Written declaration No. 686 | Doc. 14937 | 28 June 2019

Adopting new tools in the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe

Signatories: Mr Georgii LOGVYNSKYI, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, NR ; Mr Viorel Riceard BADEA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr Boryslav BEREZA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Lord George FOULKES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Nino GOGUADZE, Georgia, EC ; Ms Marija GOLUBEVA, Latvia, ALDE ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC ; Mr Fabien GOUTTEFARDE, France, ALDE ; Mr Antonio GUTIÉRREZ, Spain, SOC ; Mr Sabir HAJIYEV, Azerbaijan, SOC ; Mr Thomas HAMMARBERG, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Viktor IELENSKYI, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Mariia IONOVA, Ukraine, NR ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Eerik-Niiles KROSS, Estonia, ALDE ; Mr Luís LEITE RAMOS, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Józef LEŚNIAK, Poland, EC ; Mr Oleh LIASHKO, Ukraine, NR ; Mr Filippo LOMBARDI, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Edmon MARUKYAN, Armenia, ALDE ; Mr Asim MOLLAZADE, Azerbaijan, EC ; Mr Killion MUNYAMA, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Zsolt NÉMETH, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Joseph O'REILLY, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Ms Dana REIZNIECE-OZOLA, Latvia, EPP/CD ; Mr Indrek SAAR, Estonia, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Mr Serhiy SOBOLEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Olena SOTNYK, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Attila TILKI, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Manuel TORNARE, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Pavlo UNGURYAN, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Egidijus VAREIKIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Martin WHITFIELD, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Martine WONNER, France, ALDE ; Mr Leonid YEMETS, Ukraine, NR ; Mr Mustafa YENEROĞLU, Turkey, FDG ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD ; Mr Barna Pál ZSIGMOND, Hungary, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

The murderous attacks against Jews in different places in Europe shocked the conscience of leaders and people in the continent. Jews have been targeted just for being Jews, something unacceptable in our day and age. The rise of antisemitism has been recognised by the highest authorities at the United Nations, the European Union and many national governments. Governments have pledged a renewed fight against antisemitism, at the national, regional and international levels.

Nevertheless, antisemitism and ignorance about the Holocaust have been on the rise. These attitudes are coupled with emotions of unsafety and hostility, faced by many Jews and their communities. According to a December 2018 report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, nearly 90% of European Jews feel that antisemitism has increased in their home countries. In 2018, antisemitic attacks increased in France by 74% and violent attacks in Germany by 60% in just one year.

That is why the Parliamentary Assembly should develop new tools to fight the changing face of antisemitism, as well as to re-evaluate the existing measures in place.