NEWS European Parliament President Tajani Awarded Lord Jakobovits Prize for European Jewry

By Rossella Tercatin

The Conference of European Rabbis awarded the Lord Jakobovits Prize for European Jewry to two European Union leaders, the First Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani.

“Today we witness anti-Semitism taking many forms, silent and verbal. The European Parliament will always be vigilant in stopping them”, promised Tajani, who added that they explicitly asked Facebook’s head Mark Zuckerberg to work to contrast racism and anti-Semitism. “Without the Jews, Europe would not be Europe”.

Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis, presented the award to Timmermans, while Rabbi Albert Guigui, Chief Rabbi of Brussels, presented the award to Tajani. In an emotional address, Timmermans said: “The souls of so many cities were torn apart during the Shoah but the overall feeling of the Jewish community is the ultimate triumph over Hitler and his henchman. This is our common quest. This is the Europe we want to be a part of,” commented Timmermans who also said that he refuses to call anti-Semitic every criticism towards the State of Israel, but he also denounces those who use Israel to disguise their anti-Semitism.