US envoy: European laws – a ‘forced expulsion’ of Jews

Elan Carr, US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism, speaks at gathering of the Conference of European Rabbis in Antwerp.

Elan Carr, the US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism, spoke on Monday at the annual gathering of the Conference of European Rabbis in Antwerp.

“In American history, we have never had a President of the United States and a Secretary of State that are committed in unprecedented fashion to the Jewish people, to the fight against anti-Semitism in the world and to support of the State of Israel. Never before have we had something like that,” he said.

Describing the present time as a “moment of crisis” amid rising anti-Semitism in the world, including the United States, Carr continued, “We have a confluence of sources of anti-Semitic hatred, from the ultra-right ethic supremacist movements to the ultra-left, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist movement, to radical Islam – movements that should hate each other far more than they hate everything else, and then united in this age old sickness of humanity known as anti-Semitism.”

He denounced recent incidents of anti-Semitism in the US as well as anti-Jewish legislation in Europe, defining it as a “forced expulsion” of Jews.

“We have these disgraceful pieces of legislation that ban ‘shechita’ and contemplating banning ‘Brit Mila’… well let me tell you what this is, this is nothing other than a forced expulsion of the Jewish communities from the country that adopt this legislation, a forced expulsion – and that’s intolerable,” he said.

Anti-Semitism is not only about the Jews, explained Carr, as it is “history’s greatest barometer of human misery, and every society that has embodied this poison has rotted to its core and produced human suffering at a level that defies description.”

In order to beat anti-Semitism “not even the United States acting alone can do that. To win this, we need perhaps the most elusive asset of all, and that is Jewish unity,” he stressed.

“The Torah says in no uncertain terms that it is not enough to refrain from hatred of our fellows that is expressed and manifested, even a hatred that is not spoken, even a hatred that is not manifest, is unacceptable. Even when it is only in our heart of hearts, we are forbidden to hate our fellow,” said Carr, in a reference to the verse from Leviticus “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.”

“The Jewish people are in a state of fragmentation,” he continued, saying that the rabbis of Europe are the key to helping bring Jews together.

“You, the spiritual leaders who stand aloft congregations throughout Europe and throughout the world, who help Jews redefine Judaism, who make us rediscover our passion and our love for Am Yisrael, you hold your fingers on the pulse of exactly what we need today,” stated Carr.

“And so, honorable rabbis, I say let us go forward together, shoulder to shoulder. Let us fight these challenges, so that we can build a Jewish future together, a future of Torah, a future of tradition, a future of Jewish identity, and build that better future that our children and that our grandchildren so desperately deserve. Thank you so much for all that you do, thank you for your leadership and thank you for your partnership,” he concluded.

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