News

On 27 January we commemorate the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau (Oświęcim-Brzezinka). In the Czech Republic, this day has been recognized as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust and the Day of Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity since 2004. In 2005, United Nations declared 27 January as an International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
On 27 January 2021, three major commemorative events will take place in Prague, Terezín and Jerusalem. Due to the current unfavorable epidemiological situation and taking into account the crisis measures of the Government of the Czech Republic, the events will take place in the online space. The online form of the events will enable a participation of a wider audience.

Statement by Cardinal Dominik Duka Czech Cardinal D. Duka on Annual Report on Anti-Semitism 2019 unofficial translation

The Annual Report on Manifestations of Antisemitism in the CR in 2019 has been drafted by the FJC for the internal needs of the Jewish communities in the Czech Republic and also for the needs of other institutions that process data on antisemitism. The aim of the report is to provide a compact picture, within the scope of the acquired information, of the manifestations of antisemitism and of the trends and social climate in relation to manifestations of antisemitism.

The Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce does not regard the ruling of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg dated 12 November 2019 as a convincing legal, but regrettably a political decision, which in essence will significantly hamper both the businesses interests of the European Union and the Member States in the Middle East region, and indeed those of the State of Israel and of Palestinians themselves. By the virtue of interpreting consumer legislation, the decision expresses the political attitude of the EU relative to Jewish Settlements, and not the interest in consumer protection.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution that condemned both antisemitism and anti-Israel boycotts as well as affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense. Both Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz and Israel’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic Daniel Meron tweeted their appreciation of the resolution.
“I wish to thank our Czech friends for this step, which reflects the true friendship between our countries. I call on more Parliaments to follow suit.” Katz tweeted.
Meron tweeted “Thank you!,” explaining that the resolution “strongly condemning all manifestations of antisemitism, including against State of Israel, and condemning any call for boycotting Israel.”

At a meeting on September 18th and 19th 2019, the Steering Committee of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic (ECC) discussed the issue of anti-Semitism.

In 2018, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic registered 347 anti-Semitic incidents. Such incidents, mainly the violent ones, are not always reported by their victims so the real number of anti-Semitic attacks can be in fact higher. However, violent anti-Semitic incidents continue to be rare in the Czech Republic. In 2018, there were recorded 2 cases of physical aggression with an anti-Semitic motif, 3 cases of vandalism of Jewish property by anti-Semitic inscriptions and 9 incidents involving …

The annual report on anti-Semitisms in 2015 (the Report) has been prepared by the Federation Jewish Communities (FJC) for internal needs of Jewish communities in the Czech Republic (CR), but also for the needs of other institutions processing the data on anti-Semitism. The Report aims to provide a comprehensive image of anti-Semitism and social climate related to anti-Semitism. The Report brings not only the data from the last year, but also compares recorded manifestations of anti-Semitism with the developments in …

The Prague Jewish Community has reopened all its buildings. The Old New Synagogue has been reopened for tourists and Prague citizens since June 5th; you can also visit the Jewish Museum in Prague as well as concerts in the Spanish Synagogue.  Neither Jewish nor historic buildings have suffered any damage; all spaces regularly used by the community are all right. Tourist service is working in all historic sites. The Jewish Community and the Jewish Museum invite you all to visit …

The Hungarian Gold Train was a train of approximately 24 freight cars that contained personal property which was taken, seized, confiscated or stolen by the Hungarian government from Hungarian Jews. The personal property in issue was taken into custody by the Unites States Army on or about May 11, 1945 near Werfen, Austria and later moved to Salzburg, Austria. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany…