AJC: German Neo-Nazi on European Human Rights Committee

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Jul 08, 2014, 11:51 ET

NEW YORK, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC is outraged that Udo Voigt, of the German neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), will serve on the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee.

"It's revolting enough that Voigt was elected to the European Parliament, but his assignment to this particular European Parliament committee makes a mockery of everything all democratic forces hold dear," said Stephan Kramer, director of AJC's European Office on Anti-Semitism. The Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee is responsible for the protection of citizen rights, human rights, and measures to combat discrimination.

"The idea of a neo-Nazi as a guardian of European human rights is sickening," Kramer added. Voigt has long belittled the Holocaust, glorified Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, and promoted racism and xenophobia.

Looking ahead to the next European Parliament elections in 2019, Kramer called for serious consideration of setting an electoral threshold for political parties vying for seats in the regional legislature. "The threshold percentage for parties entering the European Parliament should be considered just as important as the rules in place in the German Bundestag, where it is a minimum of five percent, and most other national parliaments in Europe," said Kramer.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee