New York, December 21st, 2015

The decision comes after two and a half years of active campaigning by the Israeli Permanent Mission to the UN and the European Coalition for Israel. The idea to have the UN recognise Yom Kippur as a holiday was first floated by ECI in a meeting with the Israeli government in the summer of 2013. On October 1st, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin presented the request to the Deputy Secretary General of the UN Jan Eliasson in conjunction with the High level week of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

But it would take until May 12th, 2014 before the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosorpresented an open letter to all UN member states, requesting their support for the initiative. The request was officially presented at a luncheon of the newly formed ECI initiative Forum for Cultural Diplomacy, which marked 65 years of Israeli membership of the UN.

Sixty-five (38 + 27 EU) UN member states have expressed their support for the request.
The United States, in particular the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, played a crucial role in agreeing to make the American holiday, President’s day, a floating holiday which can be replaced by any of the new religious holidays. This way the initiative was prevented from being blocked by the anti-Israel majority of the UN. The other religious holidays which were given UN recognition alongside Yom Kippur, were part of a compromise agreement which helped secure the support of UN member states representing other major religions.

In meetings with UN officials in New York on Friday, ECI Director for UN Affairs Gregory Lafitte and ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell expressed their appreciation over the decision which is an important step for better inclusion of Israel and the Jewish people in the family of nations by respecting their most holy day in the calendar year.

The recognition was made possible thanks to the active support of senior UN officials, including the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who on September 21st attended a special Tashlich ceremony at the UN headquarters in preparation for Yom Kippur. The ceremony was hosted by the Israeli Permanent Mission to the UN and the Forum for Cultural Diplomacy.

– This decision shows that Israel has, in fact, many more friends at the UN than those who generally stand with Israel in critical votes. By highlighting the universal values of the Jewish holidays we can bring nations closer to Israel as we at the same time strengthen the values of the UN charter, Lafitte said.

European Coalition for Israel commended the Israeli Permanent Mission to the UN which has tirelessly worked to see the recognition become a reality.

– There could be no better way to commence the Christmas holidays than to celebrate the fact that after 70 years the UN will finally recognise Yom Kippur as an official UN holiday, Sandell concluded.

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Brussels, December 4th, 2015 – On Tuesday, December 1st, the European Commission appointed its first ever coordinator on combating antisemitism. Two days later, on Thursday December 3rd, the newly appointed coordinator, Katharina von Schnurbein, gave her first official speech at an ECI symposium in the European Parliament in Brussels on “Jewish contributions to European culture and values”.
In her speech she compared the situation for Jews in Europe with that of the canary in the coalmine. “When the canary no longer sings, Europe is in crisis”, she warned.
The expression refers to the historical role of canaries in the mining industry. As long as the bird kept singing, the miners knew the air supply was safe to breathe. If the canary died, the mine was immediately evacuated.

At the symposium von Schnurbein spoke about the threat to Jewish life in Europe and the need for an early warning system. She will report directly to the first Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, who announced his decision to appoint two coordinators, one for antisemitism and another one for anti-Muslim hatred, at an EU colloquium in Brussels in early October.

The new office will be an EU contact point for anyone who has experienced anti-Semitic incidents and the office will also develop strategies to combat antisemitism in Europe. Von Schnurbein reminded the audience that the problem is not with the EU.  She pointed out that “although the EU has outlawed Holocaust denial, only 13 member states out of 28 have implemented the directive”.

In other speeches, EU officials and Members of the European Parliament gave numerous examples of Jewish contributions to European culture and values.

Conference host MEP Hannu Takkula warned that when Jews are afraid in Europe, this is no longer Europe. He asked for better protection for the Jewish communities in Europe as well as good and strong relations with the modern state of Israel.

The Vice-President of the European Parliament, MEP Ryszard Czarnecki, reminded the audience of the long history of Jewish life in his native Poland. According to some sources, the name “Poland” means “safe dwelling” in Hebrew and this helps to explain the fact that at one point in time over 80% of the worldwide Jewish population lived in Poland. During the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust, Poland lost 90% of its Jewish population. However, after the war, Poland was the only country to let the Jews make aliyah to Israel without needing a special visa. Since these early days Poland and Israel have had strong ties, irrespective of party affiliation, and Jewish life has returned to Poland, Czarnecki explained.

Also Ambassador Felix Klein from the German government could testify that his country is experiencing a revival of Jewish life and culture. After the war, most Jews believed that life in Germany was over, but today there are over 200,000 Israelis living in Germany and new synagogues are being opened every other month, he explained. He hoped that this unique experience of successful migration could also be of use in today’s migration crisis.

The new EU Head of Unit for the Middle East, Raoul Fuentes Milani shared about Jewish history in Spain. He acknowledged that Spain lost much of its former glory and identity when the Jews were expelled in 1492. Spain recently decided to grant citizenship to Sephardic Jews who can prove their Spanish ancestry from this time period. He quoted the King of Spain who, when addressing the expelled Jews around the world, announced: “We missed you.”

Although all speakers agreed that Europe is richer with flourishing Jewish communities and warm relations with the State of Israel, there was clear disagreement on whether Israel is being fairly treated by the EU today, as demonstrated by the labelling directive that was issued two weeks ago. Whilst the EEAS Director for the Middle East and Northern Africa, Christian Berger, called the decision “a technicality”, Israeli Deputy Ambassador Shuli Davidovich accused the EU of double standards.

Due to a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week, she was not permitted to comment on the peace process from which the EU has been sidelined.

Conference host, ECI Director Tomas Sandell expressed his disappointment with the labelling directive and promised that ECI will contact member state governments in time for the next council meeting in Brussels on December 14th with a request that the decision be revised.

“When Europe was paralyzed by the terrorist attack in Paris three weeks ago, Israeli intelligence officers were the first to come to our aid and help prevent further attacks in Hanover and elsewhere in Europe”, he said.

“Europe is always better off with good relations with Israel and the Jewish communities. This is not only true for our history but also for our common future”, he concluded.

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EU and Israel need a united front to combat terrorism

Brussels, November 16th, 2015 –  ECI has sent a letter of condolence to the French President François Hollande after a terrorist attack struck Paris late on Friday night and killed at least 129 innocent civilians while many more were injured. In the letter, dated Monday 16th November, Founding Director Tomas Sandell called the act “a crime against humanity”.

“Terrorism can never be justified, but must always be denounced and confronted, regardless of where it strikes”, he said. “This is a time for the whole civilised world to stand united behind the people of France against a common enemy.”

Over the weekend it became clear that Israel had provided France with intelligence related to the perpetrators and about other terrorist plots in Europe. In the letter to the French President, ECI points out the central role of Israel in the fight against global jihad.

“It is imperative that the EU and Israel coordinate their efforts in this battle for our collective security and freedom to live in peace. Only by strengthening our bonds of common values can we win this battle.”

“As France is in national mourning, we are united with the people of France in prayer and solidarity”, the letter concludes.

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EU should promote cooperation – not separation

Brussels, November 10th, 2015 – The European Coalition for Israel has issued a written statement against an impending EU directive to label Israeli goods from the disputed territories in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. The directive is expected to be published in Brussels on Wednesday. In a statement in Brussels on Tuesday ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell called the move, which comes just one day after the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht, “a first step on a slippery slope which risks leading Europe back to its dark ages.”
“The directive is untimely, disproportionate and simply flawed”, he said in Brussels on Tuesday. “This (directive) will not only stigmatize legitimate Israeli businesses, but also put at risk the livelihood of tens of thousands of Palestinians who are currently employed by Israeli companies operating in the disputed territories.”

The directive has been championed for several years by radical anti-Israeli NGO groups across Europe who have as their ultimate goal a complete boycott of Israel.

In a written statement on Tuesday, ECI Legal Counsel Andrew Tucker points out that “the EU provides aid and financial cooperation to numerous countries that maintain settlements in occupied territories, such as Morocco, Turkey and Russia”. “If it is EU policy to not support activities in occupied territories, it should apply that policy equitably in all similar situations”, he writes.

He also explains how the law of occupation does not prohibit the occupying power from allowing its own citizens to be present and undertake productive enterprises in the occupied territories. On the contrary, it recognizes the need for the occupying power to maintain order and safety in those territories pending resolution of the underlying dispute.

Goods from the disputed territories are already excluded from the free trade agreement between EU and Israel and are labelled separately from other Israeli goods when passing through EU customs. The impending guidelines would apply this to consumer labelling also.

Although the European Commission maintains that the directive is strictly “a technical matter” as the political decision was made by the Foreign Ministers of the EU already in 2012, it is clear that the measures are meant to put economic and political pressure on Israel. No such measures have been applied to the Palestinian Authority which still refuses to come back to the negotiating table and instead continues its incitement to violence. Some senior Israeli leaders have called the directive “a reward for Palestinian terrorism”.

According to Israeli Ambassador to the EU, David Walzer, “the directive awakens painful memories in the Jewish communities in Israel and around the world as they commemorate the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht”.

Sandell insists that the European Commission should not give in to radical groups who want to isolate and demonize Israel. “The new directive does not promote peace and cooperation but rather separation and hostility. The European Commission should know better. European integration in the 1950´s came about by compelling previous enemies to work together, not by separating them or creating further hostility.”

“In a situation where the whole Middle East is being swept into an abyss of violence and chaos, the EU should support Israel as the only country in the region that shares its democratic values and not undermine it by singling out only Israel for labelling”, Sandell concludes.

It is still unclear how the directive should be implemented in the EU member states.  The legislation is complicated and varies according to the product. In some cases it may be obligatory on all member states, while it other cases it will be up to member states to decide.

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Brussels, October 14th, 2015

In a written statement to Federica Mogherini and in meetings with senior EU-officials in Brussels on Tuesday, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell stressed that “there can be no neutrality in relation to terrorism and the brutal killing of innocent civilians in Jerusalem. As the single largest financial contributor to the Palestinian Authority, the European Union has a moral responsibility to immediately call for a stop of all Palestinian incitement and violence or freeze any further EU financial support. ”

ECI and many concerned Members of European Parliament have for years called for the EU to stop funding hate in the Palestinian territories and have warned of the consequences of sustaining a culture of hatred and incitement throughout society, from Palestinian kindergartens and UNWRA children camps to the highest echelons of power in the Palestinian Authority.

This autumn Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called “for filthy Jews not to be allowed on the Temple Mount” and praised ”the pure blood spilled by martyrs in Jerusalem” without any official protests from Brussels or Washington. Meanwhile imams in mosques in the Palestinian territories have called for the killing of Jews, hence fuelling the unprecedented wave of brutal murders of civilians in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel in these last days.

In his message in Brussels on Tuesday, Sandell noted that the EU cannot remain neutral by simply calling for “calm on both sides” when innocent Jewish civilians are stabbed to death, but needs to specifically call to account those Palestinian leaders who are responsible for inciting and coordinating the attacks against innocent civilian Jews.

Jewish lives matter, just as much in Jerusalem as in Brussels, Paris and Copenhagen. If the European Union wants to remain “a union of values”, it cannot turn a blind eye, not to mention continue to finance, a regime which is inciting, supporting and orchestrating terrorist actions, he said.

In a series of tweets late on Tuesday night, the European Union´s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, condemned the deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem.

He writes: “I condemn today’s brutal attacks in Jerusalem. My thoughts are with the families of three more victims of terrorism and the many injured. These attacks not only cause human suffering. They undermine the trust ordinary citizens feel for passers-by in the street, let alone the trust people need as communities if there is to be any prospect for peace.”

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Incoherent EU-policies prevent effective measures against antisemitism

Brussels, October 2nd, 2015 – The European Commission has held its first annual colloquium on fundamental rights by highlighting the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred. The decision to combine antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred in one and the same conference received both praises and criticism from the delegates. On Thursday First Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans defended his decision by saying that “it is high time that both groups sit down and talk to each other instead of talking about each other”.  Timmermans acknowledged that the two phenomena are different in origin, history, manifestation and impact, but still believed that they needed to be tackled in the same colloquium.

Founding Director Tomas Sandell of the European Coalition for Israel was invited to the roundtable and was the only representative of a non-Jewish pro-Israel organisation. In his remarks he gave credit to Timmermans for acknowledging that “there are those who use anti-Israelism as a cover for antisemitism”.  He went on to state that “Zionism has historically been the solution to antisemitism and not the reason for it”.

Today the mere existence of a Jewish state is again being questioned by radical groups that call for boycotts of Israel. The same groups also hold a negative view of the Jewish people as such. In a separate written statement Sandell warned that “the European Commission risks undermining its own goals of preventing antisemitism by time and again singling out Israel and calling for the labelling of Israeli goods produced in the disputed territories”. The new directive is expected to be introduced any week now and is likely to give further fuel for anti-Israeli forces who like to see a ban of all Israeli products. In Reykjavik, Iceland, the city council recently had to backtrack from a decision to ban all Israeli goods after international outrage. ”The call for labelling of Israeli goods will only strengthen those forces who believe that Israel is the sole reason for the conflict in the Middle East and who turn against Jews in Europe in retaliation”, he wrote. He also reminded the European Commission of the fact that the rise of antisemitism in the Third Reich started with the boycott of Jewish businesses.

At the conference Timmermans announced his decision to appoint two coordinators with special responsibilities for following issues related to antisemitism and another one for Islamophobia.

Many Jewish groups have expressed their disappointment over the passive reaction by the European Commission to the terror attacks against Jewish targets in Brussels, Paris and Copenhagen. While they acknowledge the existence of other forms of racism and xenophobia in Europe they fear that the European Commission is not addressing their real concerns.

At the colloquium Mette Bentow, one of the survivors of the terror attack in Copenhagen, shared her testimony of the trauma that it had inflicted on her young family. She openly asked if she has a future in Europe.

In his address President Moshe Kantor of the European Jewish Congress warned that the EU is not doing enough to prevent Jews from leaving Europe. Over the last years tens of thousands of Jews have left Europe to seek a safer home elsewhere. And today one third of Europe’s 2.5 million Jews are considering emigration. Whole areas of Europe are being emptied of Jews and not enough is being done, he warned.

In his written statement Sandell noted that “it appears as if the European Commission no longer acknowledges antisemitism as a specific problem that threatens the very fabric of European Jewry but simply refers to it as another form of racism and discrimination. When Europe faced its last peak of anti-Semitic violence in 2003 and an EU survey named Israel as the worst threat to world peace, the then European Commission President Romano Prodi called together a crisis summit to specifically tackle the rise of antisemitism. Eleven years later the new European Commission reacts to the same challenge by calling together a seminar to speak about anti-Muslim hatred, he noted.

Despite its critical remarks, ECI remains fully committed to working together with the European institutions to ensure that the threat of antisemitism is fully recognized and tackled by EU and the member states. It also notes the need for intercommunal dialogue and alliances between Jews and Muslims in facing common threats, such as the calls for the banning of male circumcision and ritual slaughter, but notes that the EU needs to do more make Jewish life safe and secure for future generations.

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Geneva, 30th June, 2015

The UN report has been dismissed by many military experts for comparing the terrorist organization Hamas with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and for putting the blame for the military conflict last summer on Israel.

In an op-ed in the New York Times on June 25th, Colonel Richard Kemp, who is the former Chief Commander of British troops in Afghanistan, called the report ”flawed and dangerous” and believed it would provoke further violence and bloodshed in the region. Richard Kemp was one of the speakers at the rally in Geneva where he also testified before the UN Human Rights Commission. “Hamas’s aim is to force Israel to kill Palestinian civilians” by firing from residential areas and this strategy can be “seen working in action today,” he said, accusing the UNHRC of being “a tool of Hamas’s terrorism.”

The rally came only days after a series of terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait had left at least 66 people dead. But for the UN Human Rights Council it is Israel instead, the only democracy in the Middle East, that is being investigated.

In his speech at the rally, ECI Director for UN affairs, Dr. Gregory Lafitte (picture) asked why it is only Israel that is being singled out by the UN Human Rights Council.

“We have for many years witnessed a new form of antisemitism, clothed in the fashionable politics of demonizing Israel. It is now high time for us who disagree to stand up and be counted.”

Lafitte went on to say that the Jewish community and the State of Israel have the support of a broad Christian community in Europe who wants to learn from their history and speak up in time.

Lafitte was joined by CEO of the World Jewish Congress, Robert Singer, who asked the UN to overcome its obsession with Israel and to focus on real human rights violations in the world. He went on to say that Gaza is still an occupied territory, but the occupier is not Israel but Hamas.

Also speaking at the rally were residents of Israeli kibbutzes in close proximity to the Gaza strip.  Ofir Libstein, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Azza, which is one kilometer away from the Gaza Strip, shared how her four little sons were born into a 15-second reality – the time between a rocket alert and an explosion. She explained the traumatizing effect for children living under such circumstances. Her 11 year-old boy still cannot sleep alone as every alert and every explosion makes him re-live the attacks of last summer.

The rally brought together some 80 NG0s in support of Israel and in their demand for a more balanced approach by the UN Human Rights Council. Other speakers included Israel’s ambassador to Switzerland, Yigal Caspi and Italian journalist, Giuliano Ferrera.

Representing the only Christian organization on the platform, Gregory Lafitte explained the importance for Christians and Jews together to stand up for the rights of Israel.

He reiterated the vision of the early days of ECI, when in an EU Summit on antisemitism in Brussels in 2004, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel asked why it was only the Jewish communities who were reacting to the rise of antisemitism. 
’Where are all the others?’, he asked.

Lafitte concluded by answering the plea from Elie Wiesel with these words:

“We, the European Coalition for Israel, along with many other Christian organizations present here today, want to be this coalition of all the others. Nous, la Coalition Européenne pour Israël, avec beaucoup d’autres organisations chrétiennes présentes ici aujourd’hui, voulons être cette coalition de tous les autres.”

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- Important to Stand Up Together for Israel appeared first on European Coalition for Israel.

Helsinki, June 23rd, 2015

“There can be no further talks with Iran before its leadership recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist and commits to living in peace with all its neighbors,” ECI Director Tomas Sandell said in a statement in Helsinki on Monday. “Refusing to recognize another UN Member State, in this case Israel, and threatening to exterminate it, is in clear violation of the UN Charter, the 70th Anniversary of which will be commemorated in San Francisco on June 26th. The leaders of Iran have consistently called for the destruction of the Jewish state while at the same time denying the Holocaust. The vow to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ was recently declared as a ‘non-negotiable’ by the Iranian leaders, although this statement has largely been ignored by the negotiating team of the G5+1, who have dismissed the issue as ”not being part of the agenda for the nuclear talks.”

“As long as the objective to annihilate Israel is on the agenda for Iran, the G5+1 should not return to the negotiating table, but keep the sanctions in place,” Sandell said.

“Iran is the main sponsor of international terrorism in the Middle East and should not be rewarded with nuclear capabilities. A nuclear Iran will not bring peace and stability to the region but will further destabilize it and initiate a new nuclear arms race,” he warned.

“The international community needs to keep up the pressure on Iran until a good deal can be achieved,” he continued. “The EU has a historic commitment not to let down the Jewish people when they are faced with an existential threat. History teaches us that we cannot give in to a regime which is obsessed with the annihilation of the Jews,” Sandell said.

“It is alarming that at the same time as the EU discusses the lifting of sanctions on Iran, European leaders are planning new measures to sanction Israel by starting to label goods produced in the disputed territories. The EU and the international community is now faced with a moral choice, either to stand up for democracy and the rule of law, or to give in to a rogue regime that persecutes its own people and sponsors international terrorism,” Sandell warned.

The European Coalition for Israel opposes a nuclear deal that would threaten the very survival of the State of Israel. The survival of Israel is non-negotiable.

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- The Survival of Israel is Non-Negotiable! appeared first on European Coalition for Israel.

Jerusalem, May 20th, 2015

”The Holocaust did not create, nor legitimize, the modern State of Israel, but made it perfectly clear that the Jewish people needed a place they could call home. As we once again face a rise in antisemitism in Europe, the Jewish people now have a safe haven in Israel. For this reason, world leaders should do their utmost to protect, strengthen and support the only Jewish state in the world.

The failure of the world community at the time to live up to its commitments under the San Remo Resolution of 1920 – to create a national home for the Jewish people in Israel – led to a catastrophe for the Jewish people as the British closed the door to Palestine and other nations turned them away while the Nazis hunted them down. As we celebrate the victory over Nazism, we cannot forget that the victorious nations also bear their share of guilt. It would be wrong to believe that only the Nazis wanted the Jews dead: many citizens of the occupied nations aided the Nazis and countries that could have helped the Jews find a safe haven refused to do so.

Victory Day is therefore a day for soul searching and repentance as we re-commit to the safety and security of the Jewish people as they once again face deadly enemies on the streets of Europe and in Tehran.

There can be no VE Day as long as Jews are not safe on the streets of Europe and continue to face an existential threat of nuclear annihilation from Iran. The burning issue is not what happened 70 years ago, but rather how history will judge us if we fail to take action today.

In the midst of all this, Israel stands tall as a symbol of perseverance and hope. Israel is not perfect, as is the case with other Western democracies. However it is a light to the nations, not only in the Middle East, where it continues to be the only parliamentary democracy of its kind, but also to crisis zones around the world. Israeli teams reach out faster than any other nation, as was the case in Nepal recently and in the Ebola-stricken countries of West Africa.

As Europeans, we know that our societies have been shaped by Jewish thinking for centuries and are built on Judeo-Christian values. As we celebrate the victory over National Socialism and the liberation of the Nazi death camps, it is fitting to do so in the cradle of our civilization, Jerusalem, which stands out as the most visible sign of victory over the death angels of the Holocaust. Am Israel Chai! Long live Israel!

Footnote: The conference took place in Jerusalem from May 10th to 12th, and was followed by an educational study tour for ECI activists. The conference also marked the conclusion of a 100 day awareness-raising campaign which was launched in Auschwitz, Poland on January 27th – the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The conference was co-organized by European Coalition for Israel, Christians for Israel International and Ebenezer Emergency Fund and was attended by over 300 participants from all five continents.

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New York, 3rd October, 2014

In his keynote speech, former Deputy Director General of External Relations at the European Commission, Ambassador Karel Kovanda, spoke about forgiveness and reconciliation in seasons of conflict.

‘Reconciliation is a bottom-up process.  It starts with reflection, regret, remorse and apology, then redemption and perhaps even atonement,’ he said. He differentiated between reconciliation between elites (as in the case of France and Germany), between peoples (as between Germans and Jews) and on an individual level (as in the reconciliation process in Rwanda). But he also mentioned nations such as China, where the collective memory of the cultural revolution is still being suppressed. ‘In China´s official history it is a blank unexamined page,’ he said.

Ambassador Jeanne D’Arc Byaje gave a personal account of the national process of unification and reconciliation which took place in Rwanda after the genocide of 1994. In order to deal with the murder of up to a million people, the Rwandan authorities had to dismiss the traditional judiciary process and instead apply a transitional justice process based on the village custom of Gacaca. The system has managed to deal with 400,000 people accused of having participated in the genocide. Some were released, some were sentenced to community work, some paid fines and others received prison sentences. The system was closed down last year.

In his speech ECI UN Director, Gregory Lafitte, spoke about the universal values of Yom Kippur, stressing the need to look back at one’s life in order to look forward.
’The Jewish feasts and holidays teach us important lessons’, he said, giving examples such as forgiveness and reconciliation as demonstrated in Yom Kippur and freedom from slavery as seen in Pesach. He went on to remind the audience about how the UN has been shaped by ideas from Jewish thinking, as in the principle of the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have others do to you) or the peace vision of Isaiah Chapter 2, written on the Isaiah Wall, right across the road from the UN Headquarters.

’This Isaiah vision points to a future when swords will be turned in to ploughshares and there will be war no more. This vision has inspired social reformers throughout history as well as the creation of the UN.

’As we listen to one and other and recognise the values of the Golden Rule we strengthen the core purposes and principles of the United Nations’, he concluded.

The breakfast had received an official greeting from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the values of Yom Kippur as universal. In his letter he thanked ECI for their efforts to help make Yom Kippur a UN holiday.

At the breakfast the Israeli Government was represented by Permanent Representative to the UN Ron Prosor who spoke about the many contributions of the Jewish State to the international community today, from water sanitation to agricultural technology. Malcolm Hoenlein from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations spoke about the religious significance of Yom Kippur for the Jewish community.

ECI Founding Director, Tomas Sandell, quoted Madeleine Albright in saying that ”The world is a mess!”
’In order to achieve peace, we need to foster a culture of forgiveness and reconciliation. By making Yom Kippur a UN holiday we can correct a historical injustice by giving the Jewish people a day of rest, similar to the other monotheistic religions. But the meaning for Yom Kippur is universal, a day to reflect on forgiveness and reconciliation, which are also the core values of the UN Charter,’ he said.

This was the second event organised in the UN Headquarters by the Forum for Cultural Diplomacy which is the ECI initiative for its UN-related work. The vision of FCD is to offer an arena where we can recognise the many contributions of the Jewish people to the international community and build on these principles.

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