Pierre BESNAINOU

50 yrs old, born in Tunis,Tunisia-

French citizen

Married with three children

CEO of financial company

Vice President of :

n World Jewish Congress –French Section

n European Jewish Congress

Co-Treasurer of World Jewish Congress

Board member of :

n Keren Hayesod France ( FSJU)

n Weizmann France – Europe

n Paris Community Center

n Chamber of Commerce France Israël

Member of Shimon Peres Center for Peace (Israel) Board of Governors

“I want the European peoples become reconciled with judaism and Israel”

Dear Friends,

“to garantee the dignity and integrity of Jewry world wide”

BesnainouPierre

I am presenting myself as a candidate for the pre-

sidency of the European Jewish Congress. It is my

intention, should you honour me with your vote of

confidence, to continue to work closely with each

of you. I believe that it is only through total unity

between our communities and institutions that will

we have a strong voice as European Jews.

Therefore I present to you my program, in which

many of you will find the ideas that you have your-

selves suggested and I am committed to imple-

menting with your support.

My program, simply stated is as follows: It is my

wish that the people of Europe reconcile with the

Jews and with Israel. It is my wish that Europe is

made aware of its Judeo-Christian roots. The role

that Judaism has played in the conception and buil-

ding of the European identity cannot and should

not be ignored.

Our task is to solicit from the institutions and peo-

ple of Europe, a positive attention to the fate of

our people, attention based not only on remorse,

but on the conscience of a shared history.

In faithful friendship to each one of you

Therefore I propose :

n the organization of international conferen-

ces, as well as religious realities of Jerusalem,

and conferences on the statute of the refugees,

which will add to our actions intellectual

content, necessary for effectiveness as much as

credibility.

n regular publication of a review and back-

ground documentation on relevant topics to

be addressed to our political interlocutors.

n organize fieldtrips for journalists and mem-

bers of Parliament, with the intention of allo-

wing them to discover the quality, complexity

and veracity of Israeli society.

he European Jewish Congress, under my leadership

will not claim to be the peace-maker of the Middle

East: we will keep to our role, which is to be steadily, calmly

and with dignity, at Israel’s side, while respecting their demo-

cratic decisions.

It is possible that the EJC can be a true peace-maker in

Europe.We can contribute fully to the reconciliation between

the communities. We can make it so that, on our continent,

the healing virtues of knowledge replace the of ignorance.

It is in Europe, and Europe only, where today Jews and

Moslems cohabitate together. It is in Europe where one

must be raise the truly exciting stake, which is not that of

T

Building bridges between Europe and Israel

Peace-making32

Let's remain together faithful to the profundity ofthe thought to the necessity of action.

It is our role as Jewish leaders and as Zionists to be the fervent promoters of the peace process in the Middle East

It is as part of a strong and unified World Jewish Congressthat our actions will have strengthand show results.

1

s Jews in Europe, we are confronted

with the harsh reality, a reality which

grates on our collective conscience and troubles

our emotions: simply put, Europe does not

understand Israel.Whereas the foreign policy of

the United States of America is consistently sen-

sitive to the interests of Israel, concerning its

security and its right to defend itself, the opinion

of the “states”of our continent,whether they are

expressed collectively or individually, remain

defiant to the reality which is Israel: the survival

of the Jewish State (and survival means the right

to defend oneself) is the guarantee of the dignity

and the integrity of Jews worldwide.

The first mission of the European Jewish

Congress is to take an active role in bringing

together Europe and Israel. I have personally

been involved in the organization of visits by

European parliamentarians, journalists and elec-

ted officials to Israel, with the specific aim of

showing them that this country deserves to be

treated with honour rather that unworthiness.

I will step up this effort. This is an important

role of the EJC.

It is as well our role to contribute to building a

strong relationship between Europe and the

United States, in the interest of peace, and this

collaboration will serve to preserve the vital

interests of Israel. It is as part of a strong and

unified World Jewish Congress that our actions

will have strength and show results.

A

t is no longer a question, it is a fact: Europe,

where, after the Holocaust, even the idea of

anti-Semitism should be unbearable to any

dignified human being, is being assaulted with a

new wave of anti-Semitism. It does not belong

to me, it does not rest on anybody to say if

what we face is simply a moment in time , from

where each one will leave with a conscience

strengthened of its duties and its rights, or if

separation, but that of the reconciliation. If we can achieve

the role of peace-maker between the communities of

Europe, we will be able to become again, we the Jews, "Or

lagoyim", the light of the nations ".

n Trialogues between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

n Bringing together Jews and Muslims of everyday society;

businessmen, scientists, writers, journalists.

n On the European scale, a widening of Judeo-Christians

alliances, which have seen in fifty years, in the countries

where these alliances are exercised, advances of remarkable

proportions in eradicating two thousand years of anti-

Semitism.

what we live is on the contrary the beginning dis-

tressing of something whose we do not know the

term. I estimate in any case that history gives to the

Jews the right and the duty to be anxious.We the-

refore no longer have the right to be at ease, care-

free and even less so, resigned.Vis-a-vis with anti-

Semitism,we must fight, to be on all fronts, to occupy

all grounds and all platforms, and not to accept that,

even indirectly, even by allusion, our people, our

goods, our culture can ever be outraged.

It does not rest with to us so much to fight against

the hatred, which the indifference in all its forms

counters: tolerance of the authorities, inertia of the

opinion, laxness of the legal authorities, complicity

of certain intellectual classes.Therefore I propose:

n That the European Jewish Congress organizes

a cycle of conferences and publications on the

Judeo-Christians roots of European identity : the

source of the reciprocal gratitude of the Jews

and Europe cannot be, indeed that intellectual.

n That the European Jewish Congress creates an

Observatory of the anti-Semitism, charged with

the supervision of all demonstrations, all resur-

gences of anti-Jewish hatred in Europe.

n That the European Jewish Congress publishes

a monthly list of anti-Semitic aggressions: to be

vigilant, indeed, foremost to see and say how it

is, to speak the truth.

n That the European Jewish Congress is the

voice of everyone i.e. to defend and be a voice

for the small communities, in particular in

Eastern Europe, which very often do not have

the demographic, political, legal and financial

means to be heard.

To achieve this goal, I wish to propose to open a

representative office of the EJC in Brussels. This

office will be under the supervision of the EJC

Secretary General. I will also favorably consider

the opening of representative offices in Central &

Eastern Europe to serve the small communities.

IFighting antisemitism

1. Medbridge Field Trip to Israel of 150 EuropeanParliamentarians in Jerusalem October 2003.

2. Meeting between French Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk and TunisianPresident Ben Ali in Tunis December 2004

3. Security Fence Symposium in Paris December 2003 attended byHis Excellency the Ambassador of Israel to France, Nissim Zvili andIsraeli Ministers M Sheetrit and M Ben Eliezer.

4."Solidarity for Israel" demonstration attended by Israeli DeputyPrime Minister Shimon Peres and Minister of Defense Saul Mofazin Paris April 2005

4

n together faithful to the profundity ofthe thought to the necessity of action.