Such a beautiful setting in such a luxury hotel, but what a damning conclusion.
The Evian Conference was convened in July 1938 at the Hotel Royal in the spa town of Evian-les-Bains in France to discuss the Jewish refugee crisis.
Delegates from 32 countries attended the conference and all expressed sympathy for the Jews who were seeking to flee Nazi persecution.
Between 1933 and 1941, the Nazis aimed to make Germany free of Jews by making life so difficult for them they would be forced to leave the country.
But by 1938, only about 150,000 German Jews, just one-quarter of the Jewish population, had fled.
Furthermore, after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, an additional 185,000 Jews were brought under Nazi rule.
The evil genocide being conducted by Nazi Germany became even more serious as many Jews were unable to find countries willing to take them in.
At the conference, the United States encouraged all countries to find a long-term solution to the problem. however all countries, including the United States, were unwilling to ease their immigration restrictions.
Only the tiny Dominican Republic was willing to accept more refugees.
One result of the conference was the establishment of an Intergovernmental Committee of Refugees (ICR) designed to continue to work on the refugee problem.
Just another talk-fest with no teeth!
Then and Now
What was happening then cannot be likened to what is happening now.
The State of Israel is the homeland of Jews, wherever they live.
There is no meaningful expression as a Jewish refugee. Should Jews be banished from their homeland the doors of Israel are always open.
Yet, there is a deeply concerning similarity today with what happened in the 1930s.
As has been the case in previous millennia, the Jews have regularly been made the scapegoats for world disasters:
- The Black Death Persecutions.
- The 1066 Granada massacre.
- The 1391 massacre in Spain.
- Pogroms in the Russian Empire.
- The outbreak of World War Two.
- 911. The Twin Towers.
- The recent Covid epidemic.
We should pose the question, has the ongoing attempt by Iran and its proxies to obliterate Israel caused the current outbreak of antisemitism around the world?
Time to Go Back
This is the time to go back to the Evian Conference and consider why 31 out of 32 countries refused to accept Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria.
Even after the violent pogroms of November 1938, Kristallnacht, many Americans believed that refugees would compete with them for jobs and overburden social programmes set up to assist the needy.
Other countries felt similarly, but if we consider that the Jews in America, in addition to Britain, had contributed enormously to the growth of their economy, there must have been another reason.
Maybe this was simply a diversion to cover up latent antisemitism.
The current war, into which Israel was unexpectedly drawn by terrorists who were guilty of committing war crimes and have won world sympathy in the process, is a further instance of how the Jews constantly live in the shadow of antisemitism.
Once again we are being made scapegoats and clearly, this has been the factor that caused the vicious outbreak of antisemitism.
It is ironic that for 2000 years the Jews never had a state since the destruction of the second Temple in 70 AD.
Throughout the centuries, especially in Europe, the Jews have suffered just because we are Jewish.
We were told to get out of Europe and find somewhere else to live. Told to find a land of our own.
So we did. We returned to our homeland, the State of Israel.
But even with the State of Israel, we are still being hounded. Nothing has changed.
The Jewish people, whether in their homeland or in the diaspora are always going to face up to outbreaks of antisemitism.
Nothing has changed in 2000 years.
Does this place Israel as the protector of all Jews, wherever they live?
In one sense, yes.
There are numerous tour operators promoting Israel to various non-Jewish Groups with an educational programme combined with sight-seeing and socialising.
This is by far, the most informative and productive means of promoting Israel as a vibrant society combining ancient history with creative programmes, many for the benefit of people in need, wherever they live.
This type of initiative, if expanded, could prove a valuable asset for public relations.
To show people, not tell people, but let them see for themselves what Israel stands for.
To show them, first-hand, how Israel has become one of the most creative countries in the world.
Perhaps that may help to cure the antisemitism virus.
It’s a challenge for tour operators and may even build a worthwhile case to attract government incentives into the bargain.
Whatever we choose to do and however it’s done, the scourge of antisemitism must be eliminated.
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