BRUSSELS, Feb 19: European Union policymakers on Thursday vowed tougher action to fight anti-Semitism across the bloc but warned Jewish community leaders that the phenomenon was linked to continuing tensions in the Middle East.
There was no place for anti-Jewish sentiments, racism or intolerance in a "Union of diversity," European Commission President Romano Prodi told a first-ever conference on combating anti-Semitism organized jointly by the EU and the European Jewish Congress.
Mr Prodi admitted there were still "vestiges of the historical anti-Semitism which was once widespread in Europe." But he denied there was any organized form of anti-Semitism in Europe comparable to the 1930s and 1940s.
"Let us be honest and keep things in perspective," Mr Prodi insisted. Anti-Semitism in Europe also fed on the unresolved conflict in the Middle East, Mr Prodi underlined.
The Israeli-Palestinian crisis was fuelling "social frustrations of new minorities established through immigration in many member states," Mr Prodi said, referring to allegations that anti-Semitic acts in Europe were often perpetrated by young Muslims.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also cautioned that tensions in the Middle East were spilling into Europe. Both men insisted that the EU was justified in criticizing some Israeli policies, with Mr Prodi insisting this was a "normal expression of democratic dissent."
Mr Fischer rejected calls by some Israelis for an end to EU financial support for the Palestinian government, warning that this would reinforce the hand of Hamas and other extremist groups.
Solving the Middle East conflict and developing cooperation in the Mediterranean were also part of the struggle against anti-Semitism, Mr Fischer said.
Jewish community leaders warned that "the monster of anti-Semitism is among us again" and complained about the "indifference" of other Europeans to the phenomenon. "History is repeating itself," said one Jewish representative.
The Commission decided to organize the conference on fighting anti-Semitism following a controversial EU-funded poll last year which said most Europeans believed Israel was a threat to world peace.
