In attendance at the The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) held Tuesday in Toulouse was Antonio Tajani, one of the vice-presidents of the European Parliament. 

Speaking to reporters at the event, the Italian politician stressed the need for better education as well as intelligence coordination between the EU, US, Israel, and Canada to combat terrorism and prevent rising anti-Semitism. 

Going into more details about the global threat of terrorism, Tajani argued that with their technical savvy and political ambitions, Islamic State presented much more danger to the world than other terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda. 

When asked about his thoughts on world media telling Jews to get out Europe, Tajani was emphatic in his response. 

“Jewish people are European people. We need them – the Jewish people in Europe,” Tajani proclaimed. “As I said, Jewish and Chrisitian heritage is our heritage. Without Jewish people, we will have less Europe. We need more Europe.”

Tajani made clear his message to European Jews: “Stay in Europe. Europe is your country. Europe is also your building.” 

“Thanks to the Jewish people today, we are living in peace. After the Shoah [Holocaust], Europe is living in peace,” he added. “We need Jewish people in Europe.”