The European Jewish Congress held its annual meeting of Directors of affiliated Jewish communities on the 15-16 of November 2022 in Brussels.
Over 30 representatives from Jewish communities throughout Europe travelled to Belgium to discuss recent developments, exchange best practices, and address opportunities and challenges ahead.
EJC President Dr. Ariel Muzicant opened the meeting, praising the unity and solidarity of European Jewish communities, in overcoming the challenges of the past years. Dr. Muzicant laid the challenges ahead and emphasized the importance of continuing to work together to defend our traditions and values and to foster a positive and proud Jewish identity.
The first session of the meeting was devoted to a roundtable presentation with updates from representatives of Jewish communities from over 30 countries.
Inna Ioffe, Executive Director of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine gave a moving presentation to the participants about the impact of the war on the Jewish community.
Avital Grinberg, President of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), who also took part in the meeting, presented the advocacy work and latest initiatives carried out by European Jewish youth.
Afterwards, EJC affiliated communities’ representatives had the opportunity to visit the European Parliament and participate in the conference “Jewish life in Europe: celebrating diversity and fostering solidarity in times of crisis” organised by the European Jewish Congress (EJC) and Bnai Brith International (BBI), hosted by the European Parliament Working Group Against Antisemitism (WGAS).
During the second day, participants had the possibility to exchange views with H.E. Amb. Haim Regev, Head of the Mission of Israel to the European Union and NATO; Laurent Muschel, Director of Internal Security and Counterterrorism at the European Commission and EU Funding Expert Johanan Seynave.
The EJC Directors’ meeting took place ahead of the Civil Society Forum on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life organised by the European Commission.
