Conference of European Rabbis Annual Review 2017-2018 (5777-5778) 19 www.rabbiscer.org in Europe since the second World War. The meeting here in Monaco is a chance for us to reflect and take steps to ensure that our communities are able to flourish.” Chanukah Candle Lighting Ceremony, Albania (December 2018) On December 12, the first night of Chanukah, a delegation of the CER met with the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama. The menorah candle was lit in the government residence of the Albanian Prime Minister. The CER included the organisation’s trustees, as well as the president of the Jewish community of Albania, Geront Kureta, and the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Albania, Boaz Rodkin. Despite the fact that the Jewish community in Albania has about 100 people, and there are no synagogues, Jewish life does not stand still here. Community leader Geronte Kuret is actively developing the community and making big plans. At the dinner, Mr. Edi Rama briefly discussed the holocuast era, highlighting the attitude towards Jews during World War II. “Albania did not betray its Jews to the Nazis. Moreover, the Albanian people always tried to help and hide the Jews so that German soldiers could not find them” said the Albanian Prime Minister . It is worth noting that during the Second World War, Albania really became one of the first countries in terms of the number of Righteous Among the Nations. Albania accepted Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria, Croatia and Serbia, and Albania became one of the few European countries in which the Jewish community after World War II became more numerous than before. Edi Rama told the CER delegation about his initiative to create a Jewish center and a museum of Albanian Jews. Rabbi Pinchas commented on the meeting that ‘the memory of the past is a reliable foundation for building the future.’ Meeting with Mr. Jagland, Ambassador of Iceland and Mr. Cristian Andri Stephenson (March 2018) In an unprecedented move, Iceland’s parliamentarians are reportedly considering a bill that amounts to nothing less than a direct assault on the Jewish Faith. The ban of circumcision. The Chief Rabbi of the Bas Rhin and Rabbi Moshe Levin were invited to meet with the Ambassador of Iceland Mr. Cristian Andri Stephenson and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gal Jagland at the Embassy of Iceland in Paris to discuss actions to be taken to prevent the circumcision ban in Iceland. The commitment of the SG is known for the defense of religious freedoms and in consultation with his cabinet they will carry out a number of initiatives to raise awareness of the consequences of this ban. Muslim-Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) The MJLC was founded to serve the need to free religious people and religions from prejudice, false claims, attacks, and violence. The Council is chaired by Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, Chief Rabbi of Moscow, and Mufti Nedzad Grabus, of Slovenia, and facilitated by the Vienna-based International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), which supports interreligious platforms for dialogue in Africa, Asia, the Arab Region, and Europe. Representatives of Jewish and Muslim communities participated in a council meeting on October 8th-9th of 2018 in Amsterdam. The representatives discussed the challenges facing their communities accross Europe, and described efforts that they had undertaken to promote Jewish-Muslim dialogue in their countries. The participants agreed that Jewish and Muslim communities face common challenges, including the rising instrumentalisation of religion for political ends, restrictions on the right to practice their religions freely, and the rising influence of right- wing xenophobic movements. M E E T I N G W I T H P R I N C E A L B E R T O F M O N A C O ( N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 7 ) M E E T I N G W I T H M R . J A G L A N D , A M B A S S A D O R O F I C E L A N D A N D M R . C R I S T I A N A N D R I S T E P H E N S O N ( M A R C H 2 0 1 8 ) C H A N U K A H C A N D L E L I G H T I N G C E R E M O N Y, A L B A N I A ( D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 )