Antisemitic incidents at ‘extraordinary levels’ in Europe: EU

The European Commission on Sunday condemned the “extraordinary levels” of antisemitic incidents and rhetoric that have seen a resurgence across Europe and the globe in recent weeks. 

In a statement, the EU said it “stands by its Jewish communities” and mentioned a handful of antisemitic incidents that have occurred in Europe in recent days.

“We condemn these despicable acts in the strongest possible terms. They go against everything that Europe stands for,” the statement read. 

“The spike of antisemitic incidents across Europe has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history. European Jews today are again living in fear,” the statement read, a reference to the centuries of persecution Jews experienced across European countries.

“We have seen a resurgence of antisemitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union and worldwide: Molotov cocktails thrown on a synagogue in Germany, stars of David sprayed on residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish stores and synagogues attacked in Spain, demonstrators chanting hate slogans against Jews,” the statement continued.

The rise in antisemitic acts has appeared across the globe against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. There has similarly been a rise in anti-Muslim incidents reported.

In the two weeks following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel’s southern border last month — which killed 1,400 Israelis — the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a 388 percent spike in antisemitic incidents over the same period last year.

“When conflict erupts in Israel, antisemitic incidents soon follow in the U.S. and globally,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the ADL, in a news release at the time. 

“From white supremacists in California displaying antisemitic banners on highway overpasses to radical anti-Zionists harassing Jewish people because of their real or perceived support for the Jewish state, we are witnessing a disturbing rise in antisemitic activity here while the war rages overseas,” he added.

The uptick in antisemitic sentiment has coincided with the pushback to Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza, which have resulted in nearly 10,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the latest estimates by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. 

In its statement, the EU pledged to step up security measures to protect places of worship and to make support available to people. 

“Jewish, Muslim, Christian — no one should live in fear of discrimination or violence because of their religion or their identity. The EU is determined to protect the wellbeing of all its communities, ethnic, religious or other,” the statement read. “We have to push back against this rise in antisemitism, as well as the rise in anti-Muslim hatred that we have been witnessing over the past weeks — which has no place in Europe.“