Brussels, June 19th, 2025 – Despite the recent wave of antisemitic violence sweeping through Europe and the United States, twenty young adults from fifteen nations gathered in Brussels last month under the banner of the Israeli flag to learn how to advocate more effectively for Israel and stand up against the current rise of antisemitism. On Tuesday night six of the delegates joined ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell in an Open Academy webinar to have a conversation about their experience.
For some of the delegates the harsh reality of antisemitic violence struck them immediately after they returned home as an educational event at the University of Turin in Italy was brutally interrupted by pro-Palestinian students. They shouted anti-Israeli slogans and used physical violence to intimidate the organisers, among them Pietro from Milan who was one of the Italian participants at the ECI Young Leaders Academy in May.
In the webinar he expressed his concern over the recent attack as this does not only threaten Jewish students or those who choose to stand up against antisemitism on college campuses but democracy as a whole and the concept of an open society where people can express their opinions openly.
Just in recent weeks violent antisemitic attacks have spread further as the chair of the European Parliament working group against antisemitism, MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe, was physically assaulted inside the European Parliament in Brussels by a young staff person of Palestinian descent. Over the weekend names and pictures of prominent pro-Israel advocates were put on display across Brussels accusing them of “lobbying for genocide.”
Speaking at the webinar on Tuesday Davide, who studies history at the University of Turin, shared how he and his friends had been targeted with similar posters with their pictures and a red triangle attached to them, similar to what Hamas does for those who need to be eliminated. Marie from Charleroi in Belgium shared how she had to quit her education after having received numerous death threats because of her support for the victims of October 7. Keeping a positive attitude nevertheless she told the webinar that this may have worked out for the best as she has now decided to change her studies to international politics and diplomacy understanding the need to get involved politically in order to save our democracy.
While Jews are being increasingly attacked in Europe because of their ethnicity and religion, the delegates in the ECI Young Leaders Academy could have avoided physical harassments by simple choosing to keep quiet and stay silent but this is not an option. “We choose action not apathy,” they say with one accord.
The ECI Young Leaders Academy is bringing together non-Jewish young adults from across Europe to stand shoulder to shoulder with their Jewish friends realizing that if we do not raise our voices now, we are next in line as the forces of radical antisemitic ideologies are gaining ground. Concluding the webinar on Tuesday, Tomas Sandell commended the delegates for their courage saying that their example will be a source of inspiration for many young people across the European continent and beyond. “This is what it means to be ‘a coalition of all the others’. We did not choose this battle but the battle chose us.”
Footnote.
The ECI Young Leaders Academy is a two-day training program in Brussels for young adults between 19 and 29 years who want to learn more about pro-Israel advocacy and the combat against antisemitism. Anyone interested in participating in the next academy can contact info@ec4i.org
