Calls for increased education and dialogue worldwide
In response to an Anti-Defamation League survey released this week revealing alarming rates of global anti-Semitism The ADL Global 100: An Index of Anti-Semitism, the Rabbinical Assembly issued the following statement.
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President, said:
We are shocked and saddened by the information in ADL’s recent poll revealing the extremely high levels of misunderstanding and outright hatred of Jews that still pervade the modern world. Some of the beliefs documented by the survey, including that Jews have undue control over politics, media, and other industries and that we have manipulated the memory of the horrors of the Holocaust for personal gain, peddle in the oldest and most vulgar stereotypes, which have time and time again been proven false. We have long been aware of the problem of anti-Semitism in the world—indeed, just this week we passed a resolution in solidarity with our European brethren in light of the increasing Judeophobia they face—and this study confirms our worst fears about how much work still remains to be done.
Rabbi William Gershon, President, added:
We recognize that some of the misunderstanding of Jews and Judaism reflected in this study is the result of malice and hatred, but that much of it is also due to a lack of education and understanding. We call on communities worldwide, Jews and non-Jews alike, to condemn the spread of false information when they encounter it. Equally so, we call upon these communities—our friends, our neighbors, and our governments—to continue seeking increased understanding through dialogue, education, and friendship. We must use what resources we have to combat hate through peace and to remember that every human is created in God’s image, and worthy of dignity and respect.
This past week at its annual convention, the Rabbinical Assembly passed a resolution affirming its support for their colleagues in Masorti Europe who are striving for further understanding, acceptance and respect for religious traditions of both European Jews and Muslims and fighting against religious restrictions and academic boycotts. The group has called on the European Council and European Commission to move forward from merely reprimanding Hungary and to take action and impose consequences if current trends are not reversed, and have called on the European Union to uphold Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, guaranteeing freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.