Thursday, March 28, 2024 -
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Celebrating the EU’s Nobel prize

As an American-born Jewish woman living in the center of Europe in 2012, every once in a while I think about how lucky I am. Life is a lottery, and there’s no doubt I’ve been dealt a winning ticket. I could have been born elsewhere and faced poor living and medical conditions; as a woman, had I lived in an earlier era- or even now, but in a different place – my professional and educational opportunities would have been radically limited.

Moving beyond the individual sphere, as a community, Europe’s Jews have never had it better. Yes, anti-Semitism is on the rise, and some countries, most of all France, are experiencing mass exodus to Israel. But being Jewish in Europe has never been safer or more accepted. Were the European Union (EU) to collapse today, the period during when it existed will still have been the safest for Jews – and for all its members. That’s a huge accomplishment on a continent where only 70 years ago genocide against our people was taking place. And such an accomplishment deserves the recognition of the international community.

I realize this talk of integration and acceptance may sound disturbingly similar to what many German Jews were saying before the war; but it is important to recall that while things may have been good in Germany during the early twentieth century, in Hungary, for example – and one could substitute many countries in that equation – the situation less so. The vital difference between now and then is the supranational quality of the EU. Its rules and regulations exceed national boundaries (which in some cases, of course, can be a curse as much as a blessing).

Any country wishing to become a member must commit to very specific democratic principles. Acceding to the EU requires a two-track process: political and economic. And while countries have been accepted into the Union without always fulfilling the economic conditions (the effects of which are being felt right now), many countries have been either kept out or delayed entry due to their treatment of minorities. In fact, Turkey’s accession has been stymied by their refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide –  among other problematic human rights issues.

With all the talk of the euro and debt crises, stringency measures, civil unrest, bailouts and potential collapse, people tend to forget the successes of the EU. For 60 years, the EU and its predecessors have effectively kept Europe out of conflict. This is immense, and again, even if it were to all fall apart today, it still will have been the longest era of peacetime on what was once a very troubled continent. People tend to become quickly complacent in good times, forgetting how it once was – or could be. Despite the current troubles, and the valid criticisms of this 27-member body, we shouldn’t underestimate or forget the accomplishment of the “Pax Europaea”.

Now, I don’t actually live within the borders of the EU itself: Switzerland is that white spot smack in the middle of contemporary European maps. But I have been resident in the EU previously, and I have no doubt of the larger impact this Union has had on the Continent as a whole – even for states which aren’t members. A high standard on the treatment of racial, religious, ethnic and other minorities has been set by the most powerful and representative governmental body in Europe. (That’s not to say this bar is never challenged – the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party in Greece is a case in point; but then Greece has morphed into the embodiment of all the EU’s shortcomings.)

Say what you will about the Nobel Peace Prize, a distinction that after its 1994 recognition of Yasser Arafat has become somewhat dubious, at least this time the Nobel committee has awarded its coveted prize to a real achievement – instead of the mere idea of one.



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IJN Assistant Publisher | [email protected]


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