Europe is experiencing a “wave of anti-Semitism” caused in part by the conflict in the Middle East, the European Union’s human rights agency said, as it released a survey that found almost all respondents reported recent anti-Jewish prejudice.
The survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that 96% of respondents had experienced anti-Semitism in the year before the survey, which was carried out between January and June 2023. A total of 84% considered anti-Semitism to be a “very big problem” or “quite a big problem” in their country, while less than one in five ( 18%) believed that governments handle it effectively.
Although the survey – in which 8,000 Jews over the age of 16 participated – was completed before the attack and massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, the Vienna-based agency also collected data from 12 Jewish umbrella organizations. Some of these organizations have reported a 400% increase in anti-Semitic attacks since October 2023.
“Europe is witnessing a wave of anti-Semitism, driven in part by the conflict in the Middle East,” said the director of the agency, Serpa Rautio, to the British “Guardian”. “This severely limits the ability of Jews to live safely and with dignity. We need to build on existing laws and strategies to protect communities from all forms of hatred and intolerance, online and offline.” The survey was the third of its kind conducted by the agency since 2013 and found only marginal signs of progress in some areas.
Four out of five respondents (80%) told the agency that anti-Semitism had increased in the last five years in their country, while 64% of respondents who encountered anti-Semitism said they experienced it “all the time.” More than nine out of 10 described anti-Semitism on the Internet and social media as a “very big” problem.
Six in 10 people said they were worried about their family’s safety, while a similar number (62%) said the Arab-Israeli conflict had affected their sense of security. The survey covered 13 EU countries, where 96% of the EU’s Jewish population lives, including France, Germany, Poland and Spain.
