Moshe Kantor Tells Europe: ‘The Time for Marches Is Over’

Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, wrote a letter published in the Telegraph, declaring that “The time for marches is over, ” and there needs to be practical solutions to stem the rising tide of anti-Semitism, which many European Jews feel is at its most severe pitch since the Nazi era.

“The time for symbolism is over, ” Kantor declared, and announced that the European Jewish Congress in conjunction with the European Parliament and the Czech Republic will host a 2 day event on January 26th and 27th, the fourth annual “Let My People Live!” forum to discuss concrete solutions for dealing with anti-semitism.

The threat is double pronged. According to a survey from the Anti-Defamation League, 24% of the population in Western Europe and  34% in Eastern Europe harbored “classic” anti-semitic views, and answered in the affirmative to questions asking if they thought Jews had too much influence in the financial world. The rise of Neo-Nazi movements coupled with attacks by Muslim fundamentalists leave Jews feeling increasingly threatened and isolated in Europe.

Members of the European Jewish Congress met with EU foreign policy chief and European Commission vice president, Frederica Mogherini in Strasbourg. Moshe Kantor requested a special European Union envoy and a task force to combat anti-semitism. The U.S. already has a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-semitism.

According to ejPress, Mogherini expressed optimism that the problem of anti-semitism can be tackled across borders and a “comprehensive strategy” needs to be developed for dealing with dangerous, extreme views that can lead to violence. Kantor emphasized that the murder of four Jews at the kosher supermarket in Paris was not an isolated incident, “We were warned after the Toulouse school massacre (2012) and again after the Brussels Jewish museum massacre (2014) that Jews are facing even greater threats, ” said Kantor.