Anti-Semitism Swells in Europe Amid Gaza War.
Jews in Europe are facing rising anti-Semitism, partly spurred by conflict in the Middle East, a European Union rights watchdog has said.
Nearly all European Jews surveyed had experienced anti-Semitism in the year before the study was carried out between January and June 2023, with incidents spiking since October 7, when Israel’s current war on Gaza erupted. The spillover effect of the conflict in the Middle East is eroding hard-fought-for progress” in combatting anti-Jewish hate.
“Worrying about their safety and hiding their Jewish identity is still a reality for many Jewish people today.” 8,000 Jews across 13 EU countries – Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they had been harassed because of their Jewish identity in the year before the survey was conducted in 2023. Four percent reported being physically attacked. A majority expressed active concern for their family’s safety and security. In France, 74 percent of Jews felt the Middle East conflict affected their sense of security, the highest rate among the countries surveyed.
Across Europe, 76 percent reported hiding their Jewish identity “at least occasionally,” and 34 percent avoid Jewish events or sites “because they do not feel safe.
