Young European Activists Combating Antisemitism Appear on Brian Lehrer Show

By Megdi Abebe

On Friday, the 2015 Human Rights First Award winners, Jane Braden-Golay, President of the European Union of Jewish Students (Switzerland); Siavosh Derakhti, Founder and Director of Young People Against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia (Sweden); and Niddal El-Jabri, Organizer of the Copenhagen Ring of Peace (Denmark) appeared on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show to discuss their work to combat the growing wave of antisemitism in Europe..

Derakhti explained that his childhood friendship with a Jew influenced him to fight for a greater, more equal society for his home country, while El-Jabri spoke of his desire for all children to grow up in safety with the freedom to be themselves. Braden-Golay explained that while her parents’ generation sees the rising antisemitism as a reason to flee Europe, young people are more willing to fight for a safer Europe for all minorities.

The young activists described the importance of interfaith action to address not only antisemitism but also Islamophobia, xenophobia, and the rise of the far-right in Europe. Braden-Golay mentioned her work fighting for other marginalized communities such as the Roma and Armenians.

“Antisemitism is a deeply rooted, very old form of hatred in Europe and it’s woven into a lot of its culture … [I]f we want to fight antisemitism in Europe, it takes so many widespread measures addressing a whole range of communities and if we don’t do that, if we focus singularly on one community or one religious background, we won’t get anywhere,” said Braden Golay.

Click here to listen to the full interview.