WJC at UNHRC | WJC Emphasizes Antisemitism Weakens Democracy and Institutions

WJC delivered a statement on Item 2 at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, emphasizing that antisemitism endangers more than the Jewish community. It undermines democracy and corrodes the very institutions that hold societies together.

Read the full statement below:

Thank you, Mr. President,

As the High Commissioner has stated, antisemitism is growing around the world. Places of worship are attacked, cemeteries are vandalized, and children are walking to school under armed protection. People are even targeted and shot on the streets of major cities simply for being Jewish.

Such violence is intolerable. It is never only a Jewish problem. It reveals a fracture in democracy and in the institutions meant to protect it. When Jews are attacked, the credibility of our human rights framework is at stake. Too often, hatred is met with silence. This must end.

The world of sports is not spared by this threat. The exhibition Sports. Crowds. Power., now on view in the Salle des Pas Perdus and sponsored by the Mission of Germany, the OHCHR, and the World Jewish Congress, reveals how sport was used by the Nazi regime to promote antisemitic ideology and exclude Jewish athletes. Delegates are invited to reflect on these troubling legacies and their impact today. It underscores the urgent need to confront hatred in all its forms—and the shared duty to prevent history from repeating itself.

Protecting Jewish communities is about more than their safety. It is about the strength of democracy itself. Confronting antisemitism is fortifying human rights for all.

This Council must treat antisemitism not as a side issue, but as a central test of its resolve.

Thank you.