European Commission willing to host second seminar on anti-Semitism in fall

At a meeting with Cobi Benatoff, President of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), in Brussels, the European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Franco Frattini, has agreed to a request for the European Commission (EC) to host a second seminar on anti-Semitism in autumn 2005. Both sides said that it was necessary to discuss in more detail further measures to be taken, notably in the fields of education and communication. In February 2004, the EC and the EJC held a conference attended by political and Jewish leaders which Mr. Benatoff hailed as an important first step: "The main outcome was that EU and national policy-makers realized what a serious threat anti-Semitism poses again today." But he added: "Now, we need to reach out to the wider public; we need to enlist Europe's citizens in the struggle against hatred. This is why we need a second seminar, especially on how to improve education and on how to get our message across better. We also need to bring in European cultural leaders to help us eradicate anti-Semitism."