Brussels, April 14th, 2026 – The 5th ECI Young Leaders Academy came to a close on Friday 10th April as a new class of twenty young leaders from across Europe were trained in pro-Israel advocacy by meeting experienced Members of the European Parliament, senior EU officials, seasoned diplomats and influential pro-Israel activists in Brussels over the course of three days.

After completing the 5th academy in less than three years, ECI has now trained 100 young leaders, reaching a new milestone in the process of passing on the baton to the next generation of pro-Israel leaders.

Portuguese MEP António Tânger Corrêa defined this generational shift well in saying that while his generation of political leaders are fading out of public life, those participating in the ECI Young Leaders Academy are only now coming in.

Whereas the twenty young leaders who took part in the academy were brought together because of their concern about rising antisemitism in Europe, French MEP and Vice-Chair of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, François-Xavier Bellamy, reminded the group that the problems Europe faces today go even deeper, as society has largely renounced its own culture.

“We can only survive if we revive our civilisation, and in order to do so we need to reconnect with our Judeo-Christian roots,” he said. He went on to explain how the political left has largely rejected these roots and has instead tapped into anti-Zionism and antisemitism as a formula to galvanise support and win elections. Choosing to win elections by finding a common scapegoat, Israel and the Jewish people is dangerous, he concluded, as it echoes some of the darkest chapters in our history and must therefore be rejected.

Ariella Woitchik of the European Jewish Congress testified to the appalling rise of antisemitism at the heart of Europe, explaining how she and her young family are not planning to buy a home in Brussels but choose to rent instead because they, like so many Jews before them, may need to be prepared to leave quickly.

In addition to Members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum, the young leaders also had the opportunity to experience the dynamics of the new Middle East through meetings with senior diplomats from both Israel and the United Arab Emirates. While Ehab Hino explained how Israel will no longer compromise the security of its people regardless of reactions from Europe or the broader international community, Humaid Almansoori presented the UAE as the future of the Middle East, a place where people of all backgrounds can live side by side. According to Almansoori, Jews are today safer in Abu Dhabi than in Brussels. Commenting on the current conflict in the region, he said the battle is about the future of the Middle East: the choice is either to learn to live together and promote peace and stability, or to remain in isolation and spread violence and religious extremism.

Presenting the work of the European Coalition for Israel to the participants, Founding Director Tomas Sandell recalled the origin of the organisation as a “coalition of all the others” a reference to a question posed by Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in 2003, asking why it was only Jews, and not others, who were speaking out against the rise of antisemitism at the time.

Sandell went on to say that the task of combating antisemitism and preserving our civilisation belongs to everyone who cares about our shared future.

In conversations with delegates who came from 15 countries, many described themselves as “October 8 Christians” referring to their realisation that something had fundamentally changed in the world following the terrorist massacre of October 7, and that they felt compelled to personally take a stand against rising antisemitism.

The ECI Young Leaders Academy is the only training programme of its kind for young Christians and other emerging leaders who wish to be better equipped to combat antisemitism and other forms of extremism, and is organised together with partner organisations from across the European Union.

The 5th Academy was co-hosted by Latvian MEP Rihards Kols and the New Direction Foundation, the official foundation of the European Conservatives and Reformists on the European level. Speaking at the Academy, New Direction President Nicola Procaccini noted that the bond between Europe and Israel is not merely one of diplomacy and trade, it is a bond of identity, and Israel stands on the front line of Western civilisation.

The next academy will take place in the autumn of 2026. Expressions of interest can already be submitted to info@ec4i.org