Luxembourg on Tuesday presented a national action plan against anti-Semitism, heeding a call by the European Commission for EU countries to tackle a rise in anti-Jewish sentiment.
The government in 2021 signed a landmark restitution agreement with the Jewish community in Luxembourg, the last western EU country to do so. It has since made it easier for descendants of Jewish families to access dormant bank accounts and retrieve property stolen during World War Two.
"We weren't all heroes. We also had people who participated, and we should know all pieces of history," said Prime Minister Xavier Bettel during a news conference on Tuesday presenting the plan.
While a laggard on restitution, Luxembourg became the 11th EU country to adopt an action plan against anti-Semitism.
"Almost 80 years after the Holocaust, you could think that we put an end to anti-Semitism," said Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission’s coordinator on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life. She had travelled to Luxembourg to meet with Bettel and lawmakers.
Anti-Semitic incidents rose sharply during the pandemic, with anti-vaccination protesters comparing the CovidCheck policies to the persecution of Jews, wearing the Star of David during demonstrations.
Research and Information on Antisemitism in Luxembourg (Rial) in 2020 reported 64 anti-Semitic incidents, such as hate speech on social media or harassment, with cases nearly doubling from 2019. In 2021, the organisation reported 80 incidents and 76 last year, the latest data available, although Rial assumes that many incidents go undocumented.
The action plan addresses this problem, promising a better legal framework and tougher punishment against hate speech, also on internet platforms. The plan foresees a bigger role for the Centre of Equal Treatment (CET) and wants better data collection to quantify anti-Semitic incidents.
The CET said it treated 240 incidents of discrimination last year, with 13 cases reported by victims of religious discrimination, although the faith group isn't specified. The action plan foresees the creation of a national contact point for victims of anti-Semitism.
Approximately 1,200 Jews live in Luxembourg, with the synagogue of the Jewish Consistory located in Luxembourg City and a liberal Jewish community practicing in Esch-sur-Alzette. The action plan was developed together with the consistory.
The 21-point anti-Semitism plan (Panas) also aims to protect Jewish cemeteries and synagogues as well as creating education programmes, keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and more generally emphasising the contribution of the Jewish community to life in Luxembourg.
It also picks up the refurbishment of the Cinqfontaines abbey into a commemorative learning centre, which was already included in the restitution agreement two years ago.
"Anti-Semitism is a scourge that every democratic society has a duty to eradicate," the action plan states. "The aim is not to establish any kind of hierarchy between the different forms of racism, xenophobia and exclusion, all of which must be combated with the same termination and commitment."
A committee will monitor the implementation of the plan, which joins other national action plans, such as on integration, children's rights and the inclusion of persons with a disability.
(With reporting by Annette Welsch)
