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06-01-04, 22:49
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Last update - 00:16 07/01/2004
Jerusalem disappointed at EU's cancellation of anti-Semitism conference
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
Government officials in Jerusalem expressed disappointment over European Union Commission President Romano Prodi's announcement that he was indefinitely suspending preparations for a seminar on anti-Semitism in Europe
The seminar was supposed to be the first forum on anti-Semitism held under EU auspices, and it's cancellation is a blow to the many organizations who fight anti-Semitism.
Prodi's announcement came after Jewish leaders accused the EU of "intellectual dishonesty and moral treachery" in handling the issue.
Prodi said in a letter to the World Jewish Congress and its European branch that the seminar, called amid a backdrop of rising vandalism against Jewish targets in Europe and strains with Israel, could not be held next month as planned.
"The attitude you have shown in your letter... forces me to suspend the preparations," he said.
In a letter to the Financial Times published Monday, the heads of the two Jewish organizations accused the EU's executive commission of censoring a study on the rise of anti-Semitic attacks and the involvement of Muslim minorities.
Sources in Jerusalem criticized the publication of the letter and said the letter was unnecessary and unclear.
Shimon Samuels, in charge of foreign relations for the Simon Wiesenthal Center said nothing in the letter was new and therefore it appeared that Prodi's decision to use the letter as an excuse to cancel the seminar, which the EU Commission was very uncomfortable with to start with.
The Jewish leaders also complained about the release of a "flawed and dangerously inflammatory" EU poll in which Israel was named a threat to world peace more than any other country.
"Let us not mince words: Both of these actions were politically motivated, demonstrating a failure of will and decency," Edgar Bronfman, the president of the World Jewish Congress, and Coby Benatoff, the head of the European Jewish Congress.
"Outside Israel, the majority of the world's violent anti-Semitic attacks took place in western Europe. For the EU to hide these facts reeks of intellectual dishonesty and moral treachery," their joint letter said.
Prodi wrote to both saying he "was both surprised and shocked. I could not believe you were signing such an article."
He denied the Commission censored the study from the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, based in Vienna, Austria. "You perfectly know that the Vienna Center is an independent institution and that the European Commission has no power at all to interfere," he wrote.
He also dismissed suggestions that the recent Eurobarometer poll was "politically motivated," adding that no such criticism was leveled when he met Jewish leaders after its release in November.
After the poll's release, Prodi condemned lingering anti-Jewish bias he said was reflected in the survey.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose country held the EU presidency at the time, called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to express his "surprise and indignation" over the survey results, saying the question had been "misleading."
The Commission also announced the organization of a seminar "to reflect on the questions relating to Judaism, the state of Israel and different Mediterranean questions," which has now been suspended.
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Last update - 00:16 07/01/2004
Jerusalem disappointed at EU's cancellation of anti-Semitism conference
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
Government officials in Jerusalem expressed disappointment over European Union Commission President Romano Prodi's announcement that he was indefinitely suspending preparations for a seminar on anti-Semitism in Europe
The seminar was supposed to be the first forum on anti-Semitism held under EU auspices, and it's cancellation is a blow to the many organizations who fight anti-Semitism.
Prodi's announcement came after Jewish leaders accused the EU of "intellectual dishonesty and moral treachery" in handling the issue.
Prodi said in a letter to the World Jewish Congress and its European branch that the seminar, called amid a backdrop of rising vandalism against Jewish targets in Europe and strains with Israel, could not be held next month as planned.
"The attitude you have shown in your letter... forces me to suspend the preparations," he said.
In a letter to the Financial Times published Monday, the heads of the two Jewish organizations accused the EU's executive commission of censoring a study on the rise of anti-Semitic attacks and the involvement of Muslim minorities.
Sources in Jerusalem criticized the publication of the letter and said the letter was unnecessary and unclear.
Shimon Samuels, in charge of foreign relations for the Simon Wiesenthal Center said nothing in the letter was new and therefore it appeared that Prodi's decision to use the letter as an excuse to cancel the seminar, which the EU Commission was very uncomfortable with to start with.
The Jewish leaders also complained about the release of a "flawed and dangerously inflammatory" EU poll in which Israel was named a threat to world peace more than any other country.
"Let us not mince words: Both of these actions were politically motivated, demonstrating a failure of will and decency," Edgar Bronfman, the president of the World Jewish Congress, and Coby Benatoff, the head of the European Jewish Congress.
"Outside Israel, the majority of the world's violent anti-Semitic attacks took place in western Europe. For the EU to hide these facts reeks of intellectual dishonesty and moral treachery," their joint letter said.
Prodi wrote to both saying he "was both surprised and shocked. I could not believe you were signing such an article."
He denied the Commission censored the study from the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, based in Vienna, Austria. "You perfectly know that the Vienna Center is an independent institution and that the European Commission has no power at all to interfere," he wrote.
He also dismissed suggestions that the recent Eurobarometer poll was "politically motivated," adding that no such criticism was leveled when he met Jewish leaders after its release in November.
After the poll's release, Prodi condemned lingering anti-Jewish bias he said was reflected in the survey.
Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose country held the EU presidency at the time, called Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to express his "surprise and indignation" over the survey results, saying the question had been "misleading."
The Commission also announced the organization of a seminar "to reflect on the questions relating to Judaism, the state of Israel and different Mediterranean questions," which has now been suspended.