EJC takes part in the 2nd European Jewish Communities Summit

The European Jewish Congress in association with the European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee co-organised and took an active part in the 2nd European Jewish Communities Summit “Building Resilient Communities”.

The event brought together representatives of Jewish communities, professionals on security, crises management and emergency preparedness, and experts on geopolitical and social issues to discuss different aspects pertaining to community resilience.

In her opening remarks Raya Kalenova, EJC Executive Vice President, said: “European Jews today face new and distinct challenges. Antisemitism in all its new and mutating forms, and the physical threat to our communities and our institutions, are all too real and growing. Insecurity and lack of confidence are what threatens our future most. At the EJC we recognise this as our greatest priority. It is why we set up and developed Security and Crises Centre (SACC) by EJC to provide the tools for all our communities to strengthen their community means and deal with crises. The EJC stands committed to developing this vital resource in every single Jewish community in Europe backed up by a strong communications network between all our communities.”

The conference was addressed by a number of high-profile profile speakers including Minister of Presidency of the Government of Catalonia Neus Munté, European Commission’s Coordinator On Combatting Antisemitism Katharina von Schnurbein, EJC Vice President in charge of Security and Crisis Management and SACC by EJC Chair Dr. Ariel Muzicant, President of the ECJC Benjamin Albalas, Director of JDC Europe Diego Ornique and Vice-President of Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) Yonathan Arfi.

The Summit’s discussions this year were focused on the following topics: developing relationships with local/national and EU authorities; dealing with the media before, during and after a disaster; security in our communities: participative models and best practices.

During the conference, specialists in community resilience and crisis-preparedness offered different sessions and workshops touching on diverse aspects such as crisis management and preparedness, risk communications and physical safety in community buildings, providing concrete tools to leaders and professionals.