Action Alert: ADL Scorecard on Europe’s Response to Anti-Semitism and Hate Crime

  • December 8, 2014

The year will be remembered as a year when the spike in anti-Semitism shocked the conscience of the world, especially during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.  I wanted to share with you some leading-edge tools and engagement by ADL to push back against this trend in 57 countries from North America, Europe and Eurasia that make up the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Many people ask: what are governments doing to combat anti-Semitism? What more can be done?  ADL responded this week with a Scorecard on Europe’s Response to Anti-Semitism and Hate Crime, a unique analysis of what countries are doing to address anti-Semitism and hate crime. The findings of the report are sobering: most countries are falling far short.  This is even more disturbing in light of ADL’s Global100 survey which found that anti-Semitic attitudes are still deeply entrenched in Europe, with 24 percent of the adult population in Western Europe and 34 percent in Eastern Europe harboring anti-Semitic attitudes.

The Pacific Southwest Region is pushing back.  We are reaching out to Consulates in our area to share the ADL Scorecard and to elevate the concerns and recommendations it highlights.  This is an important way that ADL’s international and Regional efforts reinforce each other in making the strongest possible full court press against anti-Semitism.

Last month, ADL National Director Abe Foxman was appointed to serve on the White House delegation to an OSCE Conference against anti-Semitism in Berlin.  ADL brought a strong message to Berlin, not just about the nature and magnitude of the problem, but about the fact that anti-Semitism is everyone’s concern.  ADL coordinated a delegation of leading American civil and human rights leaders who were virtually the only organizations outside the Jewish community to attend from any of the 57 participating countries.  The organizations raised a strong call for action against anti-Semitism through their own declaration and set of recommendations.

Read here a White House blog about ADL’s participation in the U.S. Government delegation and the strong message conveyed by the diverse delegation of non-governmental organizations ADL helped bring to Berlin.

ADL urged Secretary Kerry to call on governments to put the recommendations of the Berlin conference into force.  Last week, when the Foreign Ministers of the 57 countries gathered to set priorities for the OSCE, they did — calling on leaders to condemn and to take concrete steps to counter anti-Semitism.  ADL will continue to hold these governments’ feet to the fire to ensure they are meeting their commitments to take action against anti-Semitism.

Please contact us for more information about how you can help.