Moshe Kantor re-elected as EJC president on January 26, 2016.

Russian businessman Moshe Kantor was re-elected Tuesday by the European Jewish Congress (EJC) General Assembly in Brussels to a third executive term as president of the leading European Jewish umbrella organization. Jonathan Arkush, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, was elected as chairman of the EJC Council.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder congratulated Kantor on his re-election and said he looked forward to “continuing the WJC’s cooperation with the EJC leadership on all levels.” The EJC is the regional affiliate of the WJC.

After his confirmation, Kantor declared: “I am delighted to have received a strong vote of confidence from the leadership of the European Jewish communities and it is a positive testament to the work we have done these last few years and the plan of action we have for the years ahead.

EIPA Update

John Kerry smoothed over last year’s diplomatic tensions between Israel and the US over the Iran deal this week by saying of prime minister Netanyahu: “I think he recognized that the fight’s over and we can move on.” His words on CNN were clear evidence that while the US and Israel might have disagreements from time to time, the hatchet can, must and always will be buried for the good of the relationship as a whole.

Foreign ministers from the EU states Monday agreed on a statement on the derailed Middle East peace process and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Disagreements over the text were hammered out with some member-states calling the original statement too critical of Israel. “We unanimously adopted [the statement], that’s a good and common basis for our shared position and our engagement in the region,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini commented after the meeting in Brussels. The Palestinian and Israeli authorities both expressed reserved satisfaction with this diplomatic development by the EU. The text adopted expresses the EU’s deep concern over continuing violence and calls upon both parties in the conflict to take responsibility for their actions. The document expresses the EU’s confidence violence can be avoided through renewed dialogue.

The Islamic State is a terrorist state with almost all governing elements. Over the last four years, it has developed from an extremist fringe and marginal faction to become the strongest, most ferocious, best-funded and -armed militia in the religious and ethnic war which is being waged today in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS rules today over a swath of land bigger than the United Kingdom with a population of almost 10 million. ISIS changed its name to the Islamic State to illustrate that its goals are not limited to Iraq and the countries of the Fertile Crescent.

Since the fall of Muslim empires and supremacy, Muslim scholars and philosophers have tried to understand the reasons behind its collapse. The conclusion of most was that Muslim civilization had drifted away from the teachings of the Koran and adopted foreign and heretical inputs which destroyed its fabric. The remedy they proposed was to return to “pure Islam” and reconstruct Muslim society.

Full article here.

More than 7,900 French Jews made aliya in 2015, up 10% from the previous year, when the western European nation became the leading source of immigrants here with 7,000 olim.

More than 40 percent of French Jews are interested in making aliya to Israel, according to a new poll released this week. Pollsters at the Institut français d’opinion publique spoke with more than 700 self-declared Jews, asking them about their preferences regarding a range of issues. Among the findings: 43% are thinking, or have thought about, immigration to the Jewish state. Given France’s approximately 700,000 Jews, that means that around 200,000 people are mulling aliya.

Full story here.

Hamburg Jewish community representative Daniel Killy says it’s not safe for Jews in Germany and they feel in peril now. There have been more and more expressions of anti-Semitism in the country.

“No, it’s not safe for us here anymore,” Killy told reporters in Hamburg Tuesday. “There is a feeling of the disintegration of government in the German state, right-wing extremism is increasing, the government has lost confidence. People are afraid of Islamization. This entire recent situation has contributed to the insecurity of Jews.” The Hamburg Jewish community consists of about 2,500 people.

Germany has taken in more than one million refugees from Muslim countries. Jewish leaders there have warned of growing anti-Semitism as a result of the influx of people from countries where hatred of Jews and Israel is the status quo. In a comprehensive article on taggeschau.de Patrick Gensing, an expert on extremist ideologies, wrote anti-Semitic sentiments take on a variety of forms in Germany. The author based his piece on surveys conducted on “historical defensive Holocaust guilt” and discussed fanatical criticism of Israel, National Socialist racism and Muslim and Christian anti-Semitism.