PrintNovember 15, 2009
Fomenting Anti-Semitism in Europe
I served in the U.S. Department of State as the first Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism from 2006-2009. As the Obama administration considers its options to fill my position, I offer the following analysis on the severity of anti-Semitism in Europe. During my travels around the world, I visited twenty-eight countries, including many with significant Muslim populations, some of whom espoused a mindset and collection of frightening historical and political biases. I found in many countries with large Muslim populations the relationship a very tense relationship with Jewish communities. On one hand, Muslim community leaders told me that they respect the role Jews made for themselves, admiring the access Jewish leaders have and the influence and relative wealth the community has come to accumulate. On the other hand, there was jealousy. "I want to catch up with Jewish groups organizationally," one Muslim leader told me in...(Read Full Article)
