Geneva - World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomat Soizic Pierson delivered a statement on the United Nations Human Rights Council floor on behalf of the WJC urging the Council to take strong action to deal with the resurgence of neo-Nazi groups in Europe.
“On the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, I woke up to the news that another violent anti-Semitic incident had occurred on the sidelines of yet another Neo-Nazi protest. Indeed, masked assailants hurled rocks and bottles at a Jewish restaurant, injuring the owner who was reportedly called “a Jewish pig” and told to “get out of Germany”.
As in similar instances of such attacks and protests, familiar questions immediately came to mind: how is it possible that such incidents are once again taking place in Europe today? How can a continent that plunged into the depths of evil a few decades ago face similar ills this present day? How can individuals still be targeted because they belong to a minority community? How can these attacks not receive universal condemnation? In this regard, we applaud the forceful response from Chancellor Angela Merkel, just a few days ago.
While there are no simple answers to these questions, it is paramount to recognize that neo-Nazis and other extreme groups do not only pose a threat to Jews and other minorities, but are an attack on all the founding values and ideals that define our modern democracies, and must be dealt with as such. As stated by World Jewish Congress President, Ronald S. Lauder: “Nazis and neo-Nazis can never be anything but a scourge of and on humanity, and they certainly must not ever be tolerated”. We call on the Human Rights Council to take strong action in this regard.”
The WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps is the flagship program of the WJC, and a worldwide network of Jewish professionals acting in the fields of diplomacy and public policy on behalf of world Jewry. Members of the WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps have delivered over 70 statements on behalf of the WJC over the past four years at the UNHRC.