New York, NY, January 22, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed today’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) informal plenary session on the rise in anti-Semitic violence worldwide, noting the importance of the body’s “long overdue” recognition of the urgent need to address the increasingly tragic consequences of the rise of anti-Jewish animus around the world.
ADL underscored the importance of the session – particularly in the wake of the Paris Kosher supermarket terror incident and other recent attacks against Jews – as well as the sobering figures on global anti-Semitism. ADL’s recent polling in 100 countries found that 26 percent of adults surveyed across the globe, amounting to more than a billion people, harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
This U.N. special session on anti-Semitism was long overdue. In many respects, it is sad that it took the loss of Jewish lives and ongoing daily threats to Jews to bring about this meeting. Yet, it is entirely appropriate that the international body, founded in the shadow of the Holocaust, has recognized the urgency of this issue.
Our recent polling shows that more than a quarter of the world’s adult population is infected with anti-Semitism, so it is significant and telling that the U.N., which represents all countries, has finally turned a specific focus on anti-Semitism and recognized, in the words of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, that ‘The fight against anti-Semitism is inseparable from our wider quest for peaceful coexistence and human rights for all.’
As Ambassador Power eloquently stated in her remarks, ‘When the human rights of Jews are repressed, the rights of other religious and ethnic groups are often not far behind…Attacks on Jews are attacks on us all.’ We commend the leadership of the United States in helping to bring about this meeting, and welcome the backing of this important event by the 37 cosponsoring countries.
We hope the passionate and heartfelt speeches delivered during the session will resonate with the entire world. The true success of the meeting will be measured by the implementation of urgently needed serious and concrete actions to combat the tide of rising anti-Semitism.
The UNGA session was cosponsored by the 28 European Union counties, the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Norway, Andorra, Rwanda, Panama and Uruguay. The morning session featured statements by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy, Canadian Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney, French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir, German Minister for Europe Michael Roth, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, E.U. Head of Delegation and representatives from other member states. The afternoon session featured a panel discussion with leading international experts on anti-Semitism.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.