European Jews for Palestine (EJP) joins the requests from MEPs for the immediate replacement of the EU Commission’s Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life, Katharina von Schnurbein.
According to a recent revelation published by EUobserver (July 10, 2025), Ms. von Schnurbein violated her institutional mandate by intervening directly in EU decision-making processes on the EU’s foreign policy and trade policy discussions, advocating actively in favor of Israel’s government positions vis-à-vis EU ambassadors to Israel.
Ms. von Schnurbein sought to undermine the motivation behind the EU Member States’ request to assess Israel’s compliance with Article two of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and its respect for human rights, describing these as “rumours about Jews”. Her advocacy for Israel exceeds the scope of her mandate which does not refer to the EU’s agreements with third countries. She intervened in the internal discussions of the Council of Foreign Affairs and compromised the political neutrality expected from officials of the European Commission.
The Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life is a very important and critical role in today’s Europe. The coordinator is responsible for protecting Jewish communities from hate speech, acts of hatred, and racial discrimination, and ensuring that Jewish life and culture thrives in Europe once again, 80 years after the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis. The recent disclosures of von Schnurbein’s conduct suggest a troubling misuse of the mandate given to her office, by seeking to influence EU policy decisions unrelated to the Coordinator’s mission. This not only harms the credibility of EU institutions, but also weakens the important and crucial policy of combating antisemitism.
As Jews living in Europe we reject the idea that fighting antisemitism and defending Jewish life means shielding Israel from any form of pressure or criticism. Fighting antisemitism in Europe does not mean the automatic and total advancement of the positions of the current Israeli government.
The position of Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism is far too important to be misused for political purposes. Concern with the safety of Jews in Europe does not require the assumption that there is an identity between the interests of the Jewish community and the interests of the state of Israel. This conflation only emboldens and motivates more antisemitism and puts Jews in danger.
Based on our identity and our lived experience, we feel a responsibility to speak out when the language of fighting antisemitism is misappropriated to serve the interests of the extreme-right government of Israel rather than to protect vulnerable communities in Europe.
This breach of trust is now public knowledge and must not be ignored. It must have consequences. Following these revelations, the current EU coordinator von Schnurbein lost all credibility and legitimacy to pursue her mandate.
EJP therefore joins the call to relieve Ms. von Schnurbein of her duties without delay.
The next coordinator on combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish life must act within the limits of their legal and institutional mandate, and in accordance with the staff regulation of the EU, without any political bias and without additional political agendas.
European Jews for Palestine joins the call to replace EU coordinator on antisemitism
