World powers are taking the first step in combating the global plague of anti-Semitism.
For the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will hold a meeting on global anti-Semitism. This unique session is to take place on January 22 and will be broadcast live from UN headquarters.
The Israeli-led initiative was joined by 37 countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and all members of the European Union.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters on Tuesday that either Ban or the deputy secretary-general will attend, “depending on availability.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor stated: “It says a lot that so many countries have partnered with Israel to raise this issue of anti-Semitism to the top of the UN’s agenda. We have a great deal of work to do to move this issue from the headlines to the history books.”
The Jerusalem Post reports that famous French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy will deliver a keynote address in the wake of the Muslim terror attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris.
Europe has experienced a surge in anti-Semitism in recent years, and especially in France, where anti-Semitic attacks are up by 312 percent.
A World Zionist Organization study in August found that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the world jumped by 383 percent in July as compared to the same month the previous year, with Europe showing a 436-percent increase. Part of the spike in the attacks was related to Operation Protective Edge.
Ambassador Prosor discusses anti-Semitism at the UN in September:
