Conference of European Rabbis Annual Report 2016 62 Conference of European Rabbis Annual Review 2017-2018 (5777-5778) 62 www.rabbiscer.org As Europeans we have a decision to make. How do we want Europe to look in the Future? This is not a political decision or even an economic choice. This is a decision about us and our society. What do we want for our families, our friends, our children and our children’s children? Many Jews in Europe feel themselves being attacked from all sides. There is not a synagogue where citizens going to pray, celebrate or mourn feel safe. At the back of almost every Jewish mind is the possibility of what could happen. Sadly in Copenhagen and in Paris that has become a reality. I am often asked: why as a religious leader do you feel the need to become involved in security? The answer is because when I speak to Jews all over the continent it is their primary concern. I would be derelict in my duty of responsibility to our communities if I sit in the pulpit and ignored their concerns. I also think there is a wider role for religious leaders. When we look around Europe today there are many aspects that are frightening for us as Jewish leaders. The rise of nationalism has brought with it a rise of far right extremism. One minute on social media throws up reams of antisemitism. But we are also all too aware of the wave of Islamic extremism that has hit our continent. As a religious leader, I must take this opportunity to stress how it is our responsibility to combat extremism in any form. We set the tone for our communities and we can help leaders around the world to combat this evil. The Jewish community provides a microcosm for the issues that Europe as a whole faces. On the one hand our synagogues, our schools, our museums, our elderly and youth are being attacked and killed by radicalized immigrants from the Middle East. On the other hand, the reaction of secular “old Europe” to the onslaught of Muslim radicalism also impacts the Jewish community. Instead of fighting the radicals, “old Europe” backlash with a broadside attack against Islam, forbidding the building of minarets, the wearing of traditional covering for women, and trying to outlaw Hallal meat and circumcision. But while Islam might be the primary target of the latest xenophobic European campaigns, European Jewry is the “collateral damage”. Since WWII, Europe has worked to protect religious freedoms. This has allowed people of all faiths to make Europe their home. But in recent years, our first reaction to the threat Appendix of extremism has seen wave after wave of attack on our religious freedoms. Religion has provided a cultural building block which has allowed our society to develop as it is today. We must not let our western democratic values be defeated. We cannot legislate for ‘lone wolf’ attacks but we can create an inclusive society where education about tolerance and respect permeates every corner. We will not solve anything by ‘clamping down’ on Muslim groups or other communities. More restrictions will mean that more people are disenfranchised and ultimately there will only be more of these types of attacks. There is no hope for humanity if we do not tolerate each other, and if we do not respect each other’s differences. Europe is not going to be saved by European countries adapting Middle Eastern practices of intolerance towards minorities, but by introducing new Europeans to the values of pluralism and mutual respect, expelling from our midst those voices which call to destroy our common home. I would like to pay tribute to governments who have shown their support for our community by funding or increasing funding for security outside our synagogues and community centres. Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt’s speech at the Munich Security Conference, Munich, 2017