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Newsletter - CEJI FlashIssue 2 - March 2007 Download CEJI Flash Issue 2 (PDF 173kb)
CEJI Website Re-Launch!The CEJI website, which remains at www.ceji.org, has been redesigned to make it more user-friendly and relevant to our work. It brings together information from the previous site and www.acodden.org, features full details of all of our projects and is now easily updatable. We hope the site will be a useful resource for our partners, friends and anyone else interested in finding out about how CEJI works, what we do and how to get involved.New site features include:
Religious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Training - Open SessionsCEJI will be holding two 2-day religious diversity and anti-discrimination workshops on 23-24 April (French language) and 4-5 June (English language). Open to people of all faiths, beliefs and senses of religious and non-religious belonging, these workshops aim to address diversity and discrimination issues related to religion using highly interactive and participatory methods that have proven effective in dealing with general prejudice and discrimination.The workshops are open to all and cost 80€, which includes lunch on both days. To register contact training@ceji.org by 30 March. Click here for further details about the Religious Diversity training module. Advocacy UpdateIn the context of both CEJI’s new advocacy objectives and a number of worrying recent developments, we have been particularly active in the advocacy field since our previous update!CEJI Calls on European Parliament to Condemn Racist & Antisemitic MEP In mid-February Polish independent MEP Maciej Giertych published a booklet, ‘Civilisations at War in Europe’ bearing a prominent European Parliament logo, in which he revived age-old racial and religious stereotypes. CEJI immediately responded with a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, asking for measures condemning Mr Giertych and his ideas. Mr Giertych was subsequently formally reprimanded by the President for 'violating the fundamental values of the European Union.' CEJI Calls for Sales Stop on Protocols of Zion Just over a week afterwards, CEJI was shocked to discover that a novel including a reprint of the entire text of the antisemitic 19th century forgery ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ had appeared in Belgian bookshops. Following protests by CEJI and other Jewish groups the novel was withdrawn from sale by the shop’s owners and also by the European Parliament, where it had been available for purchase in the Parliament shop. CEJI press releases and media appearances related to both of these issues can be found on our Press page. Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia On a more positive note, the German EU Presidency has made it one of their key priorities to pass a Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia. This instrument would give impetus to the fight against racism in the Member States of the EU. CEJI is interested in the approval of the document by the Council of the European Union, but is hesitant about its content as it stands today, as it is unclear whether it would truly force Member States to strengthen their laws in the combat against racism. We are currently lobbying for a strengthened version of the Framework Decision. For more details about CEJI’s Advocacy work visit our Advocacy page or contact Policy Officer Gidon van Emden. ShiurimHeld on Wednesday 7 February, our first Shiur in 2007 dealt with the proposed Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia. Our second Shiur of the year, held on Wednesday 7 March, was led by Professor Joel Kotek of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and was entitled ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: A Historic Overview and Their Presence in Belgium Today’.The next Shiur will take place on Thursday 12 April. Johannes Houwink ten Cate, Director of the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and Professor at the University of Amsterdam, will discuss 20th-century genocides and give his vision on the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia. Click here for more details about CEJI’s Shiurim. To sign up for the e-mail list contact Policy Officer Gidon van Emden. Upcoming Events
Staff NewsWe are pleased to welcome intern Hannah Mills to our team! Hannah is a junior at the American University in Washington, DC, studying International Relations. She is in Brussels for the spring semester of 2007 to study the European Union. As an intern at CEJI, she is helping with the Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia modules.Partners' News & Events‘Jewish Education in a Multicultural World’Fourth Conference for European Jewish Educators, organised by the European Council of Jewish Communities and the American Jewish Joint Distribution CommitteeLocation: Frankfurt | Date: 18 – 21 March 2007 For further details visit www.arachim.org Subscribe / Unsubcribe & Newsletter ArchivesClick here to subscribe or unsubscribe to CEJI Flash and to access previous issues. |
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