Demonstrators pass the French Assemblée National on a march against antisemitism last November. Photograph: Antoine Gyori/Corbis/Getty Images
Europe is experiencing a “surge in antisemitism” partly driven by the Middle East conflict, the EU’s main human rights agency stated in a new survey where almost all respondents reported recent biases against Jews, according to The Guardian.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights survey revealed that 96% of respondents had encountered antisemitism in the year preceding the survey, conducted from January to June 2023. Additionally, 84% considered antisemitism a “very big” or “fairly high” problem in their country, while fewer than one in five (18%) felt their governments were effectively addressing it.
Although the survey of 8,000 Jews over 16 years old was completed before the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which led to brutal crackdowns in Gaza, the Vienna-based agency also gathered data from 12 coordinating Jewish organizations. Some of these organizations reported a 400% increase in antisemitic attacks since October 2023.
Official Statements
“Europe is witnessing a wave of antisemitism, partly triggered by the conflict in the Middle East,” said the agency’s director, Sirpa Rautio. “This seriously restricts the ability of Jews to live in safety and dignity. We must build on existing laws and strategies to protect communities from all forms of hate and intolerance, both online and offline.”
Long-Term Trends
The survey, the third of its kind by the agency since 2013, showed only minor signs of progress in certain areas. Four out of five individuals (80%) reported an increase in antisemitism in their country over the past five years, while 64% of those who faced antisemitism said they experienced it “constantly.” Over nine in ten respondents identified antisemitism on the internet and social media as a “very big” problem.
Personal Safety Concerns
Six in ten people expressed concerns about their family’s safety, while a similar number (62%) said the Arab-Israeli conflict impacted their sense of security.
Country-Specific Data
The survey covered 13 EU countries that are home to 96% of the EU’s Jewish population, including France, Germany, Poland, and Spain.
In France, which has the largest Jewish population in Europe, Jewish communities reported feeling torn ahead of Sunday’s second round of elections. Last year, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that antisemitic acts “exploded” in France in the first month following the October 7 attacks, with 1,000 such incidents reported.
Germany also saw a rise in anti-Jewish violence after October 7, with the country’s antisemitism commissioner warning that it risked taking the country “back to the worst times.”
Recommendations
The EU agency urges governments to fund security and protection needs for Jewish communities, including schools, synagogues, and community centers. It also calls for the full use of the EU’s internet regulation law, the Digital Services Act, to remove antisemitic content online, and for increased efforts to prosecute antisemitic hate crimes.
