Debate: Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred
Date: WEDNESDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2024
Speaker: Margaritis Schinas
Language: EN

The heinous terrorist attack by Hamas shook us all to our core. Not since the Holocaust had so many Jewish lives been lost on a single day. This attack still reverberates among the Jewish communities in Europe and around the world. From the first moment, the European Union supported Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law and international humanitarian law, and has called for the unconditional release of the hostages.  At the same time, we are witnessing a dramatic humanitarian situation affecting the Palestinian population in Gaza. Addressing this humanitarian crisis and ensuring the protection of civilians, including children and the vulnerable, and avoiding regional escalation must now be our top priority.  As the situation in the Middle East unfolds, many individuals, including many Jews and Muslims in Europe, are mourning and worrying about their loved ones. And to add to this, many Jews and Muslims living in Europe are also fearing for their own safety.  Since 7 October, we are witnessing with horror a rise in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents, Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogues, Stars of David sprayed on residential buildings, Jewish stores destroyed, Swastikas and anti-Muslim slurs spray painted on mosques and houses, an attempt to set a mosque on fire when people were praying inside, Jewish and Muslim cemeteries desecrated.  Anti-Muslimism and anti-Semitism have also exploded online, with slogans calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, the killing of all Jews, glorifying terrorism, or calling for Muslim migrants to be killed or expelled, and Muslim women to be raped. This is simply unacceptable. It is incompatible with all that the European Union stands for, with a model of society that represents us, with our European way of life.  In Europe today, a Europe of equality, no minority should live in fear, irrespective of which side of the political spectrum each one of us comes from, irrespective of where you take your seat in this hemicycle. We must all unequivocally condemn such acts of hate.  On the Commission’s side, we have acted immediately and decisively. As Vice-President in charge, I visited several Jewish communities immediately after 7 October, first in Strasbourg, then in Antwerp, then in Thessaloniki, and overseas in Melbourne, in Sao Paulo. We accelerated the implementation of many of the actions under our EU strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life.  On 6 December, we adopted a new targeted communication entitled ‘No place for hate: a Europe united against hatred’. We are stepping up efforts to fight hatred in all its forms by reinforcing action across the policy spectrum, measures to counter physical as well as online threats, increasing the scrutiny of beneficiaries of EU funding to ensure respect of our values, and raising awareness through education, culture and sport.  Let us never forget that it was hate and anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a European tragedy, but it happened locally. In Nazi death camps, shooting grounds, at deportation points and hiding places. This is why we are launching a major initiative today to establish a network of places where the Holocaust happened. We want to ensure that every child in Europe learns about the darkest chapter of our history. Security remains also a top concern. We are making extra funding available to protect places of worship and other premises. We launched a new call for proposals in December with a total budget of EUR 30 million. Of this, EUR 5 million will be dedicated specifically to projects protecting Jewish places of worship, schools and community gatherings.  In the online environment, we are addressing the explosion of racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate for the first time with the regulatory instruments that we managed to obtain under this political cycle, with a close cooperation of the European Parliament and our Member States with the Digital Services Act. You just had the debate. I’m not going into the specifics. Thierry Breton has just presented what we can do under the Digital Services Act.  We have also now working with a major online platform to reinforce the code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online, as soon as possible. And we have increased funding to address anti-Semitism online through a network of trusted flaggers and fact checkers across the EU. In parallel, we are working closely with Europol and our Member States’ law enforcement agencies to make sure that terrorist content online and the glorification of terrorism on European streets are pursued vigorously. Honourable Members, dear friends, we are not naive. We are fully aware that no communication, no strategy from Brussels, no amount of EU funding will ever be sufficient in itself to address centuries-old prejudice and often rekindled but orchestrated disinformation campaigns. We know we must act on all levels and engage society as a whole.  On 19 December 2023, I called for an extraordinary high-level meeting of religious leaders – Christian, Muslim and Jewish – to discuss the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, and I was genuinely encouraged by their joint determination to stand up against hatred and speak up for tolerance and respect.  In line with our EU strategy, the conclusions of the European Council last December, I call now upon all Member States to do their part to adopt and implement the national strategies on combating anti-Semitism and national action plans against racism, and to ensure that the necessary resources are available to protect Jewish and Muslim communities from hatred.  Beyond the Member States, we at the Commission are committed to engage directly with citizens. It is a citizens’ topic. It is not a discussion that needs to be taken in offices and in conference rooms. The first half of this year, we will organise a European Citizens’ Panel on action against hatred.  We are determined to have citizens on board to help us identify action for all Europeans, to ensure that Europe is a place where our founding values are enjoyed by anyone, by everyone, on an equal basis. Thank you. I look forward to the debate.