Tamir Wertzberger, Foreign Affairs Director, Action and Protection League, and Jeff Ballabon, Senior Counsel for International and Government Affairs, spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News at the conference of the European Jewish Association (EJA) in Poland.
“I'm a third generation of Holocaust survivors,” says Tamir Wertzberger. “I know the stories from this period and for the last two years we are looking around us and you see unfortunately again the same views that that happened here on this continent, on this soil, 80 and 90 years ago. We see again Jewish houses and Jewish businesses that are marked by Stars of David. We see Molotov cocktails that are thrown on Jewish synagogues. We see people marching on the streets calling ‘death to the Jews’ and ‘Jews to gas. And when history repeats itself, we learn that people learned nothing. And this is why we are very pessimistic.”
Jeff Ballabon says, “It's a global crisis. It's a crisis not only for the Jews, but for every culture that hosts Jews. Because as we know, when cultures turn against the Jews, the next thing happens, they collapse. We are the last to be scapegoated in cultures that are tearing themselves apart. And it's a problem just as much now in America as it is in Europe. Some might say more in Europe than America. And because I spend so much of my time in Israel, it's astonishing that in the middle of a war, in the middle of a war where horrific images are coming out, the people of Israel are still concerned about antisemitism in America and around the world.”
Wertzberger continues, “After October 7, we are witnessing a very concerning trend in Europe regarding antisemitism. We see very drastic rising of incidents all over the continent. We see that that the volume and that the level of incidents are higher than usual and it's related to the level of violence. We see more incidents that are more violent and the numbers are much higher than before.”
Ballabon adds, “Unfortunately, the effect of the war was just to declare its open season on Jews. There are a lot of people around the world, in Israel and around the world, who thought, "Oh, well now people will be sympathetic, if they see the horrors that were done to innocent Jews on October 7th. But of course, it wasn't that way and it never would have been that way. Instead, it turns out that Jew hatred, antisemitism, it's not rational. It's a kind of insanity. And so there has to be a justification. And so the more you show the horrors of October 7th, the more our enemies have to declare that we deserved it. The Jews deserved it. Israel deserved it. And so the war declared its open season on hunting Jews once again around the world. And all of a sudden, ideas like ‘Never Again’ were being questioned. In fact, they're being questioned here today.”
Wertzberger asks, “What should be done? This is a good question because this is a question that we are trying to deal with for the last few decades, pretty much since the second world war. We believe that the most important thing and the first step in order to combat antisemitism is to recognize the problem. If decision-makers will not recognize the problem, first of all to recognize that there is a problem, then to recognize what the problem is. It's like going to a doctor when you have some pain and you are asking for some diagnosis. So we have a pain, but unfortunately decision-makers are failing over and over again to recognize the problem, to give a diagnosis.”
Ballabon explains that, “I think we need to have clarity. I think that we need to have the Jews all around the world to have a unified message, that includes from Israel where it's obviously out of the government but also from organizations like the EJA, like American organizations. There needs to be clarity, because everyone needs to understand that the messages are being heard around the world are emerging from other cultures as well. And those of us who live in what's called a diaspora understand our cultures and understand where it's coming from. And Israel understands what it confronts. And we are all united because our enemies don't make any distinction whatsoever. So the first thing I'd like to see is clarity, for the Jews of Israel, the Jews of America, the Jews of Europe, the Jews everywhere in the world, to understand what each of us are confronting and how everything we say and do impacts on all the rest of us.”
“I'm a believer. Hashem's in control of everything. I'm optimistic about the end result. However, between now and then, there can be a tremendous amount of suffering. I think that we need to really understand the underpinnings of what's happening there, all of us, to not try and find these solutions in short-term ideas, but to understand that we are an eternal people, and that we're responsible for one another. The more that we united, and we see this in a physical sense and a spiritual sense, the more that we unite with one another in groups like this today and gatherings can help," he added.
"The fact that Jews are here from around the world can help. But especially because I spend so much of my time in Israel, I see what I see there nowhere else in the world, which is unfortunately because the Jews of Israel are called upon to sacrifice in such a direct way, one for the other, both when they're actively on the front fighting a war and when they're behind the scenes supporting each other, taking care of their families, taking care of one another. The holiness of that and the beauty of that is the greatest hope that I have for the future, that Jews will in fact find the unity and that will not choose our enemies, but will choose He who always protects us,” Ballabon concluded.