Jews around the world reacted with surprise and criticism to the fact that European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton omitted any mention of the Jewish victims in the statement she issued Monday on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in which she called to ‘’remain vigilant against the dangers of hate speech and redouble our commitment to prevent any form of intolerance.’’
Ashton's statement read: "Today the international community remembers the victims of the Holocaust. We honour every one of those brutally murdered in the darkest period of European history. We also want to pay a special tribute to all those who acted with courage and sacrifice to protect their fellow citizens against persecution.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we must keep alive the memory of this tragedy. It is an occasion to remind us all of the need to continue fighting prejudice and racism in our own time. We must remain vigilant against the dangers of hate speech and redouble our commitment to prevent any form of intolerance. The respect of human rights and diversity lies at the heart of what the European Union stands for. "
One comment on Internet about Ashton’s failure to mention the Jewish victims read : ‘’Intolerance, racism and prejudice are found in all societies. And mass murder has occurred before and since the Holocaust. But the Holocaust specifically refers to the use of modern technology and killing factories to erase the Jewish people. On the day specifically named Holocaust Remembrance Day it might be appropriate to specify who the victims were.''
Another comment on the social networks asked whether anti-Semitism in the EU is so bad that Catherine Ashton ''won’t even mention Jews when speaking of the Holocaust.”
On Monday, the European Commission said more than a dozen European Union nations have failed to fully criminalize the denial of crimes against humanity, in a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
‘’Though the bloc agreed in 2008 to outlaw the denial, condonement or gross trivialization of such crimes, around half of its 28 members have failed to write these rules into their domestic legislation,’’ the Commission said.
EU Commissioner in charge of justice, Viviane Reding urged all EU states to swiftly transpose EU rules into their national laws.
Countries not in line with the 2008 rules by December 1 this year could face judicial action, she said.
"Today, we have achieved peace between nations in the European Union," she stressed, adding : "Yet another challenge remains: to continue the quest for tolerance. Nobody should ever have to experience hate speech or hate crime."
The 2008 EU Framework Decision aims to combat in particular racist and xenophobic hate speech and hate crime, and requires Member States to define as criminal offences the public incitement to violence or hatred on grounds of race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.
As regards 'hate speech', EU Member States must ensure that the following intentional conduct is punishable when directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin and when the conduct is carried out in a manner likely to incite violence or hatred against such a group or one or more of its members:
publicly inciting to violence or hatred, including by public dissemination or distribution of tracts, pictures or other material;
publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal Court; and the crimes committed by the major war criminals of the European Axis countries, as defined in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal of 1945.
With regard to 'hate crime', EU Member States must ensure that racist and xenophobic motivation is considered as an aggravating circumstance, or alternatively that such motivation may be taken into account by the courts in determining the applicable penalties.