Speaking to hundreds of Jewish community leaders from around the world, von der Leyen introduced the forthcoming EU strategy specifically designed to combat antisemitism, the first of its kind.

Von der Leyen spoke at the World Jewish Congress’s 16th Plenary Assembly which meets once every four years to address key and current issues that are affecting Jewish communities and to make policy for the years ahead.

“Sadly antisemitism is not confined to the distant past,” von der Leyen said in her speech. “It is still very present in Europe and across the world.”

She then outlined the goals of the new strategy which are to preserve the memory of the holocaust and strengthen holocaust education, strengthen the fight against antisemitism, and foster Jewish life in Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic in particular, said von der Leyen, has shown how quickly antisemitic conspiracy myths can spread.

”The duty to protect the future of the Jewish people starts with remembering the past, but of course it does not end there. Europe can only prosper when its Jewish communities prosper too. Seventy-six years after the Holocaust, Jewish life in Europe is thriving again in synagogues, in schools, in kindergartens and in the heart of our communities. And we must continue to protect it.”

The European Commission is the politically independent executive branch of the European Union, which proposes new European legislation and implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.