Peace in the Middle East will speed up the eradication of Western European anti-Semitism, according to the European Affairs Specialist of the American Jewish Committee. Jerry Goodman, in an address before the Spring Conference of the alumni of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary held several days ago at Yeshiva University, linked the reduction of Middle East tensions to an over-all strengthening of the community life of European Jewry. Goodman said that the issue of Israel is of great concern to both the Vatican and World Council of Churches because of their interest and involvement “with Third World countries who reject the colonialism and expansionist policies they feel Israel is practicing.” Despite this concern, Goodman said, Jews are being accepted as part of Western European society, and “organized anti-Semitism has nowhere near the impact it had in the first part of the century.” He pointed to a recently completed study by Louvain University, Brussels, which showed a greater acceptance of Jews by Catholics. Speaking of communal life among Western European Jews. Goodman said, “Jewish communal life is being revived in all countries of Western Europe, in different ways and on different levels. But there is need to fortify this communal life by strengthening the European Council of Jewish Communities. There must be a more intensive and systematic relationship with organizations in America in the areas of culture, religion and community services, of equal importance is the fostering of closer relationships with Israel’s vast resources.
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