Violent anti-Semitic incidents have increased in seven countries with the largest Jewish communities outside of Israel, according to a report by the Anti-Diffamation League (ADL) published on Wednesday.
Countries – also known as J7 – include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina.
The publication of the report coincides with the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
The J7 working group, which was created in July 2023, sounded the alarm on the intensification of attacks against Jewish communities, in particular since October 7, 2023 of Hamas attack In southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, most of them.
The report indicates that attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues and businesses, alongside individuals, have increased considerably, in some cases, more than doubling in 2023, compared to the previous year.
In Germany, anti-Semitic incidents increased from 75% from 2021 to 2023, 185% in France and 82% in the United Kingdom.
ADL's international president Marina Rosenberg says that because people are harassed just to be Jewish, “many Jews around the world hide their Jewish symbols”.
Some even change their names, said Rosenberg.
Fuel violence of political extremes
Anti -Semitism continued to increase in Germany in the two political extremes. Violence fueled by an extreme right alternative for Germany (AFD) rhetoric has increased, as well as attacks by members of Muslim communities and even the center of society, which are pro-Palestinians.
According to the report, the continuous rise of AFD “poses a major challenge”.
“AFD provides an environment for anti -Semites to flourish. It has close ties with right -wing extremist circles, for which it acts as the political arm in Parliament. It is also a threat to Jewish religious life,” said the report.
The authors of the attacks are not limited to the far right or the far left.
“We have seen a normalization of anti -Semitism in societies through the political spectrum. It is therefore not only a question of far right or far left or Islamists or jihadists, it is everywhere in our societies,” Rosenberg told Euronews.
“And therefore, what is necessary, not only here in Germany, but in the world, it is a whole approach to society.”
Last year, students across Europe participated in Pro-Palestinian protests in universitiesWhich, in some cases, has led to the violence and arrest of the students. In a case, Three EU citizens Were threatened with expulsion from Germany following a sit-in in a university in Berlin, where the building was vandalized, and the staff were threatened.
ADVERTISEMENTAnti -Semitic attacks aggravate
Rosenberg says that civil society and universities must do more to fight against such extremism.
“The threat of anti -Semitism is not only against the Jews. It is against all of society. And it really goes against the democratic values to which our liberal societies believe,” said Rosenberg.
“We have always said that anti-Semitism is the canary of the coal mine. And what begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews. And we know it here in Germany, and we know it in Europe and we know it in the world,” she added.
Attacks are not limited to harassment and vandalism, but also to physical assault and violence.
ADVERTISEMENTThe J7 report indicates that police statistics show 3,200 crimes motivated by anti -Semitism between January 1, 2024 and October 7, 2024 in Germany.
Although this marks a decrease compared to 2023, the report also stipulates that the RIA, the civil society declaration office for anti -Semitic incidents (including criminal offenses and non -criminal acts), recorded nearly 3000 anti -Semitic incidents the previous year, between October 7, 2023 and the end of 2023 – The scope HAMAS.
In addition, the RIAs also indicated that 1,383 anti -Semitic incidents had already been recorded in the first half of 2024, which was the greatest number of the previous year. Twenty -one of these incidents involved Jewish commemorative sites.
“When someone is silent, when they see the Jews harassed in the street, he must understand not only that morally, it is their obligation to do something, but that they could be the next one,” said Rosenberg.
ADVERTISEMENT“If they are immigrants or women or LGBTQ +, etc., when liberal societies do not protect their minorities, they do not protect democratic values,” she concluded.
