The elections of the 120 members of the first ever European Jewish Parliament, a body which will serve ''to bring together and coordinate the voices of Jewish communities and individuals from West, Central and Eastern Europe,” started today, Tuesday 18 October 2011, following an overwhelming  registration of more than 1,000 candidates.

Jews residing in 54 European countries have the opportunity to be elected and to elect their European Jewish Parliament, regardless of their political, religious or communal affiliations. Amongst the 1,000 registered candidates are representatives from all walks of life; including Jewish European personalities, young activists and leaders. The Parliament will be based in Brussels where regular General Assemblies will be held.

The elections are conducted on the EJU website (www.eju.org) enabling full transparency and accessibility to each and every Jew in Europe. Voters can only vote for candidates from their own country of residence. 

Tomer Orni, Chief Executive Officer of the European Jewish Union (EJU) said “There is great excitement and high hopes across Europe regarding the European Jewish Parliament. For the first time, Jews in Europe are electing their representatives directly with the use of state of the art modern technology. I believe these elections mark the beginning of a new era for European Jewry. From today, every Jew in Europe has a voice!”.

Earlier this month, the European Jewish Union (EJU) launched Jewish News One (JN1), the first 24/7 global Jewish news channel that will be broadcasting in Europe, Israel and North America.