A leader of French Jewry has spurred a multireligious call on candidates to the European Parliament to spotlight human rights in their campaign platforms, including support for measures to counteract racism and anti-Semitism.
Jean Kahn, head of CRIF, the umbrella body of French Jews, initiated the written appeal, issued two weeks prior to elections to the parliament, the legislative body of the European Union.
The petition was signed by the head of the Paris Mosque, Dalil Boubaker; the president of the Bishops Conference, Joseph Duval; and the president of the French Protestant Federation, the Rev. Jacques Stewart.
The document said the signatories were “deeply troubled by the extension of racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and intolerance throughout Europe” and expressed the belief that these attitudes are “crimes to be punished by law and (are) not mere opinions to be freely expressed.”
On June 12, voters in the 12 European countries belonging to the European Union will elect a new European Parliament, which will hold sway for four years.
Among the 350 million people represented by the E.U., an estimated 1.5 million are Jews Although in many political issues Jewish attitudes and voting patterns are not expected to differ much from those of non-Jews, there are some subjects which attract particular Jewish interest such as anti-Semitism and relations with Israel.
According to a report published by the European Jewish Information Center in Brussels, only two of the parties participating in the election have established platforms regarding Israel and the Middle East peace process.
The information center, which is chaired by Sir Trevor Chinn of Great Britain, was established in 1990. The center’s report noted that many of the candidates to the parliament support greater E.U. Israel cooperation.
The report includes a survey of European Parliament policy over the last five years on Israel and the Middle East. During this period, an important pro-Israel group was founded in the European Parliament, chaired by a former Belgian government minister, Willy de Clercq of the Liberal Reform Party.
(Contributing to this report was JTA correspondent Joseph Kopel in Brussels.)
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