The @EUAntisemitism czar falsely accused of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, says @EUObserver. She said nothing inaccurate. ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

The @EUAntisemitism czar falsely accused of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, says @EUObserver. She said nothing inaccurate.

A senior EU official has been lobbying against Israel sanctions using bogus claims of antisemitism, according to a leaked diplomatic cable.

Katharina von Schnurbein, the EU Commission's "coordinator on combating antisemitism", made the claims in a meeting with EU ambassadors in Tel Aviv on 29 May — in the middle of EU talks on possible trade sanctions against Israel.

She "warned against the risk that review of the [EU-Israel] association agreement is based on 'rumours about Jews', as opposed to facts", in one comment.

Luckily, the newspaper that says that she was engaged in falsehoods reproduced the leaked memo. And she said nothing inaccurate..

Let's fact-check.

Exchange of Views with EC Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, Katharina Von Schnurbein
EC Coordinator (KVS) recalled the growing antisemitism in Europe at the highest level since the Holocaust.

True.

KVS welcomed the fact that 24 EUMS had adopted national strategies for combating antisemitism. She underscored also the need to fight incidents of antisemitism that are not illegal via counter speeches.

True.

Noting how the first anti-IL protests in Europe began already on October 7, 2023, KVS shared with HoMs the suspicion that Hamas or other extremist groups were behind those.

True. Maybe not Hamas directly but certainly extremist groups like Samidoun, which is now on the US and Eu terror list. So she is correct.

KVS challenged some reports by the UN on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, such as a statement by the WFP warning of a humanitarian crisis already on October 8, 2023. She also mentioned how Hamas skilfully managed within just one week to shift the media attention from the massacre it committed on October 7 protests against the Israeli actions in Gaza and all this even before a single Israeli soldier had entered the Strip.

True.

KVS warned against new forms of antisemitism, which she described as “ambient antisemitism,” i.e., creating an atmosphere in which Jews feel uncomfortable, even in European institutions, noting, for instance, the “bake sales for Gaza.”

This was said in the article to be a Red Cross fundraiser. Whether this specific incident was right or wrong, no one can doubt that the constant elevation of Gaza as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis without context like Hamas using the civilians as human shields can certainly make Jews feel uncomfortable.

KVS stated that news on IL providing food in Gaza are ignored by the UN and the media, and warned against the risk that review of the Association Agreement is based on “rumours about Jews,” as opposed to facts.

The first part is true. I don't know enough about the second.

KVS also mentioned what she referred to as “conspiracy theories spread in social media about ‘Jews or the Mossad succeeded in putting the Israeli singer in second place’ at the recent Eurovision Song Contest.”

True.

In the ensuing Q&A, a number of HoMs [redacted] asked how to draw the line between antisemitism and the legitimate criticism of Israel.
Some [redacted] expressed discomfort in looking at the humanitarian situation in Gaza through the lenses of antisemitism, noting how, while there have been instances of hospital statements by the UN, the IL side dismisses every accusation on attacks on hospitals as “blood libels,” while HoMs heard from doctors, human rights organisations, the UN and from UNSC Kaag herself about the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and these are facts and to bring them up is not anti-Semitic.

No one said it is.

[Redacted] warned against even considering, in view of the extreme views of said Minister [redacted] wondered how to deal with a reality in which accusations of genocide against Israel are being considered by international jurisdictions.

KVS replied by clarifying how criticism of IL is not antisemitism, even if the IL government says it is; qualifying as dangerous the IL extreme right “flirting” with European far right parties.

So she is explicitly saying legitimate criticism of Israel is not antisemitic - directly contradicting the main claim in the article.

She insisted on the need to build a “trust based” dialogue with IL. She said that international Human Rights Organisations apply “double standards” in relation to the IL-PAL conflict. She warned against the temptation to “reopen” the IHRA, as it would be very difficult to agree on it again.

True and true.

KVS noted how the public discourses in IL and Europe are as far apart as they have ever been, and how losing IL would be a loss for Europe, and went on to also reflect on the consequences for Europe when looking at the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

True.

She added that the focus in Europe is only on Gaza, with the hostages being almost forgotten.

True.

Noting how Jews in Europe are being blamed for what happens in Gaza, KVS concluded by insisting on the need to focus on facts.

True.

Here is a case where a newspaper makes a claim, says that the evidence supports the claim, but the evidence in fact refutes it. But it knows that most people do not know enough about the situation and won't bother reading the memo itself. And then it quotes "experts" who dispute what Katharina von Schnurbein supposedly said without actually engaging with what she actually said.