Senior European rabbi: ‘We will do everything possible to sustain Jewish life’
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt tells Vienna meeting of fears that Europe 'could be lost to extremists'
Patrick Maguire is a reporter at the Jewish News.
The President of the Conference of European Rabbis has vowed to “maintain and strengthen the Jewish communities of Europe” amid fears that the continent could be “lost to extremists”.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt told a Vienna meeting of the Conference’s standing committee that the organisation would do “everything possible” to “sustain Jewish life” in Europe.
In a keynote address, the Chief Rabbi of Moscow – who was yesterday re-elected to a new five year presidential term – said: “Europeans are deeply worried about their own security, the security of their children and their future economic prosperity. Europeans are worried about the secular democratic space, about their religious freedoms, about losing Europe to extremists.
“It is for these reasons that Europeans are increasingly giving their votes to far right party candidates, who promise to recreate both a sense of security and a renewed sense of national patriotism by closing the borders and by promising to rein in terrorists.
“We will do everything possible to maintain and strengthen the Jewish communities of Europe.”
He added: “We will help smaller communities garner their resources to sustain Jewish life, even as their numbers dwindle and their resources become more scarce.”
Rabbi Goldschmidt had earlier criticised the lacklustre response of mainstream parties to concerns over security – and said such fears were allowing the European far-right to gain a foothold in communities across the continent.
He said in an interview that he believed a “not insignificant” number of Austrian Jews voted for far-right candidate Norbert Hofer in last month’s presidential election – and went on to say that he had heard of a similar groundswell of Jewish support for France’s anti-immigration Front National.
He told Reuters: “When those parties come with a populist message to the Jews and say ‘We’re going to save you from the Muslims,’… propaganda is effective”.
The Conference’s three day meeting was held just one week after Hofer won an unprecedented 49 per cent of the vote in Austria’s presidential run-off.
The Vienna summit also included meetings on anti-Semitism with local Jewish community leaders, a breakfast with Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and a tour of the Ancient Vienna Synagogue and Holocaust Memorial site.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
