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Reject bigotry, build bridges across communities – UN chief to high-level forum on anti-Semitism

High-level Forum on Global Antisemitism gets underway at UN Headquarters in New York.
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine
High-level Forum on Global Antisemitism gets underway at UN Headquarters in New York.

Reject bigotry, build bridges across communities – UN chief to high-level forum on anti-Semitism

Describing religious intolerance as one of the greatest global threats, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the world to join together for peaceful coexistence and a life of dignity for all.

“Violence against people because of their religious identity or beliefs is an assault on the core values of the UN,” underlined Mr. Ban in a video message to an event titled ‘High-level Forum on Anti-Semitism,’ held today at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“Time and again, history has shown that those who attack one minority today, will target another tomorrow. Discrimination does not discriminate,” he said.

In his message to the event – organized by the governments of Canada, Israel, the United States and the Delegation of the European Union – the Secretary-General also noted that anti-Semitism is one of the world’s oldest, most pervasive and deadliest forms of hatred and that despite the horror of the Holocaust, Jews continue to be targeted for murder and abuse solely because they are Jews.

He further emphasized that along with a global rise in anti-Semitism, other alarming forms of discrimination, particularly those targeted against refugees and migrants, are also on the rise.

“Let us reject bigotry, uphold human rights, and build bridges across communities,” he urged.