On the Old and the New Antisemitism in the 60th Year of Israel's Independence

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It is encouraging to see such a wonderful gathering. I believe that the fact that we are all here today--not only representatives of the Israeli government or of Israeli society, but people gathered from all over the world, in order to fight this battle against antisemitism, demonstrates the fact that we can make a difference.

Although Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people, I believe that antisemitism, just like racism and xenophobia, is not only a Jewish problem or an Israeli problem. It says everything about the society in which it raises its ugly head. Antisemitism, the way I see it, is a sickness which eats at the core of humanity. It is a plague which the planet cannot tolerate. I firmly believe that only a true understanding of this can bring about real change.

The challenge must be met by the international community, and Israel, as the homeland for the Jewish people, is of course part of this battle. In a way, we are on the frontline, but we need the world, the international community and leaders from different parts of the world to work together in order to change the current reality. While for us in Israel, combating antisemitism is part of our foreign policy, I would like to see it as an important part of domestic policy throughout the world.

Sometimes we feel--when I say "we", I refer to society as a whole and to world leaders--that some cases are small and perhaps insignificant. Nonetheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to these cases and situations, as insignificant as they may seem. For example, when an Israeli coach in Britain gets a hate letter referring to his Jewish origin, …