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Ipak smo našli zabilješku o prošloj Konferenciji EUASA koja je održana u Zagrebu i koju prenosimo u cijelosti, a u prilogu možete se priključiti i pročitati WEB stranicu ICJW.

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN CROATIA

The first conference of the European Association of Holocaust Child Survivors  (EUAS) took place in Zagreb in October 2008.

The European Association of Holocaust Child Survivors is an umbrella organization for associations and groups of Holocaust survivors who today live in European countries.

EUAS was founded in Prague in 2001, and its annual meetings have been held in Prague, Zagreb, Bratislava, Amsterdam and Jerusalem.

The Association represents the interests of Holocaust survivors, working for justice and supporting their struggle for restitution.

They also work to keep alive the memory of Holocaust victims, including involvement in Holocaust education, and promoting tolerance and fighting anti-Semitism.

The Zagreb event was hosted by the Association of Holocaust survivors in Croatia and their president Dr. Melita švob, who is the EUAS secretary and vice-president of World Federation.

Several other active members of ICJW were involved in the event, including Ana Lebl- president of the Jewish community in Split; and Gillian Gold, president of European ICJW, and guest speaker Dr. Karmela Belinki of Helsinki.

Dr. Belinki spoke about Jews in the New Europe, which denotes both the ex-Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe and also a pan-European ideology. 

The pan-European ideology is problematic because Jews comprise a very small minority in an entity with a growing influx of different Moslem groups, the most radical of them even belligerently anti-Semitic.

Today European Jews are targeted by both the extreme right and by extreme Islamic movements in Europe.

Growing anti-Semitism and the dependence of European Jews on the fluctuations in Israel’s politics are well-known causes of concern.

In new (reconstituted) Jewish communities problems arise as a consequence of too little Jewish education – especially among those from the former Soviet Union – with poor Jewish awareness and weak demographics. Whereas the original Jews were well integrated and knew the language of the country, the Russian newcomers have never learnt the local language and are now almost totally dependent on aid from local Jewish communities, which are struggling with enormous social and economic problems.

Jewish communities in Central Europe although small are becoming more organized, and the established Jewish Communities in Western Europe are facing similar problems, with different Jewish groups and immigrated Israelis forming conclaves of their own instead of working together.

 But Dr Bélinki is cautiously optimistic that Jews who have survived literally through hell and fire in Europe, will through joint Jewish effort continue to play a part in the future of Europe, and not just a monument of an extinct culture.

The conference resolved that the EUAS will ask for representation on the board of the Claims Conference board, and that the CEEF pension for Holocaust survivors should be the same in all European countries.

The next conference will take place Warsaw, Poland, in September 2009.