CRIF AT OSCE CONFERENCE ON ANTI-SEMITISM

OSCE Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister, marked the end of the OSCE Conference on Anti-Semitism by presenting the yellow star his grandfather had worn as a Jew in Bulgaria during WWII to German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

“My grandfather used to say that the time will come when we and the Germans will be allies again,” the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said before presenting the yellow star to a visibly moved Fischer.

“My grandfather used to say: 'then we shall return the yellow star to the Germans. I am happy that now I can fulfil the legacy of my grandfather and return the yellow star which he wore.”

The role of the media came under scrutiny at the conference, which looked at ways in which some reporting and comment could, even inadvertently, serve as fertile soil for new intolerance by failing to challenge underlying prejudices.

In June, an OSCE meeting will be held in Paris, which will focus on the deliberate use of the Internet to promote hate-crime and the spreading of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic propaganda; a third event, to be held by the OSCE in Brussels in September, will be looking at the wider problems of racism, xenophobia and discrimination in society, across the OSCE region.

Addressing the conference, CRIF's President Roger Cukierman said, "I would like to highlight the international aspect of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism does not stop at our borders. I firmly encourage the international bodies, the NGOs and the national legislators to adopt more restricting laws to fight against the spread of anti-Semitic and racist hatred through the Internet and satellite TV channels.

To fight (anti-Semitism and racism) on the Internet and the satellite TV, we suggest improving the programs of the TV channels by acting upstream on the network operators, by improving the enforcement of the national laws and regulations on electronic communications and by implementing all the international and European conventions on the issue."

Cukierman also said he regretted the appointment by European Commission's Chairman Romano Prodi of the Islamic extremist Tariq Ramadan. "Ramadan is now advisor of Mr Prodi for Dialogue and Culture while being prosecuted by French Justice for having published lists of Jewish intellectuals (an offence according to French law. Ramadan said the named intellectuals were driven by their community ties and not by ethics.). Ramadan also said he was in favour of a moratorium on stoning adulteresses (he failed to condemn the stoning of women)."

Haim Musicant described the "zero tolerance" all-out fight against anti-Semitism set up by the current French government. CRIF's Director General explained the information sharing and consultation policy implemented by CRIF and the government. "This is a successful example of a co-operation between a government and the representative body of the Jewish community," said Musicant.

In his closing address, Solomon Passy said, "Recognizing that anti-Semitism, following its most devastating manifestation during the Holocaust, has assumed new forms and expressions, which, along with other forms of intolerance, pose a threat to democracy, the values of civilization and, therefore, to overall security in the OSCE region and beyond, concerned in particular that this hostility toward Jews -- as individuals or collectively – on racial, social, and/or religious grounds, has manifested itself in verbal and physical attacks and in the desecration of synagogues and cemeteries, we condemn without reserve all manifestations of anti-Semitism (…)we declare unambiguously that international developments or political issues, including those in Israel or elsewhere in the Middle East, never justify anti-Semitism (…)".

The OSCE participating States commit to

— Strive to ensure that their legal systems foster a safe environment free from anti-Semitic harassment, violence or discrimination in all fields of life;
— Promote, as appropriate, educational programmes for combating anti-Semitism;
— Promote remembrance of and, as appropriate, education about the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the importance of respect for all ethnic and religious groups;
— Combat hate crimes, which can be fuelled by racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic propaganda in the media and on the Internet;
— Encourage and support international organization and NGO efforts in these areas;
— Collect and maintain reliable information and statistics about anti-Semitic crimes, and other hate crimes, committed within their territory, report such information periodically to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and make this information available to the public;
— Endeavour to provide the ODIHR with the appropriate resources to accomplish the tasks agreed upon in the Maastricht Ministerial Decision on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination;
— Work with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to determine appropriate ways to review periodically the problem of anti-Semitism;
— Encourage development of informal exchanges among experts in appropriate fora on best practices and experiences in law enforcement and education;
2. To task the ODIHR to:
— Follow closely, in full co-operation with other OSCE institutions as well as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) and other relevant international institutions and NGOs, anti-Semitic incidents in the OSCE area making use of all reliable information available;
— Report its findings to the Permanent Council and to the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting and make these findings public. These reports should also be taken into account in deciding on priorities for the work of the OSCE in the area of intolerance; and
— Systematically collect and disseminate information throughout the OSCE area on best practices for preventing and responding to anti-Semitism and, if requested, offer advice to participating States in their efforts to fight anti-Semitism.

Renaud Muselier, French Deputy Foreign Minister lead the French delegation comprising Nicole Guedj, Minister in charge of the Rights of Victims, Simone Veil, President of the Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust and former President of the European Parliament, Anne-Marie Revcoleschi, Michel Zaoui and Jean Kahn, President of the French Consistoire.

Before joining the OSCE Conference, Renaud Muselier published an op-ed in the French daily Le Figaro. "Anti-Semitism, in France and in the rest of Europe and the world, must be pointed at and named for what it is, an insult to the whole of mankind."

Muselier condemned the rise of anti-Semitism in France and the trend to excuse the perpetrators with social, cultural or political reasons. The minister praised the role of CRIF in the struggle against this scourge.