Israeli President Herzog Laments Rise of Antisemitism in Meeting With CAM Advisory Board in Jerusalem

(Monday, October 24, 2022) – The Combat Antisemitism Movement’s (CAM) Advisory Board met today with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog at his residence in Jerusalem to discuss rising antisemitism around the world and how best to fight it.

President Herzog spoke of his concern about the rise in antisemitism globally and his support for the work of CAM.

“We need collaborations to combat antisemitism, and I commend the work CAM does and hope it goes from strength to strength,” President Herzog said. “It is a just cause and saves lives.”

The delegation was led by CAM Founder Adam Beren and new CAM Advisory Board Chair Natan Sharansky, and included leaders of prominent Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, former global government and diplomatic figures, academics and others involved in fighting antisemitism.

“Almost 1,000 governments and organizations have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which is a core focus of CAM’s work,” said Beren. “Antisemitism is no longer the purview of one side or the other on the political or ideological spectrum, so we need to have a very clear definition of what constitutes antisemitism for government and law enforcement agencies around the world.”

President Herzog, a former CAM Board Member, was very keen to get an overview and insight on the state of antisemitism in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere from the group of experts.

Sharansky said, “After the two recent global events, Covid-19 and the invasion of Ukraine, we have witnessed a significant rise in Antisemitism and conspiracy theories about Jews. The digital space is a major contributing factor which multiplies and amplifies these messages of hate. To combat this, we need a united global response every day and at all times, because it is largely a problem of information, so we have to ensure the right messages are getting across.”

At the end of the meeting, President Herzog was honored by CAM leaders with a recognition for his dedicated leadership in the global fight against Jew-hatred and his vocal advocacy on behalf of Jewish communities worldwide during his decades of public service.

They thanked President Herzog for his steadfast allyship in the mission of building a better future, free of bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice, for the Jewish people and all humanity.

The previous evening CAM kicked off its first-ever Advisory Board meeting in Israel with the Jerusalem Leadership Dinner, where keynote remarks were delivered by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

“It is vital for us to be aligned in the fight against antisemitism,” said Prime Minister Rama. “To my mind, the biggest dangers we face are not from vandals in a Jewish cemetery, which exposes them as barbaric, but from those who look rational and rationalize antisemitism. The antisemitism that emerged from the British Labour Party a few years ago worried me more than when I hear about the vandalism of a synagogue.”

CAM is a global coalition engaging more than 600 partner organizations and nearly two million people from a diverse array of religious, political, and cultural backgrounds in the common mission of fighting the world’s oldest hatred. CAM acts collaboratively to build a better future, free of bigotry, for Jews and all humanity.