ECCAR joined the 4th Working Group meeting of the European Commission on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life in Bucharest
In October 2021 the European Commission adopted the first-ever EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021-2030) which specifically focuses on 1) Preventing and combating all forms of antisemitism, 2) Protecting and fostering Jewish life in the EU and 3) Education, research and Holocaust remembrance.
In order to support the EU Member States in their national and regional implementation of the strategy, the EC implemented the permanent ‘Working Group on the implementation of the EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life’.
From 2-4 May, the 4th meeting of this Working Group, hosted and organized by the Romanian Government in cooperation with the European Commission, took place in Bucharest. It was opened by Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă, and European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas. For three days, representatives of the European Commission, the EU Member States, Jewish communities and other stakeholders came together to discuss the following topics: 1) Combating Holocaust denial and distortion, 2) Updates on national strategies, 3) Holocaust remembrance under pressure in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, 4) Good practices at regional and local level 5) National involvement on the implementation of actions in the EU strategy.
ECCAR was invited to present its ongoing projects in the field of antisemitism which comprises a collection on local good practices in tackling antisemitism and practical capacity building within city administrations. ECCAR coordinator Jana Christ talked about the main findings of the almost 80 good practices from more than 50 European cities and underlined the key role of cities in the European fight against antisemitism. As European and national policies always need to be translated into concrete measures on the local level, cities can act as change agents by implementing anti-discrimination policies and transform themselves into safer and more inclusive spaces. As a European city network ECCAR builds a bridge between those different levels by promoting the cities’ perspective at the European level and by strengthening its member cities in their role as experts for local social change and as influencer for EU policy making. Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, also emphasized at the Working Group meeting the great potential of cities getting more involved in EU processes.
Within the framework of the project “Collection of good practices and training for civil servants, social workers and partners on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life”, ECCAR collaborates with the Working Group on Antisemitism that was launched on the initiative of the city of Dortmund in February 2022 and CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe. The project follows the EU strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life and is funded by the European Commission with around 60.000 euro.
For more information, you can contact us at antisemitism@eccar.info