The month of September is important for ECI also for another reason. It was in September 2001 that the ECI vision and mission was born and presented for the first time. This was also the time of the UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which according to many observers unleashed the worst wave of anti-Semitism since the Holocaust. One and a half years later, in March 2003, ECI was legally formed in Brussels on the day of Purim, “for such a time as this”.
We believe the timing of these important events is not a mere coincidence but an illustration of God’s appointed times - for Jews and Gentiles. Thank you for standing faithfully with ECI during these years and for your continuous support as we press forward in our support for Israel at the EU and the UN. The recognition of Yom Kippur as a day when there will be no UN activities is a sign of encouragement. Together we can do more.
Please consider a generous donation as we prepare to travel to New York for the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, which begins this week on 15th September.
Change of guard as ECI elects new chairman
Rudolf Geigy has been active in ECI for the last five years and before that he was involved for many years in other Israel related initiatives. At the same meeting Tor Gull was elected as a new board member. Gull is a native Finn with a long career in banking and development aid. The appointment of Geigy and Gull will strengthen the board, along with Harald Eckert, Antti Hamalainen, Bedros Nassanian and Rick Ridings.
ECI wishes to thank Harald Eckert for his term as chairman and welcomes the new board members.
(In the picture, from left to right: Tomas Sandell, Perrine Dufoix, Ambassador Gideon Behar, Rudolf Geigy and Gregory Lafitte in Jerusalem.)
European Parliament wishes Israel Happy New Year - with new sanctions on Israeli goods
Only 70 members out of the 751 strong European Parliament voted against the resolution while another 31 abstained. The vote came just a few days before the eve of the Jewish New Year and was a stark reminder of the growing hostility towards Israel during a time when the European Union faces an unprecedented migration crisis due to the turmoil in Syria and the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East. But whereas the EP remains obsessed with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is helpless when it comes to solving the real problems in the region. It is estimated that the war in Syria has already caused over 200,000 deaths and some 4 million refugees are displaced outside of its borders.
While whole villages and regions in Syria and Iraq have been ethnically cleansed by the Islamic State, the European Parliament has been slow in reacting. In an effort to cover up its disastrous Middle East policy, the EP instead turns against Israel, the only democracy in the region.
In his inaugural speech at the ECI co-hosted Holocaust Remembrance day event in the European Parliament in January 2012, EP President Martin Schulz stated that his most important role as new President of the European Parliament would be to “stand up for the Jewish people and the state of Israel”. His track record of the last few years does not support this pledge.
In a separate message on Thursday, European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans expressed his best wishes for the Jewish New Year by stating that the European Commission takes the concerns of the Jewish people very seriously.
But the same Timmermans has been a champion of boycotts and sanctions of Israeli goods while serving as Foreign Minister in the Netherlands and is part of a European Commission that even now plans new measures against Israel.
In a press release issued on the occasion of the Jewish New Year, ECI points out that “Israel is a solution to the problems in the Middle East, not the problem.” The press release has been sent to the President of the European Parliament as well as to the First Vice-President of the European Commission.
At a government meeting in Israel, concerns are expressed over recent developments in Europe
- The mass immigration of the last few months will most certainly result in a strengthening of anti-immigration sentiments in Europe, which tend to automatically flow over into anti-Semitism, the official said. With the influx of new immigrants, xenophobic parties like Jobbik in Hungary and Golden Dawn in Greece will be further empowered, leading to new policies targeting both the Muslim population and the Jews. The demands to ban circumcision and ritual slaughter are two issues which may soon face both the Jewish community and the Muslim community.
A large majority of those immigrating to Europe come from countries which have been in wars with Israel and where anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic sentiments run high. With changing demographics in Europe, the European electorate may soon turn even more anti-Israel, the official warned.
ECI has been actively raising awareness of the plight of the Christian communities in Syria and northern Iraq who are today facing ethnic cleansing in areas where there have been Christians for the last 2,000 years. There are currently plans to help evacuate part of these communities to Europe and ECI is actively supporting this initiative.
Palestinians to raise their own flag at the UN ?
Help us honour Israel in the midst of the nations!
The vote at the UN, as well as the vote in the European Parliament to label Israeli goods, is part of a growing international campaign to isolate and weaken the Israeli government.
ECI has chosen another path, namely to honour and celebrate the Jewish people and their state. On 21st September we will do this at the start of the high level segment of the General Assembly with a special event to mark the Jewish New Year and prepare for Yom Kippur. Many nations are already signed up to join the event and thus honour Israel and the Jewish people in this special way.
We believe it is important that Israel is given proper recognition in the nations - as a source of blessing and inspiration, through its many contributions to mankind in the past and its many innovations, which are saving lives today.
Our message is simple. Israel is not the problem in the world - but a solution to many of its problems.