Dear friends and colleagues,

Tomorrow, 81 years ago, the Nazi regime ordered a concentrated pogrom against Jewish communities. At least 91 Jews were murdered, hundreds of synagogues were burnt down and thousands of Jewish-owned businesses and houses were looted. Krytasllnacht or the Night of Broken Glass would be remembered as the beginning of the Holocaust and the extermination of six million Jews. More than 75 years after the Holocaust some prefer to think anti-Semitism has been banished from our societies, yet as we witness again and again violence and murder inspired by a hatred of Jews, we can see that anti-Semitism remains deeply ingrained in Europe. The anti-Semitic attack last month on the synagogue in Halle, Germany, once again reminded us anti-Semitism remains a threat to our European values and that we must remember we have responsibilities arising from our shared history.

On this occasion the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency published its annual overview of data on anti-Semitism in the EU which highlights gaps in proper data collection at the national level. It also identifies six EU member-states which lack official data on reported anti-Semitic incidents for 2018.

Limited data hinder our ability to formulate efficient, targeted measures against anti-Semitism. The report calls for new methods, data sources and data-processing techniques to better measure the incidence and impact of anti-Semitism. Therefore greater efforts at tackling under-reporting by encouraging victims and witnesses to report anti-Semitism is key. In addition authorities need systems in place to record such incidents. The report compiles available data on anti-Semitic incidents collected by international, governmental and non-governmental sources from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2018. Findings from FRA’s anti-Semitism survey complement the official and unofficial data sources. It also outlines for the first time how the thirteen member-states which have adopted or endorsed, are using or plan to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s legally non-binding working definition of anti-Semitism.

Please find the report here:
https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2019-antisemitism-overview-2008-2018_en.pdf

Additionally the European Commission will hold its annual training session on anti-Semitism for European Union staff next week with the aim of raising awareness for fighting anti-Semitism.

Sincerely,

Katharina von Schnuberein,
coordinator on combating anti-Semitism, European Commission

Rue Montoyer 59,
B-1040 Brussels

@kschnurbein