These past week has been a difficult one for the Jewish community of France and around the world, where we came to mourn the murder of 4 French Jews in the horrific terror attack on a Paris kosher supermarket.

 As The Israeli-Jewish Congress, one of our primary goals is to act as a bridge, to strengthen relations between the State of Israel and the Diaspora, especially the Jewish communities of Europe. This has never been more urgent than today, with increasing terror attacks and rising anti-Semitism across Europe.

Thursday, January 22nd, at 09:00 am (NY time) IJC will participate in the historic Special Session of the UN General Assembly that will address Global Anti-Semitism. The session, to be held under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, has been called for by 37 countries, including Israel, United States, Canada, Australia and all members of the EU. IJC will press for immediate action in Europe, not merely words, to address the ever-growing scourge of anti-Semitism in Europe. At the top of our agenda, we will request that Europe appoint a Special Commissioner to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism (as per the initiative of the Belgian Jewish Community) and for a European-wide definition of anti-Semitism, as well as a range of other initiatives, including legislation against hate speech and Holocaust denial (attached updated IJC Blueprint to be presented during the session).

Please see link to all the info about this special session: http://www.un.org/pga/220115_informal-meeting-anti-semitism

The entire program will be webcast live: http://webtv.un.org/live-now/watch/general-assembly-informal-meeting-of-the-general-assembly-to-address-concerns-of-a-rise-in-anti-semitic-violence-worldwide/1705520925001.

The above link also includes timetable of events and some of the official speaker info. Countries participating will include Israel, U.S., Canada, Australia and all EU Member States, plus some others. In total 37 states are expected to participate.