UN: The United Nations is to hold today its first seminar dedicated to anti-Semitism, which Jewish leaders say is escalating around the world but is ignored by UN institutions.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is scheduled to open the all-day conference as sign of its importance. Author Elie Wiesel, a Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor, is the keynote speaker.
The discussions are expected to be tough on the world body, which has adopted countless resolutions condemning Israeli actions against the Palestinians.
Criticism of Israel is not the problem by itself, several Jewish leaders say. "The UN has multitudes of annual reports on various racist situations, but an obvious neglect of anti-Semitism," said Mr Elon Steinberg of the World Jewish Congress. He said Jewish communities in Europe had been made "the innocent victims" of reverberations in Europe from the Middle East conflict.
Another panellist, Ms Felice Gaer, said the "spike in anti-Semitic incidents in recent years is not hooliganism, it's human rights abuse ".
"There is nothing wrong with criticising policies of the state of Israel. Israelis do it all the time," Mr Steinberg said. "The problem is when it degenerates into an anti-Semitic screed. It does not give you the right to act violently. It does not give you the right to demonise the state of Israel."
A suspicious fire on Friday night at a Jewish community centre in Hendon, north London, has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, police said today. Two Torah scrolls, hand-written parchments of the Bible and holy Jewish scriptures, were also left "torn and desecrated", a spokesman said.
The building, which contains a synagogue, suffered up to £250,000 damage.