that will guide the development of the Strategy inside and outside the EU. Each session focused on one of these pillars.

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