Anti-Semitic incidents rise in Europe as Gaza war rages
The war in Gaza has contributed to a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Europe, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights says.
A rally against anti-Semitism in London in December 2019. Credit: Brian Minkoff/Shutterstock.
A survey conducted between January and June 2023 shows anti-Semitism was already high in Europe before the war began in October, and information collected from 12 Jewish community organisations since then showed a further rise, the report released on Thursday says.
“Jewish people have experienced more anti-Semitic incidents since October 2023, with some organisations reporting an increase of more than 400 per cent,” it said.
Three out of four Jewish respondents said they felt people hold them responsible for the Israeli government’s actions and 80 per cent felt anti-Semitism had grown in the European country where they live in the five years before the survey, it showed.
In the year before the survey was conducted, 90 per cent of respondents had encountered anti-Semitism on the internet, with more than half experiencing it offline from people they know or in the media.
More than one-third were harassed during the same period because of their origin, most of them multiple times.
“Anti-Semitic harassment and violence mostly take place in streets, parks or shops,” the FRA said.
The survey said more than three-quarters of respondents hide their Jewish identity at least occasionally, and more than one-third avoid Jewish events or sites because of safety concerns.
The survey was carried out in 13 member states accounting for 96 per cent of the EU’s estimated Jewish population, which the FPA put at a little more than one million.
About 1200 people were killed and over 250 hostages seized in the October 7 attack on Israel by Islamist militants, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 38,000, medical authorities in the enclave say.
A watchdog said in June that anti-Semitism had risen more than 80 per cent in Germany in 2023.
A network of NGOs monitoring Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred said in June that anti-Muslim incidents registered in Germany had also risen.
By Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk/Reuters
