Luxembourg
(Updated December 2003)
According to a 1979 law, the government may not collect
or maintain statistics on religious affiliation. But this is not the
only reason why it is difficult for the leaders of the Jewish communities
to carry out an accurate census: a great many of the Jews only pass
through Luxembourg. Within the Jewish population (1200, 650 of whom
are members of the Jewish community) there are nearly no orthodox families
and a great many non-practising Jews. Luxembourg is the smallest Jewish
community in Europe, in accordance with the overall population (440,000)
of the country. The Jewish population is extremely well integrated into
the social, community and cultural life of the country. In terms of
attitudes towards minority groups Luxembourg meets the European average
on the EUMC Eurobarometer, whereby a high rate of agreement for improving
the rights of minorities exists side by side with a strong rejection
of working migrants. Since 1997 the negative attitudes have increased.
But the excellent economic situation, in which the Grand Duchy finds
itself, with an unemployment rate below 3%, certainly fosters benevolence
among the population.
1. Physical acts of violence
In Luxembourg physical aggression in general and especially against
Jews is rather rare. It might be explained by an absence of deeper social
conflicts and extreme right parties. According to ASTI, the representative
of the Jewish community and the secretary general of the Israelite Consistory,
no act of violence or aggression against Jews or their institutions
are know of for the period from 15 May to 15 June 2002; indeed for the
whole year up to now no aggressive act has been committed.
2. Verbal aggression/hate speeches
Neither the police nor the Jewish community reported any real verbal
anti-Semitic aggression during the reference period. In mid-May, an
anonymous letter was sent to a representative of the Jewish community
with the following content: “Down with Sharon …!” The
Jewish community has not deemed this letter to be anti-Semitic, but
an expression of rejection of the Sharon policy. At the same time, on
a bridge support on the motorway towards France, the inscription “Sharon,
assassin” (murderer) appeared. In this case, the Jewish community
also stressed that it was a political statement. In their opinion the
two acts are to be considered as isolated political incidents, albeit
in direct relation to the escalation of violence in the Middle East,
but not anti-Semitic.
3. Research studies
No studies have been undertaken regarding anti-Semitism in Luxembourg.
The last opinion poll carried out by “Ilres” (National Polling
Institute) on behalf of the European Community took place in 1997. It
focussed on racism in the broadest sense of the term, thus including
xenophobia and anti-Semitism, and revealed that only 2% of Luxembourg
people considered themselves to be racist/could be considered as having
racist leanings. The Eurobarometer 2000 shows that Luxembourg is one
of the countries where many people support policies for improving social
coexistence between different ethnic groups. 33% have passively tolerant
and 28% actively tolerant attitudes toward minority groups. But negative
attitudes have increased over the past years.
4. Good practices for reducing prejudice, violence and aggression
On 16 June 2002 within the context of the European Day of Jewish Culture,
the Jewish community invited the population of Luxembourg to discover
the Jewish heritage and find out about the traditions of Judaism. The
Jewish community registered a higher number of visitors than in previous
years. On 10 May the “Service National de la Jeunesse” (National
Youth Service) organised a “Journée du Souvenir” (Remembrance
Day) on the theme “It is necessary to know history in order to
prepare for the future”. In the presence of the Luxembourg Minister
of Culture, Luxembourg internees of concentration camps during the Second
World War told young people of their experiences. The Minister stressed
the fact that the Luxembourg government will be increasing the number
of initiatives of this sort. Also in 2002, classes from various educational
establishments in Luxembourg will visit concentration camps in the company
of their former Luxembourg prisoners. This initiative has made a considerable
contribution to increasing the awareness of young people to the problems
of anti-Semitism. In fact, each time long reports were published in
the press and presented on Luxembourg television. On 15 May a panel
dealing more directly with the situation in the Middle East was organised
at the capital’s high school on the subject “Without justice
and responsibility there will be no peace”. Representatives of
religious communities, secular bodies and freemasons explained their
points of view. This initiative was a part of the Luxembourg project
“Towards a culture of peace” initiated in that school. The
only event on the theme “Towards an equitable peace in the Middle
East”, organised by the “Friddensbeweegung” (Peace Movement),
brought together 250 persons belonging to humanitarian groups and various
left-wing parties in Luxembourg at the beginning of April.
5. Reactions by politicians and other opinion leaders
As neither acts of violence nor overt or latent anti-Semitic tendencies
have been observed in Luxembourg, the reactions of politicians and opinion
leaders is limited to condemning such acts occurring in other European
countries. Ministers in the Luxembourg government and members of parliament
from all parties, but also many diplomats traditionally attend the religious
services held in synagogues for the Luxembourg National Day celebrations.
At the same time, the Chief Rabbi and representatives of the Jewish
community attend the “Te Deum” for National Day in the Nôtre
Dame Cathedral, and other ecumenical services and official events.
Sources:
C.R.I.F. - Released by the European Jewish Congress |