The Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, writes in a recent letter that fighting antisemitism in the EU is more relevant than ever and that the role of the coordinator is crucial in this regard.
As previously reported, Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission’s coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in Europe, has been targeted in media and by a group of MEPs following an internal document which was leaked from a meeting at the EU delegation in Tel Aviv.
Asked about the Commission’s response to the allegations against the coordinator, a Commission spokesperson declined to comment and replied that the “President supports all the coordinators in their difficult and challenging work”.
In a letter, dated 30 July, Commissioner Brunner replied to MEP Tineke Strik (Greens/EFA, NL) and other MEPs who had criticized the coordinator for what they called “extremely problematic statements” in the leaked document. The MEPs asked the Commission if it intended to take disciplinary action against her.
The Commissioner wrote that the meeting was a close-door informal meeting with the ambassadors in Israel, which the Commission’s coordinator attended in her official capacity. “During the meeting she discussed the situation of antisemitism in Europe, the threats posed by conspiracy myths and the impact of the current conflict on European Jews.”
He confirmed that since the Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023, Europe has witnessed a significant rise in antisemitic incidents.
As regards the conflict, the letter reaffirms EU’s position. “The EU condemns Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel, which have triggered a spiral of violence in the region and calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, for the unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to the conflict.”
The EU continues to support ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement. Civilians cannot be targets. The EU calls for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid and for full respect of international and humanitarian law. The suffering of civilians in Gaza has gone on for far too long and must come to an end.
MEP Strik did not reply to a request for comment to the letter by the time of publication of this article. In his letter, the Commissioner welcomed suggestions from her for closer cooperation in the fight against antisemitism.
In April, at a conference in Brussels with civil society representatives, Commissioner Brunner said that “antisemitism was on the rise before, but it has exploded since the terrible terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7.” Although the number of antisemitic incidents has decreased since then, it is still at a higher level in several countries than before the war.
According to the leaked document, EU ambassadors warned against the “temptation of labelling criticism toward the Israeli government as antisemitism”. Katharina von Schurbein issued similar warnings. The document spells out that she clarified that criticizing Israel is not antisemitism, “even if the Israeli government says that it is”.
In an open letter of 12 August to the Commission, a group of Jewish NGOs in EU Member States, agreed that the coordinator plays a “very important and critical role in today’s Europe” but repeated the allegations against her for misusing her mandate.
They rejected “the idea that fighting antisemitism and defending Jewish life means shielding Israel from any form of pressure or criticism”.
The Israeli government denies any responsibility for the increase in antisemitism and says that antisemitism has always existed in Europe. It dismisses international criticism of its warfare in Gaza as support for Hamas and an expression of antisemitism. In fact, the government’s continuation of the war has fueled increased antisemitism.
According to a recent Swedish report, published in June by the Swedish Council for Crime Prevention (Brå), Jewish communities and their members feel exposed to antisemitism from several sources. What is new is antisemitism in the political and academic environment from people from the majority society who have not previously expressed it.
