According to renowned Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, the resolution even puts into question the legality of Jewish prayer at the Western Wall.

The resolution was presented only hours before the Christmas and Hanukkah festivities were to begin in Jerusalem, after a similar resolution by Egypt had been dropped the previous day.

Following months of speculations that outgoing president Barack Obama may want to punish Israel before he leaves office, the rumours were proven right on Friday when the US abstained from using its veto against the resolution; hence the resolution was passed by 14 votes to none.  The resolution had been introduced to the UN Security Council by New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal.

In a statement on 24th December, Christmas Eve, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell called the resolution an act of diplomatic war, giving more fuel to the international campaign of hatred and violence against Israel.

“Through his actions President Obama may have given the two-state solution a final blow by further alienating the two parties from each other. At a time when close to half a million civilians have died in the civil war in Syria under the watch of Ban Ki-moon and President Obama, the UN Security Council chooses to punish the only stable democracy in the region,” he said.

The resolution was passed on the very day when Jews all over the world were preparing to celebrate Hanukkah and billions of Christians were to read the Bible verse describing how a young Jewish mother by the name of Miriam (Mary) was giving birth to Jesus. The scripture explains clearly how Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town of David, whilst Christian nations in the UN Security Council were calling the city “occupied Palestinian territory.”

“This is a stab in the back on Israel, which exposes the true intentions of the outgoing American president, when he is no longer restrained from moderate forces in his party.”

“However, the universal message of our two holidays could not be clearer. Light will prevail over darkness. There has been many Obamas throughout history but Israel will live on,” Sandell concludes.

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ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell and ECI UN Director Gregory Lafitte were officially invited to the farewell concert of outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson last week in the UN Headquarters in New York. Earlier in the week former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres was sworn in as the new Secretary-General of the UN. In private conversations with Jan Eliasson, the outgoing Deputy Secretary-General thanked ECI and the Forum for Cultural Diplomacy for its important work at the UN as he highlighted the need for new forms of diplomacy in a world of continuous conflicts.

In a personal letter to Ban Ki-moon, ECI thanked the outgoing Secretary-General for his support in securing the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur as a floating UN holiday. The Jewish people had their first holiday recognized by the UN this year after more than 67 years of membership. In his last press conference on Friday, Ban Ki-moon openly admitted that Israel has been unfairly treated in the UN, echoing the sentiments of ECI and other pro-Israel organizations over the years.
However, his support for the work of the Forum for Cultural Diplomacy to make the UN a better place for Israel had been steadfast. Ban Ki-moon participated actively in the ECI hosted Taschlik ceremony at the UN Rose Garden in October 2015 and was represented by Under-Secretary Cristina Gallach at the first ever Pesach Seder in the UN Headquarters in April 2016. On October 14th, the office of the Secretary-General received ECI to mark the first year that Yom Kippur was officially recognized at the UN. In a private letter to ECI he had called the work of the Forum “very important”.

In a separate letter to the Permanent Representatives of the 111 UN member states that voted for the revocation of UN Resolution 3379 on December 16th, 1991, Sandell and Lafitte reminded them of the importance of affirming the Jewish right to self-determination at a time of rising antisemitism and new attempts to boycott the Jewish state.

“At a time when the inflammatory language of the infamous UN Resolution 3379 from 1975 is again resurging on university campuses in Europe and elsewhere in the world, it is important that the UN General Assembly stands by its commitments to the Jewish people and do not give in to new forms of antisemitism and recycled lies from the 1975 UN resolution”, the letter reads.

However, December 16th, 1991, marked a unique turning point in UN history when a clear majority of the UN member states stood on the right side of history by distancing themselves from the inflammatory language of hate and demonization of Israel in 1975.

The ECI letter points out that Zionism is not the root cause to antisemitism, as claimed by its critics, but rather the answer to it. By affirming the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, they can be responsible for their own destiny, like any other people group. If this had been the case already in 1939, as promised in the Mandate for Palestine, history may have taken another turn and there would be many more Jews alive today.

“As we mark the 120th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel next year, the Jewish state is therefore something which deserves to be celebrated by the whole international community”, the letter concludes.

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ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell gave a brief explanation of the growing support for Israel among Christians of different denominations in Europe.

“In 2004 the late Elie Wiesel asked why it was only the Jewish community leaders in Europe who bothered to stand up to the rise of antisemitism at the time. Where are all the others, he asked?”
“Today you can see the answer to his question,” Sandell said. “We are here in the European Parliament, turning out in record high numbers to express our support for Israel and to fight antisemitism together.”

Sandell pointed out that faith leaders from all religious communities have a responsibility to condemn the use of violence in the name of religion.
“There needs to be a coherent message from all religious leaders in Europe that there can be no place for antisemitism in our societies.”

He went on to praise the European Commission for its comprehensive work in fighting antisemitism and engaging with faith leaders to diffuse radicalisation. But he criticised the European Union for the lack of a coherent policy.
“You cannot fight antisemitism and terrorism in one part of the world and ignore it in other parts of the world,” he said. Terrorist attacks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv need to be condemned in the same way as terror attacks in Paris and Brussels. He also strongly criticised the unaccountable EU aid to the Palestinian Authorities, despite the on-going Palestinian incitement to violence and culture of hatred.

In his closing remarks he turned to the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Yehiel Hilik Bar and said, “On behalf of millions of European citizens who have been helped by your government and Israeli companies which have come to our aid when we have been struck by terror and have prevented further terror attacks and bloodshed, we want to say a heartfelt Toda – thank you.”

Conference host MEP Bas Belder (Netherlands) expressed his on-going commitment to stand on the side of Israel and the Jewish communities.
“With the memory of the Holocaust, Israel must prioritise the security of its citizens in the fight against all forms of terrorism,” he said.

Other speakers included MEP Branislav Škripek (Slovak), MEP Arne Gericke (Germany), MEP Marek Jurek (Poland), European Commission coordinator on antisemitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, Israeli Deputy Ambassador Shuli Davidovich and Rabbi Avi Tawil.

The ECI Annual Conference will be held in Brussels on Thursday 30th March, 2017.

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Brussels, November 24th, 2016

In a statement on Thursday, ahead of the historic meeting, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell explained that “extending an open invitation also to the Russian speaking part of Europe is a natural expression of the need for Christians to stand united for Israel at a time of growing distrust and divides in Europe”.

The main umbrella group for the Jewish communities in Europe, the European Jewish Congress, has been led by a Russian businessman Moshe Kantor already for many years.

By going to Latvia, ECI also wants to show that it has a strong interest in the Baltic States and other new EU member states from countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Baltic States have proven themselves to be some of the most solid friends of Israel in the entire European Union and as an organisation ECI wants to honour these countries for their solidarity and friendship. The same can be said for many other new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe, who deserve our support and attention.

“In this respect the ‘old EU’ can learn from the new EU member states what it means to stand up for democracy and reject terrorism”, Sandell added.

Sandell will be joined by ECI Legal Counsel Andrew Tucker at the conference which is hosted by the New Generation church movement.

Earlier in the week ECI reached out to members of the African Union ahead of a meeting in Equatorial Guinea with a plea to stand firm on its support for Israel despite growing pressure to come against Israel at the United Nations. The plea was made in cooperation with African friends and leaders who are part of Christians for Israel in Africa. The Netherlands based Christians for Israel is one of the founding members of the European Coalition for Israel.

The expanded scope of the ECI mandate is an expression of the growing globalisation but also of changing geopolitical realities. Earlier this month ECI hosted its first National ECI Conference in London, despite the fact that Britain has voted for leaving the European Union.

While ECI will continue to have its main focus on Europe, its mandate and influence has today been expanded to many other regions of the world. The ECI monthly report is currently translated into seven languages. After the upcoming visit to Latvia, ECI hopes to be able to make available a Latvian and a Russian translation.

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In his keynote address, renowned international legal scholar Dr Jacques P. Gauthier (picture) explained how those who want Britain to apologise for the Balfour Declaration are barking up the wrong tree.

“It was the adoption of the Balfour Declaration by the Principal Allied ‎Powers on April 25, 1920 during the San Remo Conference which resulted in the granting of rights under international law to the Jewish People. These rights were then incorporated into the terms of the Mandate for Palestine which was approved by the Council of the League of Nations on July 24, 1922,” he explained.

“This courageous and noble act of the British Government, which was fully supported by the United States, France and Italy, greatly invigorated‎ the Zionist movement to establish a Jewish National home in Palestine,” he said.

”The current campaign to delegitimise Israel is based on the false historical assumption that Jews are trespassers in Israel and do not belong in the region. The San Remo declaration, which incorporated the Balfour Declaration in international law, states the opposite as it affirms the historical, cultural and spiritual connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel which spans more than 3000 years,” he concluded.

In his closing remarks ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell noted that ”the fierce opposition to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 reveals the true nature behind the anti-Balfour campaign, namely to deny the Jewish people their right to self determination and statehood, which was granted by the Principal Allied‎ Powers in 1920 and confirmed both by the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in its Charter of 1945.”

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“Denying an entire people their undisputable historical link with the most holy site in their religion will only strengthen those radical forces that see no place whatsoever for Jews in Israel. As of today, they can base their claims on a UNESCO resolution which denies that there have ever been any Jews in Jerusalem, hence there can be no future for them there either. This is simply diplomatic ethnic cleansing by denying a people their own history and identity and it cannot be tolerated”, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell said in a statement after the vote on Wednesday.

ECI has been raising awareness of the upcoming vote since the month of July when the issue was first presented to the WHC at its annual meeting in Istanbul. The vote had to be postponed to October due to the failed Turkish military coup.

“This is a major disappointment for anyone who would like to put their trust in the UN system”, Sandell said. “How can anyone take a UN resolution seriously anymore, after this clear twisting of historical facts for political motives?” However, Sandell did not put all the blame on the Director-General Irina Bokova, but on those WHC member states who either voted for the resolution (10) or who accepted the results by abstaining (8).

“This is a clear wake up call for any true friend of Israel from around the world. Unless we hold those governments who accepted this resolution accountable, we will have accepted the claim of those who try to erase the Jewish people from our history”, Sandell warned. “To quote George Orwell: ‘Those who control the past control the future’.”

Furthermore, the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer remind us of our civic responsibility on such a tragic day: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

*) Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

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During the meeting Chief of Cabinet, Edmond Mulet (picture), affirmed that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was deeply disappointed by the UNESCO resolution which was adopted on Thursday. On Sunday Ban Ki-moon issued a public statement saying that “the Temple Mount is also a Jewish and a Christian holy site and any perceived undertaking to repudiate the undeniable common reference for these sites does not serve the interests of peace and will only feed violence and radicalism” and called on all sides “to uphold the status quo in relation to the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem”.

The resolution has caused a major uproar in the Jewish community around the world and the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova has also publicly distanced herself from the resolution, clarifying that this is not a resolution supported by her as Director-General but by some member states.

ECI first warned about the danger of hijacking the UN agency for education, science and culture when the Palestinian Authority was accepted as a full member in 2011, despite failing to fulfil the criteria for membership. The Palestinian Authority has since misused the organisation for its own political objectives by embarking on a political vendetta against the State of Israel. Already in April the Executive Board issued a resolution denying any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. A few months later, in July, the same issue came up in a UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Istanbul, but was postponed because of the attempted military coup in Turkey. A new vote is expected in Paris on October 26th.

“Politicized resolutions which deny historical facts, such as the 3000 years old connection between Jerusalem and the Jewish people, risk undermining the confidence in the international system,” warned ECI Founding Director, Tomas Sandell in New York on Friday. “If historical facts can be altered in order to achieve dubious political objectives, we may soon have a resolution denying any Christian connection to the St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. If we follow this logic, the next step is to also deny any link between Islam and Mecca.”

“However, instead of putting all the blame on an international institution which was set up to foster cultural dialogue and cooperation, we need to make those 24 UN member states that voted in favour of the resolution and those 26 UN member states that abstained accountable for their actions”, he added.

Only six UN member states rejected the resolution. *)

“UNESCO should not be a platform for historical revisionism but for dialogue and cooperation”, Sandell concluded.

“This inflammatory UNESCO resolution overshadows the positive steps that the United Nations has taken this year in recognizing the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which was celebrated last week”, ECI’s UN Director Gregory Lafitte commented.

“The good news is that the United Nations Secretariat is now beginning to officially recognise and respect the Jewish culture and its contributions to mankind. It is most unfortunate that a flawed resolution from the Executive Board of UNESCO, which only has the support of 24 members, gets all the media attention. While we should not deny the negative consequences of the UNESCO resolution we should not let it take away from the fact that Israel is being increasingly recognized for its positive contributions in the UN”, he said.

ECI has campaigned for UN recognition of the Jewish religious holiday of Yom Kippur since 2013 and was invited to the office of the Secretary-General on Friday, October 14th, only two days after the UN, for the first time in its history, had recognized Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

“Our invitation to the highest office of the United Nations is also a recognition of the work of the Forum for Cultural Diplomacy, which was set up by ECI in 2013 to promote better inclusion of Jewish culture at the UN,” Lafitte concluded.

The issue regarding UNESCO vote is discussed more thoroughly in the October European Report (view here).

*) Voting result of UNESCO’s Executive Board on October 13th, 2016:

In favour: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam.

Against: Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States.

Abstaining: Albania, Argentina, Cameroon, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and Nevis, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Ukraine.

Serbia and Turkmenistan were absent.

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“Europe is today ground zero when it comes to fighting growing antisemitism. But it does not stop here. The current assault on the Jewish people and the State of Israel is a global phenomenon,” ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell said in a press statement on Tuesday. He mentioned the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement in particular as a new form of antisemitism. The BDS movement has been condemned by a number of national parliaments, including Great Britain, and according to the High Court in France, its activities are in clear violation of international trade laws.

Sandell is not alone in expressing concern over the situation of the Jewish communities in Europe and the current demonisation of the State of Israel. According to the European Union, the Jewish population in Europe has declined from about 2 million in 1991 to 1.4 million in 2010. Last year, more than ten thousand Jews left Europe and immigrated to Israel.

Two weeks ago, the European Parliament organised a special conference in Brussels about the future of the Jewish communities in Europe, where several speakers warned about a new exodus from Europe following the growing violence against Jews on the continent.

In the conference, former British Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks accused the European leaders of failing to understand how antisemitism mutates over time and takes different forms in different ages. He said, “In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated because of their religion. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century they were hated because of their race. Today they are hated because of their nation state, the State of Israel. It takes different forms but it remains the same thing: the view that Jews have no right to exist as free and equal human beings.”

“This form of antisemitism is not limited to Europe,” Sandell warns, “but is also spreading in the United States and other parts of the world. It is often hidden under the cover of ‘human rights campaigning’. But whilst Israel is today the only country in the Middle East which fully respects fundamental rights and freedoms by law, it is paradoxically the only country to be singled out for boycotts by Western campaigners, including some Christian denominations.”

“Christians should know better. When campaigners shout ‘kauf nicht bei Juden’, (do not buy from Jews) trouble is around the corner,” Sandell warns.

But standing in support for Israel does not prevent ECI from also expressing legitimate concerns for the Palestinian people. In the past, the organisation has held Palestinian human rights events at local universities in Europe, where they have raised awareness of the problems which Palestinians are facing today, not only from the Israeli authorities, but also from their own political leaders.

“Whilst Europe may not be considered Israel´s best friend, we have a historic obligation to speak out and to do so in time, when we see Jews being targeted for boycotts and hunted down by terrorists in Europe. But in a global world we need to stand together with all those who value freedom, compassion and humanity, hence the need for an American sister organisation,” Tomas Sandell explained.

The new organisation is headquartered in Washington D.C., but has its main focus on the United Nations in New York. It will offer partnerships for fighting antisemitism in Europe and the US, as well as a platform for diplomatic activities at the European Union in Brussels and the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

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Brussels, September 29th, 2016

”Israel has lost one of its founding fathers, a pillar of the Jewish state and a visionary leader. Shimon Peres was an Israeli statesman, twice Prime Minister and the country’s ninth President. He was admired all over the world because of his sincere quest for peace, which in 1994 won him the Nobel Peace prize. He was a fighter who never gave up. The visionary is gone, but the modern democratic state of Israel that he once could only dream of, but later was part of creating, lives on.”

On Wednesday Vice President Antonio Tajani called for one minute of silence in the European Parliament in remembrance of the deceased Israeli President. The state funeral will take place in Jerusalem on Friday with more than a dozen world leaders in attendance.

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In a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday, ECI founding director Tomas Sandell asked how this can still be the case in a Europe which prides itself on fundamental rights and freedom.

“Do not these rights and freedoms also include the Jewish communities?” he asked.

The pessimistic mode was also reflected in a high-level conference in the European Parliament later in the afternoon on ”The future of the Jewish communities in Europe”, to which ECI was invited alongside Members of the European Parliament and Jewish community organisations.

In interventions from Jewish community leaders from across Europe, many openly asked if there is a future for them and their children.  Statistics show how the exodus from Europe is growing, with about 10,000 Jews leaving Europe for Israel last year, among them 8,000 from France.

“If Jews do not feel safe in Europe, they leave,” explained former Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks in his keynote speech.

“Would you stay in a country where you need armed police to guard you while you prayed? Where your children need armed guards to protect them at school? Where, if you wear a sign of your faith in public, you risk being abused or attacked?” he asked the audience.

He went on to explain how antisemitism mutates over time and takes different forms in different ages.

“Today the Jews are hated because of their nation state, the state of Israel, and the new justification for antisemitism is human rights. That is why Israel—the only fully-functioning democracy in the Middle East with a free press and independent judiciary—is regularly accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights: racism, apartheid, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide.”

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy agreed with Lord Sacks that anti-Zionism is a new form of antisemitism.

He called the BDS (boycotts, sanctions and divestments) movement of today ”recycled fascism”, which is using old methods from the 1930s to demonize Jews.

But Lévy was more optimistic in assessing the overall threat to the Jewish communities.

”The anti-Semites of today are skinheads and illiterates, not the intellectual class. The political institutions of our countries are clearly on the side of the Jewish people,” he argued.

His point was well illustrated in the opening and closing speeches by the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz and the Vice-President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani (picture), who both affirmed their support for the Jewish people.

”Europe is not Europe without its Jews. Europe is your home,” said President Schulz, who during his presidency has made the Holocaust Remembrance Day an official annual EU event.

”As long as I am the President of the European Parliament, the European Parliament will be your friend,” he assured the Jewish communities of Europe.

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