JNS
Much praise for the U.S. president at Jerusalem conference on the fight against Jew-hatred.
The uncompromising stance taken by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in the fight against Jew-hatred furnishes a splendid example for the world, Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli said on Thursday.
“What we are seeing today from the current U.S. administration under the leadership of President Trump this is how you fight antisemitism,” Chikli said at a conference on combating antisemitism, which was held at the Jerusalem International Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday.
“This is the complete opposite of the previous administration’s approach, which preferred issuing reports, collaborations with pro-Hamas elements such as CAIR [the Council on American–Islamic Relations], and very little action,” he added.
The Israeli minister opened the international event by noting that in the fight against antisemitism, which has surged around the world following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel, we do not need "efforts" but rather a "full-scale war.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also praised Trump for his crackdown on antisemitic rioters on U.S. campuses and the “bold steps” he has taken to hold universities accountable for allowing Jew-hatred.
“Decisive action against antisemitism makes the free world safer,” Sa’ar said. “We are seeing the results in America.”
Sylvan Adams, who was recently appointed president of the Israel chapter of the World Jewish Congress, said that whether or not one supports all of the American leader’s policies, we can unequivocally thank President Trump, for his strong actions on antisemitism.
“We have never had a better friend in the White House,” he said. “This should not be a controversial statement in the Jewish world.”
The conference made headlines even before it opened due to the participation of several far-right European lawmakers, most pointedly from France, who are staunchly pro-Israel, causing several European officials to pull out, including U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
But the French-Israeli jurist Arno Klarsfeld, whose parents, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, led the hunt for Nazis war criminals, said that the change of Israeli policy toward engaging with far-right European parties and the invitations to their lawmakers were wise and warranted.
“The extreme left has become the extreme right and the extreme right has become the party that favors Israel, that favors the Jews,” he said. “The danger for Jews in France is the radical left and the Islamists. It is obvious for anyone who is honest.”
MEP Jordan Bardella, president of France's National Rally party, said in his address to the conference that he supported the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
"In the face of the disturbing rise of anti-Jewish hatred in Europe, we believe in the importance to join forces in the fight," he said.
Bardella said that the immigration policies of Europe over the last three decades have caused a situation where it is impossible in some places in France to teach about the Holocaust.
Antisemitism must be fought from every side, he said.
"Here you are fighting Hamas; we [in France] are fighting its ideas," Bardella said.
