POLITICO INTERVIEW — KATHARINA VON SCHNURBEIN 

THE EU OFFICIAL TACKLING AN ANTI-SEMITISM EXPLOSION: Katharina von Schnurbein is preparing a new EU strategy in the never-ending battle against anti-Jewish hatred in Europe — but her job has only got harder during the pandemic. A recent study commissioned by the EU’s directorate-general for justice found that when it comes to anti-Jewish hate on Telegram, Twitter and Facebook, there was a 13-fold increase in German language posts, and a seven-fold increase in French ones during the pandemic.

Viral load: The EU’s coordinator on combating anti-Semitism is aghast at how anti-Jewish racism has mushroomed in online spaces during the pandemic. “It really exploded and I think that we saw that many of the old conspiracy myths, the old ideas, were repackaged,” she told Playbook. “How quickly this increased was really shocking.”

Real-world consequences: “Harmful content is not necessarily illegal but can still be very harmful because it can lead to radicalization,” von Schnurbein said, pointing to the 2019 attack in Halle in which an assailant killed two people. This month, 10 people in Cologne beat up a young Jewish man wearing a yarmulke in an apparent anti-Semitic assault.

Israel and Europe: There was also a giant uptick in anti-Semitism during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza in May this year. That’s unjustifiable, von Schnurbein said: “We don’t accept … in any other constellation, that a conflict elsewhere in the world can be used to justify pressure against our citizens, or even attacks and criminal acts against our citizens here.”

Fighting back: The EU will publish a “strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life” in the first half of October, von Schnurbein said. The aim is to “mainstream” the fight against anti-Semitism across all relevant EU policies. In post for almost six years, von Schnurbein is part of a four-person team that’s nominally attached to DG Justice, and reports directly to Margaritis Schinas, the European commissioner for promoting our European way of life.

Countries need to step up: The strategy will include an “important push” for countries to transpose and apply EU legislation that criminalizes hate speech. All EU countries agreed to have national strategies on fighting anti-Semitism in 2018, but only three have so far adopted one.

Building awareness: The strategy will also include a pillar focusing on educating the general public about the Holocaust and Jews in general. “We know that awareness about Jewish life is very low,” said the German official, who is not Jewish herself. Knowledge about the Holocaust in Europe is declining, von Schnurbein said, and there are fewer and fewer survivors still alive. A Eurobarometer survey in 2019 found 68 percent of Europeans are “not informed” about Jewish history, customs and practices.

Synagogue museums: When so many parts of Europe are devoid of Jewish life, the lack of knowledge is perhaps not so surprising. “I think it’s really important because it’s our history. In some villages, in some cities more than half of the people were Jewish at some stage, so it has had an impact and it’s enriching to learn about it,” von Schnurbein said.

Canary in a coal mine: “There’s sometimes little understanding for the enormity of where we are: You are almost 80 years after the Holocaust and we see symptoms in society [where] Jews feel threatened again here. This is of course something incredible,” von Schnurbein said. “When anti-Semitism is on the rise you know that something bigger is going on. We address the symptoms but there are also other issues that need addressing. When you fight anti-Semitism you defend democracy, you defend equality, you want a diverse society.”

SPEAKING OF THE COMMISSION’S ANTI-RACISM ACTION PLAN: Tommaso Chiamparino left the European Commission at the end of July, after his contract as the EU’s coordinator on fighting anti-Muslim hatred expired. Commission spokesman Christian Wigand said a decision about a replacement has not yet been made. “The Commission will remain committed and fully engaged on the work on combating anti-Muslim hatred, also in the framework of the 2020-2025 anti-racism action plan,” Wigand said.