Melike Pala
17 July 2025•Update: 17 July 2025
By Melike Pala
BRUSSELS (AA) - Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are demanding the immediate replacement of the EU's Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, following leaked remarks they described as "deeply troubling" and harmful to the bloc’s credibility, according to a letter made public Thursday.
In the letter to Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner on Wednesday that was shared Thursday on X by Irish MEP Tineke Strike, the MEPs expressed their "utmost concern" about von Schnurbein's reported comments during a meeting of the EU Delegation to Israel.
Among the remarks cited was von Schnurbein's warning that a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement was based on "rumours about Jews." The review had been formally requested by a majority of EU member states and based on assessments from reputable bodies, including the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and the International Court of Justice.
"Insinuating that facts established by these institutions about Israel's actions could be 'rumours about Jews' is wrong, dangerous and unacceptable," they said.
Other contentious remarks attributed to von Schnurbein include her framing of pro-Gaza Strip "bake sales" by EU staff as contributing to "ambient antisemitism" and her questioning UN reports on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Von Schnurbein’s suggestion that early protests in Europe against the Israeli onslaught against the enclave may have been linked to the Palestine resistance group, Hamas, is "insulting to the hundreds of thousands of peacefully protesting European citizens, and is in no way factually substantiated," said the lawmakers.
"They are particularly problematic coming in a global context where legitimate criticism of the state of Israel is increasingly being obfuscated with antisemitism, a dynamic severely harming the fight against actual antisemitism," they said.
"We believe that Ms von Schnurbein's reputation has been so gravely compromised by these revelations," they added, demanding her replacement and questioning whether her remarks align with EU values, her mandate or the European Commission's official position.
