European Jewish leaders accuse EU top diplomat Borrell of spreading antisemitism
Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter

Leaders of European Jewish communities single out EU top diplomat Josep Borrell for criticism, accusing him in a resolution of adding to the bloc’s antisemitism problem by excessively criticizing Israel.
Borrell has demonstrated “a clear and repeated anti-Israel bias that has been a significant contributory factor to the ongoing antisemitism and the vilification of the state of Israel as a whole in the European public space,” reads a resolution unanimously passed by more than 100 delegates from European Jewish communities at a conference on fighting antisemitism organized in Amsterdam by the European Jewish Association.
Borrell is on record as saying that Israel is deliberately causing famine in Gaza, a claim that Israel rejects, and has said that Israel “created” Hamas, a claim that his critics, including the Portuguese security analyst João Lemos Esteves, say is fueling antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Instead of merely reflecting the agreed-upon positions of the EU’s 27 member states, Borrell oversteps his mandate and has “embellished or added to adopted European Council positions on his own initiative,” the resolution states.
This open criticism by the Brussels-based European Jewish Association is unusual for the group, which routinely lobbies EU institutions to promote what it sees as Jewish peoplehood interests, including curbing antisemitism, ensuring freedom of religion and freedom of ideology for European Jews — many of whom support Israel.
A spokesperson for Borrell, a former Spanish politician, did not immediately reply to a request for comment by The Times of Israel.