The second Franco-German antisemitism consultations were held today in Berlin. Michaela Küchler, Special Representative for Relations with Jewish Organizations and Issues Relating to Antisemitism at the Federal Foreign Office, Dr. Felix Klein, Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism, and Dr. Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, held talks with their French partners on fighting antisemitism in France and Germany. Both countries want to work to ensure that Jewish people in Germany, France and the entire EU can live safely and without fear. Jewish life is an essential and enriching part of European societies that Germany and France have pledged to protect and foster.

Federal Government Commissioner Klein said: “The fight against antisemitism, regardless of what form it takes, is one of the Federal Government’s top priorities. All democratic forces in Germany agree on this. The Federal Government feels a particular duty to the Jewish community and opposes all trends to forget or remain silent about the Nazi genocide of the Jews.”

 

Gemeinsamer Kampf gegen Antisemitismus: Carina Häuslmeier, Dr. Klein, Dr. Schuster, François Croquette, Fr. Küchler, Frédéric Potier (v.l.n.r.) (Larger version opens in new window) Gemeinsamer Kampf gegen Antisemitismus: Carina Häuslmeier, Dr. Klein, Dr. Schuster, François Croquette, Fr. Küchler, Frédéric Potier (v.l.n.r.)

Germany and France want to continue sharing their experience and approaches for each other to make use of wherever possible. They have agreed to liaise closely with each other in view of the fact that Germany holds the EU Presidency from July 2020 and chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2020. Among other things, Franco-German efforts will focus on implementing the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 6 December 2018.

Special Representative Küchler said: “It is extremely important for Germany and France to work closely together in the fight against antisemitism and also make this cooperation part of their work in the European Union and international bodies. We spoke today about how this can be achieved.”

Background
This was the second time that talks have been held at senior official level since the Franco-German antisemitism consultations were launched in 2018. At this year’s consultations, Frédéric Potier, head of DILCRAH, the French anti-discrimination body, gave a presentation on the new French bill to combat the dissemination of antisemitism in social media. Participants also discussed the work of the OSCE and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to fight antisemitism at international level. Dr. Schuster provided detailed information on the project “Schalom Aleikum” organized by the Central Council of Jews in Germany to encourage Jewish–Muslim dialogue.

 A group of experts also met to discuss the topic of combating antisemitism among immigrants. Professor Eckhardt Fuchs and Dr. Dirk Sadowski of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Dr. Martin Kloke of Cornelsen Verlag and Derviş Hızarcı, Anti-Discrimination Commissioner at the Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family Affairs, spoke with experts from France about experience in the two countries with education programmes aimed at children and teenagers from an immigrant background.