Israel’s chief rabbis have urged the European Union to investigate the growing antisemitism in Europe.
Rabbi Yona Metzger and Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar on Wednesday sent a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, asking him to form a special task force to study the issue. The letter was sent in the wake of the brutal attack on an American yeshiva student during a visit to Venice, Italy.
“This serious incident joins a series of incidents from the past year which may indicate a trend toward an increase in the phenomenon of antisemitism throughout Europe,” the rabbis wrote, noting that “since the terrible massacre in Toulouse we often hear about violence directed against Jews in Europe.”
“We express to you our fear that the latest attack, in which a young Jew paid the price for his choice to go out in public dressed in the attire of a yeshiva student, testifies to the existence of a rooted problem,” said Rabbis Metzger and Amar.
They asked Van Rompuy to establish a special committee “to examine the extent of anti-Semitism on the continent and its sources and submit suggestions to solve the problem.”
At the end of their letter, the rabbis wrote, “The memories of the victims of the Holocaust in Europe have not abated, and the message has been learned: One can no longer remain silent while Jewish blood is spilled. As a leader of the united European committee, we see you as the most senior official who can work to eradicate the lesion and restore the peace and quiet to European Jews.”
