Global Leaders Fight Antisemitism at Jerusalem Conference
Leaders from around the world recently gathered in Jerusalem to discuss the rise of antisemitism during the second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism.
“This conference seeks to banish political correctness, to call a child by its true name and to mobilize all essential forces in the ideological and physical fight against the modern heirs of the Nazis, who are now committing horrific massacres against Kurdish minority in Rojava, Syria; against innocent civilians in Iran; and against Jews and Christians across the globe,” Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said, according to CBN News.
The issue is bigger than just the Jewish people, he added.
“It is the fight of the free world against the imperialism and tyranny, the tyranny of fanatic Islamism against mass slaughter and rape, against horrifying barbarism and its attempt to buy off influence and decision makers worldwide,” Chikli said. “We will not be silenced in the face of these atrocities, and we will not allow Islam or Nazism to achieve its goal. Never again must it be more than words, and let it be all action and let it be now.”
Two speakers addressed the attack on a Jewish celebration of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, in December.
“I stand here as a man who has buried loved ones,” Chabad Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Bondi said. “For us, antisemitism is not a theory. It is not a policy debate. It is not a headline. It is an empty seat at the Shabbat table. It is a voice that will never be heard again.”
Political leaders agree on antisemitism
Scott Morrison, a former Australian prime minister, agreed.
“The place to which Jewish people once fled has become a place many Jewish Australians now fear,” he said. “This is a desecration. We are a brokenhearted nation. But for our Jewish community, we are a nation that has broken its promise to them, a promise of safety and freedom from persecution and fear.”
Dinesh D’Souza, an American author and filmmaker, brought a spiritual perspective to antisemitism.
“One of the things I’d like to focus on is an understanding of antisemitism that roots it in the cosmic battle between God and the devil, between good and evil,” he said. “I think that the secular understanding of antisemitism, which is rooted in things like envy toward the Jews, as a very successful group that gives a partial explanation for antisemitism, but I think very inadequate. You need to add the spiritual dimension to get a fuller understanding of the depth of evil that we’re dealing with.”
–Alan Goforth and CBN News Service
