The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and current President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša, today received the President of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), Dr Moshe Kantor.

 

From right to left: Prime Minister Janez Janša, president od the Comitte of governors of European Jewish Congress Flo Kaufmann and president of European Jewish Congress dr. Moshe Kantor (Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)

 

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia took the opportunity to stress that European history and culture could not be imagined without the Jewish contribution and that present-day Europe could not be understood without knowledge of the events before and during the second world war. Mr Janša informed Dr Kantor that the Government of the Republic of Slovenia had officially designated 27 January International Holocaust Remembrance Day; Dr Kantor, in turn, outlined to the Prime Minister the EJC’s initiative to declare a European Day of Tolerance, to be celebrated on the anniversary of the attacks of ‘Kristallnacht’, as well as the EJC’s general endeavours to combat anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

 

(Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)

 

Mr Janša and Mr Kantor devoted special attention to intercultural dialogue – one of the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. They agreed that practical projects were crucial to achieving the goal of coexistence. In this regard, Mr Janša outlined the Slovenian initiative to establish a Euro-Mediterranean University with a seat in Slovenia. They shared the view that raising awareness among young people in the spirit of intercultural dialogue played an important role in bringing the cultures in the international community closer together.