BRATISLAVA – The World Jewish Congress brought together over 75 leading Jewish community professionals from 50 countries in Slovakia’s capital of Bratislava this week amid surging global antisemitism and Israel’s ongoing efforts to rescue the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity. The meeting, WJC’s tenth annual National Community Directors Forum (NCDF), served as a much-needed opportunity for the dozens of community representatives to coordinate and share best practices as they work to confront mounting threats to Jewish life worldwide.
This year’s forum was co-hosted by the Slovak Federation of Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of Slovak Jewry and a WJC affiliate. Most recent past NCDF meetings have taken place in Budapest, Rome, and Sofia – each arranged in partnership with that country’s Jewish representative body.
Breakout sessions led by WJC and community professionals provided the directors with opportunities to discuss security measures, the importance of supporting young leaders to ensure the next generation is ready to guide Jewish communities through uncertain times. The conversations emphasized the importance of unity, advocacy, and mutual support, while also exploring practical strategies for building sustainable leadership and values-based communal life.
WJC’s leading professional staff delivered in-depth presentations during a round-table moderated by Board of Deputies of British Jews Chief Executive Michael Wegier on a range of topics including:
- A report by WJC’s Head of Combating Antisemitism Ernest Herzog covered the far-reaching consequences of October 7, examining the surge of antisemitism worldwide, the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and its role in fueling radicalization globally, and the alarming convergence of antisemitic narratives from both the far right and far left. Herzog also shone a spotlight on the dangerous normalization of antisemitism across politics, media, and public life.
- A follow-up to the 2024 report, "The Bias Against Israel on Wikipedia", authored by Prof. Shlomit Aharoni Lir, presented by the WJC’s Technology and Human Rights Institute (TECHRI). In “Manipulated History: Past Version vs. Present Subversion—The Growing Bias Against Israel on Wikipedia” WJC shares the latest findings on the persistent and troubling patterns of anti-Israel bias Wikipedia. The report demonstrates how information regarding Israel and conflict-related issues has been manipulated to reinforce a one-sided perspective, especially following the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th, 2023. In 2025, following approaches by WJC and others, Wikipedia appears to have taken initial steps towards tackling the issue of biased editing. However, despite banning several anti-Israel editors, the perpetuation of one-sided narratives surrounding Israel and Zionism across the platform remains a persistent challenge.
- A report presented by Eitan Bergman of the Coordination Committee of the Jewish Organizations of Belgium on the current state of antisemitism in Belgium, with a particular focus on the intimidation of Jewish students on university campuses.
Forum participants also took part in a solemn ceremony at Rybné Square to mark Slovakia’s Memorial Day for Victims of the Holocaust and of Racial Violence at which WJC Executive Vice President Maram Stern called on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to assist in making every effort to have the 48 remaining hostages released from captivity in Gaza. The commemoration recalled the 1941 adoption of the so-called Jewish Code, which institutionalized the exclusion, persecution, and eventual deportation of Slovak Jews, leading to the murder of tens of thousands in Nazi camps and on Slovak soil.
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