The Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism

The Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism[1] is an international gathering for assessing the state of antisemitism globally and formulating effective forms of societal and governmental response. The forum is a project of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[2]

Logo of the 6th Global Forum Conference

The first forum took place in 2004 and has since taken place every two to three years in Jerusalem. The Sixth Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism was held from 15-21 of March 2018.[3] This forum was held in cooperation with the Israel Ministry for Diaspora Affairs.[4]

The 2018 forum focused on the continuing challenge of web antisemitism and cyberhate,[5] 1500 participants, along with senior government ministers, from Israel, Europe and Latin America attended the forum.

Statements adopted by various Global Forums

At the 5th GFCA, in 2015, a document confronting Cyberhate and Online Antisemitism in Europe were signed.[6] During the 6th GFCA, in 2018, Israeli Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, co-signed a joint statement on Countering online Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence and Terrorism, along with the Justice Ministers of Italy, Malta, and the Hellenic Republic.[7] This joint statement recognised freedom of expression as a fundamental right of a democratic society which has been enhanced by the technology of the internet; it noted however that internet companies needed to do more to combat and differentiate between freedom of expression and hate speech.

Attendees at the GFCA 2018

Attendees

Key attendees of the GFCA in 2013 include:

Country Attendees Title Additional
 Canada Dr. Mario Silva Chairman of the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) for the year 2013
 Greece Konstantinos Karagounis Deputy Minister of Justice, Transparency & Human Rights
 Hungary Dr. Bence Retvari Secretary of State, Ministry of Public Administration and Justice
 Israel Zeev Elkin

Naftali Bennett

 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs
 Lithuania Neris Germanas Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania

Key attendees of the GFCA in 2015 included:

Country Attendees Title Additional
 Canada Tim Uppal Minister of State for Multiculturalism
 France Anne Hidalgo Mayor of Paris
 Germany Heiko Maas Minister of Justice
 Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

Naftali Bennett

 Prime Minister of Israel

Minister for Diapora Affairs
 UN Nickolay Mladenov Special UN Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process  Delivered a message from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon[8]

Key attendees of the GFCA in 2018 included:

Country Atendees Title Additional
 Bulgaria Rumen Radev President of Bulgaria
 France Manuel Valls former Prime Minister of France [9]
 Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

Naftali Bennett

Tzipi Hotoveley

Natan Sharansky

 Prime Minister of Israel

Minister of Education

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Former Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel

Keynote Speaker

 Greece Stavros Kontonis Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights
 Italy Imam Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini

Andrea Orlando

 Vice President of the Islamic Community of Italy

Minister of Justice
 Malta Owen Bonnici Minister of Justice, Culture and Local Government
 UK Ephraim Mirvis Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth [10]
 UN Irina Bokova former Director-General of UNESCO
 USA Malcom I. Hoenlein

David Friedman

Mike Singer

Ronald S. Lauder

Mayim Bialik

 Executive Vice Chairman of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

US Ambassador to the state of Israel

The former mayor of Charlottesville

President of WJC

Actress and Neuroscientist

Keynote Speaker[11]

Imama Yahya Sergio Pallavicini
Keynote Address by Mayim Bialik

References
  1. "The Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism (GFCA)". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  2. Rosen, Armin (21 March 2018). "The State of Israel Confronts Anti-Semitism. But What Is It?". Tablet Magazine.
  3. Van Zuiden, Moshe (24 March 2018). "The 6th Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism 2018, Jerusalem". Times of Israel.
  4. "Ministry of Diaspora Affairs: AntiSemitism". www.mda.gov.il. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  5. "GFCA Events and Schedules" (PDF).
  6. "Official Statement 2015". Israel Foreign Ministry.
  7. "Official Joint Justice Minister Statement". Israel Foreign Ministry.
  8. "Secretary-General's message to the 5th Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism [delivered by Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process]". UN.org.
  9. Zieve, Tamara (21 March 2018). "France seeks to close loopholes allowing online antisemitism". The Jerusalem Post.
  10. Sugarman, Daniel (21 March 2018). "Chief Rabbi condemns Muslim faith leaders for 'keeping shtum' on antisemitism". The Jewish Chronicle News.
  11. Cashman, Greer Fay (18 March 2018). "Big Bang: Rivlin meets actress Mayim Bialik ahead of antisemitism forum". The Jerusalem Post.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.