U.a. auf Antrag des fzs hin positioniert sich die europäische Studierendenvertretung klar gegen Antisemitisemitismus und sagt ihm auch in den eigenen Strukturen den Kampf an.
Anti-Semitism and its manifestations contradict fundamental values as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[1], the European Convention on Human Rights[2] and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[3], Anti-Semitism reflects deep-rooted prejudice in society against Jews, which will only be overcome by increased awareness-raising efforts among the population and strong political condemnation. Historically, manifestations of anti-Semitism have shown how prejudice and intolerance can lead to systematic harassment, discrimination and ultimately mass killings and genocide. Still today, persisting stereotypes, insults and physical violence are experienced on a daily basis by members of the Jewish community across Europe.
These worrying trends are mirrored in the Jewish community’s perception of anti- Semitism, as shown by the 2013 Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) Survey: Discrimination and hate crime against Jews in EU Member States: experiences and perceptions of anti-Semitism[4]. At the same time, these same incidents have thus far failed to appropriately raise the concerns of civil society at large. Awareness-raising, in-depth understanding by policy makers, and commitment to act are key elements in bridging this gap.
The European Students’ Union acknowledges:
- That anti-Semitism is a form of racism that is under no circumstances acceptable;
- That fighting racism is a core mission and responsibility for European Student’s Union;
- The Council of Europe Resolution 2106 (2016) on “Renewed commitment in the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe”[5] as a starting point for action;
- The European Parliament resolution on combating anti-Semitism (2017/2692(RSP))[6] as a starting point for action;
- The European Youth Forum has already adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism in 2018
- The European Students’ Union adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism in the anti-Discrimination statement during the 75th Board Meeting
- That the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Council of Europe Member States has risen significantly in recent years as reported by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe[7] (OSCE) and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights[8] (FRA), among other bodies
The European Students’ Union resolves
- To reaffirm its commitment to tackling anti-Semitism in all of its forms;
- To adopt and apply the legally non-binding working definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the 31 States of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), including all the examples included therein. (Annex 1)
- To encourage Member Organisations to adopt and apply the IHRA working definition of anti-Semitism with its examples;
- To take appropriate action when instances of anti-Semitic speech or action occur among its lay leadership, Secretariat, volunteers and Member Organisations;
- To publicly denounce actions that are anti-Semitic based on the aforementioned definition;
- To advocate with Council of Europe Member States to take appropriate action against anti-Semitism;
To advocate with Council of Europe Member States to protect and valorise the Jewish cultural heritage as well as the Jewish languages in Europe, such as the Yiddish and the Judaeo-Spanish.
[1] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human- rights/index.html
[2] The European Convention on Human Rights, https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf
[3] The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pdf/text_en.pdf
[4] Discrimination and hate crime against Jews in EU Member States: experiences and perceptions of anti- Semitism, http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2013/technical-report-fra-survey-discrimination-and- hate-crime- against-jews-eu-member
[5] Resolution 2106 (2016), Renewed commitment in the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe: http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=22716&lang=en
[6] The European Parliament resolution on combating anti-Semitism (2017/2692(RSP)) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2017- 0383&language=EN
[7] http://hatecrime.osce.org/what-hate-crime/anti-semitism?year=2016
[8] http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/antisemitism-overview-2006-2016