“The Aalst Carnival is a shame”

European Commissioner Margaritis Schinas, responsible for promoting the European way of life and combating anti-Semitism, strongly condemned the floats and disguises caricaturing the Jews on Sunday at the Aalst carnival.

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“It seems clear to me: the Aalst carnival is a shame,” said the Greek commissioner in a tweet on Monday afternoon.

“It must stop. There is no room for that in Europe, “he adds, referring to the behavior of carnival groups who surfed last year’s controversy and portrayed Jews with crooked noses, sometimes ants.

The Commissioner refers to the reaction he had already had last year on the Aalst Carnival when he was chief spokesperson for the Juncker Commission. Shortly after the procession which had been marked that year by a chariot presenting caricatures of Orthodox Jews defending safes, Mr. Schinas had judged “unthinkable that such images paraded in European streets, 74 years after the Shoah” . It was this chariot that had created controversy even beyond national borders and led to the removal of the Aalst carnival from the UNESCO list of intangible world heritage.

“Our Union was built on the ashes of the Holocaust. Remembering this and fighting anti-Semitism is our duty to the Jewish community and is essential to protect our common European values, “added Schinas, quoting Jean-Claude Juncker.

Monday noon, Commission spokespersons recalled that on a purely legal level, it was up to the state concerned to act.

Questioned by Belga, the Council of Europe also condemned all forms of anti-Semitism. The pan-European institution, which houses the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, said it was aware that “the Belgian federal government (was) very concerned about these incidents and (was thinking about) the necessary legal measures”.

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