State of the Union: Xi in Europe and alarming new data on antisemitism
This edition of State of the Union focuses on China's president's first trip to Europe in five years as well as the disturbing global rise of antisemitism and how it affects grassroots organisations.
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00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union. I'm Stefan Grobe in Brussels. Guess who came for
00:10dinner this week? Well, the first time in five years, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled
00:16to Europe. A visit short on substance, but rich in symbolism. It started in France and
00:23then continued to Hungary and Serbia, two countries that are close with Russia. A subtle
00:29reminder of where the Chinese actually stand. In Paris, Xi's talks with Emmanuel Macron
00:36and Ursula von der Leyen were dominated by a looming trade conflict on electric vehicles
00:42and Ukraine. The latter is a particular concern for Europe, as Beijing has sharply increased
00:48its sales of dual-use parts used in missiles and drones to Russia recently. European efforts
00:55to convince China not to support Moscow sounded rather academic.
01:02We count on China to use all its influence on Russia to end Russia's war of aggression
01:08against Ukraine. President Xi has played an important role in de-escalating Russia's
01:16irresponsible nuclear threats, and I'm confident that President Xi will continue to do so.
01:23Obviously, Xi's visit to Europe came at a time of geopolitical uncertainty against
01:29the backdrop of rising political violence in Europe. Remember that German member of
01:34the European Parliament who got beaten up by four strangers a week ago? And then there
01:40is the increasing usual violence, I'm afraid I have to say, against Jews and Muslims in
01:47our societies. This week, the Turkish president pointed this out. What qualified that violence
01:53against Muslims was receiving less attention.
01:57The sensitivity shown against anti-Semitism is unfortunately captured by Islamic hostility
02:04and racist attacks.
02:11The hatred of Jews and Muslims has reached levels that should worry everyone. Amplified
02:17by social media, it is no longer a fringe phenomenon. In a new study by the University
02:22of Tel Aviv, for example, a global trend of anti-Semitic incidents has skyrocketed at
02:28a rate unseen since World War II. And it started way before the Hamas attack against Israel
02:35and the war in Gaza. This makes it very hard for grassroots organizations that work for
02:41tolerance and understanding in Europe. Joining me now is Ilan Kohn, director of HIAS Europe,
02:49the European branch of one of the oldest refugee organizations in the world. Welcome to the
02:54program.
02:55Thank you very much for having me, Stefan.
02:57So let me first ask you about the spike of anti-Semitism in the world. How does that
03:02affect your work?
03:04Well, as our roots are very much within the Jewish community, we started off helping Jews
03:11before we became a generic humanitarian organization, helping all refugees, no matter who they are.
03:17And now also we have to be mindful of our operations in Europe or in the US when it
03:24comes to receiving people in our offices, like almost every other Jewish community organization
03:31in Europe.
03:33So HIAS has been promoting an interfaith dialogue through the EU-funded Neighbors Project in
03:38several European cities, an attempt to bring Jews and Muslims together. Is this easier
03:45on a community level than in a national or international debate?
03:49Sure. At the community level, I think it is somewhat more easy, for one reason, because
03:56it's less high profile. And what we've seen indeed is that by initiating those coalitions
04:04in eight cities around Europe within the context of this Neighbors Project, we really created
04:13an infrastructure of trust, of relationships, of friendships between Jewish communities
04:22and their migrant neighbors. And thereby, when there's a crisis, at least there's an
04:29infrastructure to deal with those tensions.
04:32What feedback are you getting?
04:34Following the October 7th attack, I think there was a lot of concern within the consortium
04:45of the project that we wouldn't be able to continue the investments in coalition building,
04:51the investments in visiting each other's synagogues and opening up. We were afraid that that would
04:59all come to an end. Au contraire, what we saw is that exactly the friendships and the
05:07relationship that were created through the project during the first two years of the
05:10project really helped to sustain the process.
05:15HIAS was originally founded in 1881 as Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society that provided humanitarian
05:22assistance to Jewish refugees through the United States. Today in Europe, your focus
05:27is to help Ukrainian refugees in Eastern Europe. Tell us about your current experience.
05:33What are you seeing?
05:34So we have around Europe, we have 17 Jewish communities that support over 1,100 Ukrainian
05:43refugees. And to sustain that interest, to sustain that mobilization after two years
05:50becomes a real challenge.
05:52All right, Ilan Kohn there, Director of HIAS Europe. Thank you so much for your insights
05:57today.
05:58Thank you, Stephen, for having me.
06:02To close, I'd like to go back to Xi Jinping's trip to Hungary. In Budapest, he missed an
06:09opportunity to pay a visit to a unique Budapest bar, the For Sale Pub. Maybe it's because
06:16the watering hole has always been a symbol for freedom. It's named after an old For
06:22Sale sign that the owner found when he bought it. What makes the pub unique is its thousands
06:28of handwritten notes covering the walls and the ceiling. Often written in the visitor's
06:33native language, the notes offer greetings, thoughts, and political messages to communicate
06:39with future guests. The pub is always full. Not bad for a place that doesn't advertise
06:45and has no social media accounts.
06:50And that's the power of free expression.
06:54That's it for this edition. I'm Stefan Grobe. Thank you for watching. Have an excellent
06:58week.