Kantor warns that Jews could leave Europe in droves
Without laws countering anti-Semitism, Europe faces economic crisis, EJC leader says
LONDON (Reuters) – Europe is on the verge of a serious economic crisis if the EU does not introduce legislation to counter anti-Semitism, according to the president of the European Jewish Congress. Every Jewish family on the continent is contemplating whether they should “leave or stay” as anti-Semitism grows, Moshe Kantor said. “This minority is going in case authorities are not delivering some real, real stuff,” the Russian told Reuters at London’s Kensington Palace. “This minority is going to leave Europe, definitely because this question just now in every Jewish family in Europe: to leave or to stay. There’s no other solution. And the only one thing which can stop at the moment this process is real gestures of the authorities on a European level and on a British level.” The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Britain rose to a record level last year, the body that advises Britain’s estimated 260,000 Jews on security reported last month. Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing under-current of anti-Semitism, fueled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity. Those fears have been exacerbated after an Islamist gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January as well as other attacks in Copenhagen and Brussels. Kantor said European lawmakers needed to take action to ensure Jewish communities have protection from the continuous terrorist threat they face. Kantor, who is also the president of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, warned if the authorities took no action, the Jewish exodus from Europe could create an economic crisis. “If at the moment authorities are not going to deliver some real gestures, I think it will be the trigger for a very, very important economical crisis in Europe and in any country, any big country,” he said. “I think out of 3 million Jews that are living in Europe at least 1 million, [a] very active part or young part, [a] self-sufficient part, are going to leave and it will be a disaster, an economical disaster for Europe in general, because first of all some supporters, non-Jewish supporters, will come with Jews. It’s a lot of cash and money currents are going to leave Europe and also businesses,” Kantor explained. “We should react on the level of gestures and intentions, visible intentions, not to wait until it’s on the level of murdering people; this is the key point just now. We are in front of a strong demand from civil society to modify the legislation fighting against racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism,” he added. Kantor was speaking at an event where the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation awarded Cameroonian soccer player Samuel Eto’o with the European Medal of Tolerance for his stance against inequality. “You know, we are just now in the middle of a very, very big crisis in Europe; crisis of racism, radicalism,” he said while giving the award. “First of all religious radicalism, neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism. And we decided to find some strong vehicles to promote the values, the positive values, not only to criticize negative things but also to promote positive values, and do you know football is an outstanding tool for this, outstanding tool. Their [audience], TV for example, the [audience] of football is times and times more than any rock stars or cinema or any other.”