Prodi plans reconciliation meeting with Jewish leaders

By David Cronin

Date: 15/01/04

ROMANO Prodi is hoping to meet the two Jewish leaders who recently accused the European Commission of anti-semitism.

His aides are in contact with Edgar Bronfman and Cobi Benatoff, the presidents of the World Jewish Congress and European Jewish Congress, to arrange a meeting between the three men next week. This follows an attack by the Jewish representatives in a 4 January article in the Financial Times. They berated the Union's executive for allegedly suppressing publication of a report which stated that radical Muslims were behind attacks on Jews, and their places of worship. The Jewish leaders also attacked a Eurobarometer poll, which found a majority of EU citizens regard Israel as the number-one threat to world peace.

Claiming to be "surprised and shocked" by the accusations, Prodi said there was no political motivation behind the poll's publication. He first decided to shelve plans for a seminar on anti-semitism in Europe which the Commission was hoping to arrange for February, yet reconsidered on 8 January, when he met Israel Singer, chairman of the World Jewish Congress' governing board. In contrast to the remarks made by his group's president, Singer said the organization had "full cooperation [with] and full trust" in Prodi.