Jewish leaders appealed to the European Union today to take a lead in combating a perceived revival of anti-Semitism and warned that official indifference was leading to a return of the continent's historic "monster".
"We bring a message today and that message is a warning to Europe," said Mr Cobi Benatoff, president of the European Jewish Congress.
"We European Jews are not able to live our daily lives like other European citizens," he told a seminar attended by government, religious and community leaders in Brussels. "Anti-Semitism and prejudice have returned. The monster is here with us once again."
Mr Benatoff called for the EU to join with Jewish organisations to monitor anti-Semitic incidents. He urged European governments to impose tougher penalties for anti-Jewish crimes and ensure young Europeans were better educated about the legacy of centuries of persecution on their continent.
"We have to educate a new generation of European citizens . . . we have to tell them why, what happened, what the Shoah was," he said. "Only if we can teach a new generation . . . about these things will we ever be able to suggest we can get rid of anti-Semitism."
Mr Benatoff and other Jewish leaders also urged European governments to support a draft UN resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
The seminar organised by the EU in response to concerns about a returning of anti-Semitism was attended by German Foreign Minister Mr Joschka Fischer, European Commission President Mr Romano Prodi,
AP