Eli E. Hertz

51 member countries – the entire League of Nations (today the United Nations) – unanimously declared on July 24, 1922:

“Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.”

Palestine lies on the western edge of the continent of Asia between Latitude 30ẃ N. and 33ẃ N., Longitude 34ẃ 30’ E. and 35ẃ 30’ E.

On the North it is bounded by the French Mandated Territories of Syria and Lebanon, on the East by Syria and Trans-Jordan, on the South-west by the Egyptian province of Sinai, on the South-east by the Gulf of Aqaba and on the West by the Mediterranean. The frontier with Syria was laid down by the Anglo-French Convention of the 23rd December, 1920, and its delimitation was ratified in 1923.

Briefly stated, the boundaries of Palestine are as follows:

To:      All WJC Affiliated Communities & Organizations
WJC Executive Committee

Dear Friends,

Last week the Foreign Ministry of Israel convened The 5th International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism.

There were all together 1,200 participants from over 80 countries present over the 3 days in Jerusalem. Most of them were professionals dealing with this issue, but politicians, diplomatic representatives as well as press were also present.

Following you will find the statements adopted by the conference on Combating Cyberhate and Online Antisemitism and Combating Antisemitism in Europe – as well as my own closing statement of the conference.

Welcome to Kol Europe, the only news bulletin dedicated to European policy news for Jewish communities brought to you by CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe. The “voice of Europe” focuses on the latest policy and institutional developments that can have an impact on the creation of an inclusive Europe where Jews and everyone can live securely to their fullest potential.

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by Liudas Dapkus

It sometimes seems as if Amir Maimon has at least one doppleganger in Vilnius. One attends a concert at the synagogue while another welcomes guests at the embassy. Somehow he manages to attend events for Street Music Day and still take part in volunteer projects and meetings. The Israeli ambassador, who recently settled in at the highest tower in the capital city, at the Europa business center, is one of those active diplomats for whom work in Vilnius is not simply a tranquil posting.

I spoke with Maimon upon his return from his country recently, where many Lithuanian government and business representatives have been visiting recently. The interview covered our military and theirs, conscription, statehood and history.

You’ve been here almost a half year. What was most surprising?

Vilnius’s only working synagogue, the Choral Synagogue on Pylimo street, hosted a concert on the evening of Thursday, May 14, by the choir of the synagogue on Lowenstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, conducted by Robert Braunschweig. The guests told the audience that while their Jewish community isn’t all that large, it is the largest in Europe at the current time, comprised of 400 families. The choir itself began over 90 years ago.

The audience was mainly members of the Vilnius Jewish community, with a few non-Jewish locals present as well. Haim Burstein, Lithuania’s chief rabbi, was in attendance, and the new Israeli ambassador to Lithuania, Amir Maimon, also attended. Bruno Kaspar, the Swiss consul in Lithuania, was also on hand.

Deputy Lithuanian foreign minister Mantvydas Bekešius on a working visit to Israel May 12 met in Tel Aviv with Lithuanian exile organizations Beit Vilna, Igud yotzel Lita and Israelita as well as honorary Lithuanian consuls.

Bekešius told organization representatives and consuls about an idea and program for a World Lithuanian Economic Forum to take place October 19 to 21 in Israel, and asked them to participate actively.

The deputy minister told of efforts to conserve Jewish cultural heritage in Lithuania and to conserve Holocaust education and commemoration projects, and delivered a letter from the Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Butkevičius thanking World War II vets living in Israel on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.

With endless varieties available for purchase at every grocery store, it is hard to imagine that there are still new combinations, and styles of hummus being conceived of and produced.

Jewish communal and organization leaders are set to gather together with Israeli and foreign politicians in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening for the opening of the Foreign Ministry’s biennial Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism.

This year’s event, organized in conjunction with the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, will mark the fifth time that Jerusalem has convened anti-Semitism experts from around the globe to discuss best practices and share information over a threeday period.

Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman says Europeans “have to change the way they are managing and monitoring everyday society,” like Americans did after 9/11.

The future of Jewish life in Europe will be in large part dependent on the way in which national leaders there respond to attacks on their freedom and liberty, Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

According to Foxman, who is in Jerusalem for the biennial Global Forum on anti-Semitism, Europeans need to begin examining the balance between freedom and security as Americans did following the September 11 attacks fourteen years ago.