As EUPJ Envoy to the European Commission, Rabbi Brian filed this report from Budapest:
It has been a while since I got on a plane. When I was in seminary in Berlin I was flying more or less every week, there on Mondays and back on Fridays in time for Shabbat. Flying is not my favourite pastime. On this occasion, late September, I traveled to Budapest as EUPJ envoy to the European Commission on the latter’s invitation, attending the 6th meeting of the Working Group on the EU strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life. Humbled by the many senior government officials representing the member states – many of them charged with the specific task of combating antisemitism - as well as senior representatives of several European Jewish organisations, I huddled in one corner of the convention venue with Carmen McPherson, a fellow Scot and the coordinator of Masorti Europe, and a few other lesser mortals.
The magnificently restored Rumbach (pronounced Roombach) Street Synagogue in Budapest’s old Jewish quarter (see photo above) – was the perfect setting for our meeting. A beautiful Jewish space, now serving as a Neolog synagogue, a concert hall and a Jewish Museum. The bimah in the centre of the space disappears into the floor to accommodate secular activities and emerges again for prayer. The spacious cafeteria on the upper floors served as our kosher eatery. Men and women in black with earphones and microphones were all over the place. Their friendly smiles made security seem somewhat relaxed, but I suspect the opposite was true.
EU Antisemitism Strategy
We listened to presentations on progress being made on the implementation of the EU Antisemitism Strategy by Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator for combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, and various member state officials presenting the situation in their own countries. Most spoke of a serious uptick in antisemitic incidents and a general sense of unease among Jewish populations across Europe. Our Hungarian hosts, on the other hand, were roundly positive about the near absence of antisemitism in Hungary, and while they were reluctant to give explicit reasons, a few questions from the floor scratching this optimistic surface revealed an implied conviction that Hungary’s success in keeping out displaced migrants had a lot to do with it. My corner of the room was not very amused.
Prosecution of antisemitic incidents
Some positive news was shared concerning the effective prosecution of antisemitic incidents and the role of the IHRA definition. But former IJC member Alex Benjamin, now vice-chair of the European Jewish Association, painted a different picture in Belgium. He highlighted declarations by novelist and TV personality Herman Brusselmans in the Flemish magazine Humo in which he stated that the sight of dead children in Gaza made him want to ram a knife in the throat of every Jew he came across. Brusselmans and his backers have pleaded ‘satire’, but the fact that only Jewish organisations and not the Belgian state were willing to take any legal action against Brusselmans spoke volumes. The case is still pending, but it is not likely to succeed.
Antisemitism in Belgium
Staying in Belgium, and in response to a presentation of the so-called National Report Cards produced by the NOA project (Networks Overcoming Antisemitism), I was able to inform the participants of a new report, hot off the press, called “Shaping Minds, Shaping Society: An Analysis of School Materials about the Palestinian-Israel Conflict in the Context of Rising Polarization and Antisemitism in Belgium” produced by IMPAC (International Movement for Peace & Coexistence). The report reveals that “biased and polarizing content about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Belgian schools […] is contributing to Antisemitism in Belgian education, and discrimination, and intolerance towards the Jewish community.”
Drawing attention to these serious concerns, the report shows how “some educational content can unintentionally foster ethnic hatred, religious intolerance, and xenophobia, particularly when discussions of Zionism or the conflict focus disproportionately on Israel’s role and highlight how antisemitism in Belgian education is an issue.” The authors recommend the production of “more balanced, inclusive, and thoughtful educational resources, aligned with both national and international policies on promoting tolerance and social cohesion.” Sadly, Belgium’s NOA report card, now three years old, had already underlined this reality as a major failing in Belgian policy and its implementation. So far, it would seem, no one has been paying attention.
Dohany Street Synagogue Visit
The informative meeting concluded with a guided tour of the mighty and impressive Dohany Street Synagogue, only a few hundred meters from the conference venue and just outside what was once the Jewish ghetto, and a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Hungarian Jews at the renowned Shoe Memorial on the banks of the Danube Bank.
As EUPJ representative, I was saddened to observe the absence of progressive Hungarian Jews. A representative of the Hungarian Jewish community spoke of the country’s three Jewish movements – Orthodox, Neolog, and Chabad – but seemed to have forgotten – or perhaps deliberately ignored – that Hungary has a significant Reform Jewish history, represented today by our sister progressive congregations, Sim Shalom and Bet Orim, not to mention Budapest’s fledgling Masorti community. There is still work to be done in ensuring our representation as a significant European movement.
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