October 13, 2025 — Warsaw, Poland
Recommendations of American Jewish Committee
Delivered by Holly Huffnagle, Director of Antisemitism Policy
to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Warsaw Human Dimension Conference
Plenary Session 6: October 13, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
I stand before you with deep gratitude for this institution and for the enduring commitments of the OSCE to tolerance, inclusion, and non-discrimination—the very foundations of comprehensive security. Thank you.
But this year is different. It is not business as usual. At American Jewish Committee, now approaching our 120th year, we have seen many waves of antisemitism—yet none so global, so emboldened, and so digitally amplified as what we face today. Since Hamas’s terrorist assault of October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have surged more than 1,100 percent. Jewish communities across the OSCE region tell us they are afraid, thinking of moving, and questioning whether they belong.
Two decades ago in 2004, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy invoked Elie Wiesel’s warning that Jewish communities were “disturbed and alarmed by evidence of a renewal of antisemitism in the OSCE region.” That renewal has become a resurgence. Despite the Berlin Declaration’s clear words that “violence against Jews and other manifestations of intolerance will never be justified by international developments or political issues,” we have not lived up to this promise. Today, Jews continue to be demonized because of international developments or political issues. The labels “Jew,” “Israeli,” “Zionist,” and “IDF” are blurred, and the hate is the same.
Societies where antisemitism flourishes do not stand still, they fracture. When nearly one in four Americans (23%) today say antisemitism is a legitimate form of protest in response to the Israel-Hamas war, [1] we know something is breaking. We knew in 2004 that antisemitism obstructs democracy, pluralism, and peace—yet we allowed it to metastasize.
We have working definitions of antisemitism, special envoys, national strategies, Jewish community security, and Holocaust remembrance days. These remain critical, but the threat grows. Because antisemitism has changed, our response must also change. This is not the time for repeating the same recommendations.
The question before us is not what do we already know but what will we do differently? How will we measure progress? How will we hold accountable even those participating States that enable or export antisemitism? If we cannot confront this together, we risk failing the very ideals this body was created to defend.
I petition participating States to act differently this year based on what we have heard from Jewish communities across the OSCE region. I will share five different best practices—five responsibilities rooted in the legal and governance framework of this organization and fully within your authority as governments. Each one reflects the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act and the Berlin Declaration, translated to meet the urgency of this moment.
First, collect and report antisemitism differently—with transparency, disaggregation, and feedback loops. In the past, data collection on antisemitism has often been optional, opaque, and aggregated in a way that renders Jewish-specific harms invisible. It is time to do this differently. Participating States should mandate not only the reporting of police-recorded hate crimes, but also service-denial incidents (e.g., being refused a taxi, denied a hotel, blocked from a restaurant) disaggregated by perceived religion, ethnicity, language, or national origin. Encouraging individual Jews to report those incidents—to both official authorities and independent monitors—will surface the everyday discrimination that lies just beneath the threshold of violence. That said, transparency must also extend to the judicial process: governments should track and publish how many antisemitic complaints lead to prosecutions and convictions. Without accountability in courts, victims lose trust, and impunity persists.
Critically, the OSCE must go beyond tallying incidents: it must collect data on what works. Which interventions—hotlines, rapid-response units, prosecutorial practices, public awareness campaigns—are successful? Which fail? By analyzing trends over time, we can shift from reactive to proactive policy.
This is not theoretical, and it is not always bad news. In Florida, for example, recent data show Jewish residents feel more secure than last year—proof that targeted interventions can work. But without specific, public, disaggregated baseline data for each participating state, we cannot tell whether improvements are genuine or illusory. If the OSCE measures what works, it can lead the world in evidence-based policies against antisemitism.
Second, protect Jewish life differently. Security remains essential—when it fails, Jewish life is lost, as the horrific Yom Kippur attack in Manchester demonstrated. The OSCE has long recognized that human security is inseparable from the dignity, safety, and inclusion of all communities. But security is not only about walls and guards; it is about removing the invisible walls that deny Jews the freedom to live full Jewish lives.
States must adapt their approach to identify antisemitism in regular exclusion and denial of freedoms. Today, across Europe—from Spain and Berlin to Austria, from Nice and Milan to London—Jews and Israelis have been refused flights, restaurant access, or transport, sometimes assaulted, simply for being Jewish or speaking Hebrew. Jewish minors were removed from a Vueling plane in Spain, a restaurant launch in Berlin was canceled for the owner’s identity, and in Austria an Israeli family was denied service and physically struck by an Uber driver who said he would not “transport child killers.” Antisemitic incidents—often accompanied by “Free Palestine”—have proliferated and illustrate a broader pattern where antisemitism, framed as “anti-Zionism,” manifests in everyday settings through exclusion, humiliation, and discrimination.
The erosion of daily dignity is also expressed in the attempted curtailment of Jews’ religious freedoms. Unfortunately, some participating States have tried to legally restrict Jews performing circumcision and kosher slaughter. Tolerating these acts of exclusion sends a chilling message: Jews are unwelcome not just in rhetoric, but in practice. The OSCE’s goal must not only be protecting Jewish life—but enabling it to thrive.
American Jewish Committee, with offices across OSCE States, hears this from Jewish communities daily. We ask participating States to do things differently:
- Be vigilant to this wave of discriminatory exclusion, not just physical threats.
- Enforce anti-discrimination and equality laws, even in service contexts, and routinely examine intent when a discriminatory act targets Jews or Israelis.
- Ensure Jews can perform circumcision and kosher slaughter without undue legal restriction.
- Actively monitor public demonstrations—not to limit free expression, but to ensure Jewish citizens’ safety in real time.
- Expand funding and legal access so victims can pursue redress; offer translation support, timely access to equality bodies, and support from NGOs.
Third, respond differently to the sources of antisemitism. Antisemitism today flows from multiple, overlapping sources—and to be effective, the OSCE and participating States must respond differently depending on the source, rather than relying on a single generic formula. Right now, three primary sources demand distinct attention:
Political antisemitism within the OSCE: On the left, antisemitism hides behind the language of justice, echoing Soviet anti-Zionist propaganda that recast Israel—the collective Jew—as the world’s villain and exporting those ideas through the Middle East. We see these tropes reappear on campuses, in protests, and in institutions of influence within the OSCE region. On the right, we see a coordinated trend: far-right parties and governments are reclaiming control over history—recasting national identity through sanitized memory, which is happening here in Poland; deploying antisemitic tropes like ‘globalist’ interference, as in Hungary; the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) normalizing extremist rhetoric—even a Bundestag member referring to himself as “the friendly face of the Nazis”; and in Romania, far-right candidates celebrating interwar fascist symbols. In an ironic twist, antisemitism and anti-Zionism have become, at times, the only shared language between elements of the far-left and far-right — forming a dangerous ideological convergence too often ignored. The OSCE must insist that governments confront antisemitism within their own ranks, enforce historical integrity, and reject the politicization of Jewish memory for nationalist ends.
The danger is not only in the rhetoric itself, but in the legitimization of that rhetoric by those who should know better. When governments—including powerful democracies—offer cover to antisemitic actors on the far right, whether for political expedience or ideological alignment, they embolden not only elites but street-level hate. Across the OSCE region, Jewish leaders are raising alarms; some have returned national honors in protest, demanding honesty about history and stronger legal protections. The politicization of antisemitism—and the weaponization of the fight against it—is itself part of the problem.
State-sponsored / extremist antisemitism targeting Jews in the OSCE: Iran and its proxies deploy antisemitism as a weapon of power. Since Hezbollah’s 2012 Burgas bus bombing, we have witnessed IRGC assassination plots against Jews and Israelis happen in Sweden, Turkey, and Cyprus; Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel; and, just in the last year, plans to burn a synagogue in Athens, assassinate Jews in France and Germany, and kill Azerbaijan’s chief rabbi—all financed or directed by Tehran.
Islamist antisemitism also remains a major driver of hatred and violence across the OSCE region. Extremist networks inspired by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah—and their ideological affiliates—continue to export anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, glorify terrorism, and incite attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets. In many participating States, this rhetoric has moved from fringe online spaces into public demonstrations and community settings, creating new security risks and normalizing dehumanizing narratives about Jews and Israel. Governments must recognize and address this threat with the same resolve as other forms of extremism.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to weaponize antisemitism both at home and abroad: tolerating mobs hunting Jewish passengers in Dagestan, invoking conspiracies about “ethnic Jews” undermining Russia’s traditions, and spreading antisemitic propaganda through disinformation networks like Doppelgänger.
For the OSCE, confronting Iran’s coordinated, transnational campaign targeting Jews and Israelis, Islamist antisemitism, and Russia’s state-backed antisemitic actions is not just a matter of solidarity with Jewish citizens; it is a test of the organization’s credibility to uphold its own commitments to tolerance, security, and the rule of law. Failure to act decisively risks normalizing antisemitic violence. The Organization must expose and publicly name state-sponsored antisemitism, demand transparency on foreign influence operations, and impose consequences for cross-border aggression within participating States.
Online and digital antisemitism in the OSCE: The internet—and now artificial intelligence—has become the largest incubator of hate. Algorithms amplify extremism, while coordinated bot networks manipulate narratives and normalize antisemitic slurs at unprecedented speed. These trends are compounded by language gaps in social media moderation. Participating States should know that many of their countries do not have in-country moderators who understand the linguistic, cultural, and historical contexts of anti-Jewish prejudice. Antisemitism in these spaces is often missed. In addition, the rise of generative AI models trained on biased, manipulated data, including the coordinated editing campaigns on Jewish history and Jewish issues like on Wikipedia, should be of utmost concern to participating States. National observatories should audit algorithmic bias and AI systems to ensure accountability. Participating States must demand greater transparency from social media and AI companies.
Each of these sources—political, state and extremism driven, and online—requires a tailored, forward-leaning response. The OSCE should coordinate a transnational digital and security task force that integrates open-source and digital intelligence to track antisemitic operations—from Tehran’s proxies to Islamist extremism to Moscow’s disinformation networks. We also ask the OSCE to ensure participating States do not fight antisemitism selectively, or only when it suits their domestic politics.
Fourth, educate differently. Education is one of the OSCE’s core tools. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) already supports curricula, teacher training, and awareness materials. But too often those resources stop at publishing; they do not translate fully into classrooms, or into lasting impact. Implementation on the ground varies widely: national ministries may deprioritize antisemitism; teachers feel ill-equipped to handle its subtler forms; monitoring of outcomes is rare or superficial. It is time to do this differently.
First, define antisemitism explicitly and cover the full history of this hatred. When teaching the Holocaust, we must “bring back the particular.” Do not reduce it to a universal story of human evil. Center the specifics—the distinct antisemitic ideology, the legal systems, the pseudoscience, and the Jewish communities that were destroyed. Antisemitism should also not be students’ first or only introduction to Jewish identity. Teach who Jews are: a multiethnic, vibrant people with a long history of creativity, and not only in relation to the Holocaust. Education must also include an honest understanding of Israel’s place in Jewish identity—and how hostility to that connection can also be a form of antisemitism. Ensure curricula show students how antisemitic conspiracies and tropes continue to morph, including in anti-Israel discourse.
Second, amplify experiential and community-based learning. Bring students into contact with living Jewish communities whenever possible, including visits, guest lectures, community projects, so Jews are not abstractions. Encourage non-Jewish educators to lead parts of this work. Use dynamic approaches: oral histories, student research, local memory projects, virtual tours, and critical media analysis.
Third, provide teachers with confidence, peer networks, and clear classroom protocols for addressing antisemitism as it arises, including in student speech or digital settings.
Finally, hold States accountable. ODIHR should not only create high-quality materials but also help participating States embed them into national curricula, support cascade training, and evaluate results over time. A biennial OSCE Education Audit would hold States responsible—tracking which have integrated antisemitism education across grades, supported teachers, and measured real student impact.
If we do not change how we teach, we will reproduce the same gaps in knowledge and defenselessness against hatred. If we educate differently—through specificity, connection, and accountability—we equip the next generation with the intellectual and moral resilience to resist antisemitism.
Fifth and finally, engage society differently with a “whole-of-society” approach for each participating State. The final change we need is not about new policies alone, but about how we work together within societies. Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem; it is a societal toxin. It corrodes trust, fuels conspiracy, and destabilizes democracies—the very issues the OSCE was founded to confront. The OSCE is uniquely positioned to promote a whole-of-society approach across its 57 participating States, uniting governments, civil society, educators, faith leaders, journalists, and citizens under a shared commitment to resilience and democratic integrity.
This approach is not abstract. It draws on the American Jewish Committee’s Call to Action Against Antisemitism, which sets a global standard for a comprehensive, coordinated framework—one that recognizes antisemitism as a barometer of democratic health and calls for collaboration across every sector of society. AJC’s mission—to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and advance human rights and democratic values—mirrors the OSCE’s vision of comprehensive security: that the dignity of one is inseparable from the security of all. This must be a long-term, multi-generational effort.
Each participating State must strengthen what experts call ‘attitudinal inoculation’—prebunking antisemitic myths and building resilience against manipulation. [2] In the digital age, antisemitism often starts as conspiracy, not conviction. The “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was the original disinformation campaign; today’s online conspiracies are its descendants, weaponized by Russia, Iran, and Islamist extremist networks to divide societies and erode trust. To resist them, citizens must be equipped with critical thinking, digital literacy, and above all, curiosity. Research shows that curiosity—not intelligence or education—is what inoculates us against polarization and allows us to reclaim our capacity for empathy and reason.
In like manner, rebuilding trust is equally essential. Facts alone rarely change minds; relationships do. When we hear one another’s stories—when non-Jews share Jewish stories, when allies amplify Jewish voices—empathy grows, and indifference erodes. That is the true work of prevention: human connection, sustained over time.
The OSCE, through ODIHR and its field missions, can lead here by example—building cross-sector partnerships that strengthen trust and equip societies to understand, prevent, and respond to antisemitism. Using its convening power, the OSCE can guide participating States to move from reactive crisis management to proactive trust-building—making the fight against antisemitism not just an emergency response, but a permanent pillar of democratic life.
To conclude, we are in a different—and more dangerous—moment for Jewish communities than any we have faced in the 21st century. The fear, isolation, and normalization of antisemitism in our public life signals something profound: that the lessons of the past are being forgotten, and that our existing tools are no longer enough.
That is why these five recommendations are not simply a continuation of what we have done before. They are a call to do things differently: to collect data differently, to protect Jewish life differently, to respond to sources of antisemitism differently, to educate differently, and to engage society differently. Each is rooted in the commitments the OSCE has already made, but each demands renewal—new commitment, new imagination, and renewed moral and ethical governance.
The OSCE was founded on a radical but enduring truth: security, human rights, and dignity are inseparable. If that remains our premise, then confronting antisemitism must stay at the heart of the Organization’s mission. Yet we must be honest—this goal is impossible if any participating State turns antisemitism into an instrument of state policy. Comprehensive security cannot exist without comprehensive responsibility. The OSCE must hold itself, and each of its participating States, accountable to the principles it proclaims. The 2004 Berlin Declaration pledged that “never again” would not be an empty promise. Two decades later, that promise is being tested. The measure of this moment is whether we will act with the same resolve that shaped the OSCE’s founding vision. Let history record that this time, we responded differently—and this time, we got it right.
1. “Antisemitism in America: Two Years Since October 7.” October 2025. https://boundlessisrael.org/polling-insights/antisemitism-in-america-two-years-since-october-7
2. Helsinki Commission briefing, “Conspiracy Theories, Antisemitism, and Democratic Decline,” September 17, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/live/0UdJI3nmVb8
