News

EU: Daily News 04 / 07 / 2019

Today, the European Commission presents together with the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) a survey on the “Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism” of young Jewish Europeans in the EU. The report shows that four in five young Jewish Europeans have declared that antisemitism is a problem in their country, and believed it to have increased over the past five years. Moreover, 44% of young Jewish Europeans experienced antisemitic harassment. 80% of the young victims, however, have not reported harassment to the police, or to any other authority. European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová said: “Young Jewish Europeans are very attached to their Jewish identity. I am saddened that they fear for their security in Europe, do not dare to wear a kippah and some even consider emigrating. We need to act fast to combat antisemitism in Europe and join our efforts to keep our youth safe. We want young Jewish citizens to grow up in Europe feeling they fully belong here. Antisemitism is a threat to our European values. This is why we made fighting it a priority and work closely with Member States to ensure they are fully part of our Union.” The Commission has undertaken many actions over the last years to fight antisemitism and launched the Working Group on antisemitism last week, following the unanimous adoption of the Council Declaration on fighting antisemitism. The full survey results, as well as a press release are available online. (For more information: Christian Wigand +32 2 229 62253; Melanie Voin +32 2 229 58659)