The conference of European mayors to combat anti-Semitism, held recently in Dortmund, Germany, dealt with the troubling question: Is there a future for Jewish life in Europe? It turns out that anti-Semitism in Europe increases year by year and it increased long before October 13th – Not only the Jews are in trouble. Europe is in trouble!
I’m terrified, said a Jew from Berlin after Jewish homes were marked with the Star of David. She has good reasons. Because in the demonstrations of support for Hamas since the start of the war, participants have also shouted the well-known Nazi chants: “Death to the Jews”. The Nazis did not disappear. But the Islamo-Nazis are marching in the streets of Berlin, and in almost every major city across Europe.
Commissioner for the War on Anti-Semitism Felix Klein claimed in an interview published in the German media that “Since October 7, there has been hatred for Jews at a level not seen in Germany for decades.”
Last month, the UK recorded a 40-year record in anti-Semitic incidents in the UK since the October 7 Hamas attack.
In Zurich, Switzerland: a Jew was stabbed and seriously injured – the local police arrested the attacker, a Muslim who shouted “death to the Jews” during the act.
A Jewish man in his 50s, who belongs to the ultra-orthodox community, was stabbed on Saturday in Zurich, Switzerland. He was seriously injured and was rushed to receive medical treatment at the local hospital in the city. The police arrested the attacker, a 15-year-old Muslim boy, who, according to testimonies, shouted “death to the Jews” during the stabbing. The ultra-Orthodox community in Zurich called on its members to pray for the recovery of Meir Zvi ben Sarah.
On Saturday evening, a man wearing a kippah was attacked as he left a synagogue in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. The assailant fled. As far as is known, the attacker turned towards the kippah wearer and called him a “dirty Jew”, before punching and kicking him. The injured person was taken to a hospital.
There are worrying signs of an increase in antisemitism in Europe well before October 2023. From year to year there are more and more cases of physical attacks on Jews, anti-Semitic slurs and expressions of hatred towards Jews on social media and hate groups are even being formed against Jews and on the other hand, their whole lives are there and they want to hope that anti-Semitism will pass by itself and life will return to its course and that the authorities in Europe will wake up and do something that will change the situation And the situation is very serious.
Tens of millions of Muslims live in Europe, although the majority do not necessarily support jihad, it is enough that 10, 20 percent of them support it, so that the Jews of Europe will face millions and hundreds of thousands of activist Muslims who are ready to take action when demonstrations against Israel and the Jews are the easiest of actions.
In some European countries there is a ban on demonstrations of support for Hamas, which is defined as a terrorist organization. But this can be overcome through demonstrations “in favor of the Palestinians” using countless signs, the most common of which is “From the Jordan to the sea Palestine will be free” and for those who are not clear, these are demonstrations of support for the elimination of the Jewish state.
Are the demonstrations out of genuine concern for the plight of the Palestinians?
In Africa alone, Islamist organizations murdered 19,091 people in 2022. Many thousands more were murdered in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. Has anyone seen or heard of a demonstration for them? A demonstration of Muslims? A demonstration by human rights activists? Why didn’t they demonstrate for them? Because it is not a matter of sensitivity to human life but of hatred of Jews.
At the conference in Dortmund, different opinions were heard on the question of whether there is a future for Jews in Europe:
The movement for the fight against anti-Semitism hosted in Dortmund for the first time the Conference of European Mayors for the fight against anti-Semitism. More than a hundred participants from more than sixty countries, including more than thirty mayors, came to a three-day conference that included various panels to combat anti-Semitism. It was a good opportunity to check with local officials on the continent about the situation of the Jews in the various cities and especially to deal with the question – is there a future for Jewish life in Europe?
Berlin – Following the identification with the massacre of Jews, which was manifested in the demonstrations in Berlin, Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Proschauer said that this is a Trojan horse in the heart of Europe. Islamist horse. It’s scary. In every Jewish institution in most European countries, security has been increased. No Muslim institution needed such reinforcement.
Germany’s interior minister recently stated that Hamas supporters must be deported. This indicates that in Germany, there are those who understand that the problem is serious. very serious After all, Germany knows that death calls for Jews with houses marked with the Star of David in the first act will end in houses that undergo a pogrom in the third act. Another Kristallnacht? When you see the hatred that sprouts from the faces of those who identify with Hamas – anything can happen.
Marie Christine Lamerdely, the deputy mayor of Paris, said that she is “convinced that there is a future for Jewish life in France.” However, she also admitted that “there is a serious problem of anti-Semitism in French universities”, and that “she is working to make the Jews feel safe in the country”.
Peter Warhove, mayor of the municipality of Gouda in the Netherlands , said that “anti-Semitism in the Netherlands always bubbles up and erupts when the citizens are not well or when there is fear of the future”. He added that “he thinks there is a future for Jewish life in the Netherlands, but it is not obvious.”
Sascha Roitman, the director general of the movement to fight anti-Semitism , said that “the right-wing party in the Netherlands rose because the Muslims got on their nerves.” According to him, “Democracies need to protect themselves, and to do that they need to use slightly less democratic methods.”
Marie Christine Lamerdely, deputy mayor of Paris, says –
“I was naive, I wasn’t aware of how much anti-Semitism exists in universities.
I met with a rabbi from the city of Lyon who told me about a medical student in the city who was bullied on anti-Semitic grounds, and her professor told her: ‘Stay at home, don’t pay attention, and come back when everything is quiet’, and do you know what she did? She left for Israel. So I don’t know how we educate the academics. It makes me angry. I’m going to gather all the presidents of the universities in France and ask them how they intend to fight anti-Semitism. In most universities, Jews don’t even know who to turn to when they are attacked.”
To the question of whether she thinks there is a future for Jewish life in France?
She replied “I don’t know how to answer that”.
“I know there is a future, but many decision makers know there is a problem. We are in a deep crisis, but Churchill already said: Never waste a crisis. We should use it to be aware, to fight harder. But I am very new to the subject, maybe I’m the wrong woman to answer that.”
Peter Warhoeve, the mayor of Gouda who appeared with three other Dutchmen on the panel says –
“Anti-Semitism in the Netherlands always bubbles up and erupts when the citizens are not well or when there is fear of the future. In the weeks since October 7, there has been an 800 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents, and the Dutch voter suddenly saw how it bursts into his streets, reaching him. He doesn’t pay taxes for it, he doesn’t I want to see a step on our values as a country. I think this pushed a lot of people to choose Wilders. The hatred of Jews in the streets, the popularity and normalization of it, was one step too many against the values of the Netherlands.”
About 2,000 Jews live in Norway today. Rabbi Yoav Melchior, rabbi of the Jewish community in Oslo, says that some of them are now thinking of leaving the country: “There are many members of the Jewish community who clearly say that they are debating whether they want to stay living in Norway, after the recent period. However, one should immigrate to Israel for other reasons: “I think the reason for immigrating to Israel should not be because of anti-Semitism, but out of Zionism and a connection to the people of Israel and the desire to live in the Land of Israel, and that is what we educate.”
Muslim immigration to Norway created a demographic change that affects life in Norway and the statements of Norwegian politicians. In today’s Norway, there is much more hatred for the State of Israel, and to a large extent also anti-Semitism, among the Muslim population.
“This week I unintentionally killed the fish in my aquarium because I gave them too much oxygen. Too much freedom of speech can also kill. When someone takes advantage of it to say terrible and inciting things against Jews, then freedom of speech, the oxygen, also becomes poison.”
Sasha Roitman, CEO of the Movement to Fight Anti-Semitism. Born in Brussels and immigrated at the age of 18 after the second intifada, with 12 other friends. A number –
“They started asking me why I kill Palestinians. Then your identity changes, you realize that you are Israeli and Jewish and then Belgian, and you realize that the street is no longer yours.”
“My sister in Belgium and her children go to a school with snipers on the roof. We are building something new. The previous generation missed out and left us in a world with more antisemites. Now it’s our turn.
“Unfortunately, the numbers of anti-Semitism are only increasing, and that was even before the war.”
“It is impossible to eliminate anti-Semitism. It needs to be framed and managed.
To the question of whether he sees a future for Jews in Europe?
“There will be Jews here, because in the end the local communities will realize that they are not saving the Jews, but themselves. The right-wing party in the Netherlands rose because the Muslims got on their nerves, took over the public space and did not respect the values. And it goes in the direction where extremism fights extremism. There is a new right that goes against Islam that refuses to acclimatize.
In the case of Israel and the Jews, they already understand that ignorance wins, the easy slogan got stronger. We must not forget the history of the Europeans. They now woke up late, and when that happens, you go to the extreme, to the right, which today is much more attentive to voices from the street. There is already a complete stop to low-quality immigration, which will not support the democracy they live in, and a stop to instigators and imams who must return home. On the other hand, they are afraid to face it. They don’t know what to do. I think they come to a conference like this to get tools to deal with it.”
The rise in anti-Semitism in Europe begins long before October 2013 – the outbreak of the war in Gaza –
According to data from the Wiesenthal Center, in 2022 , 2,800 cases of anti-Semitic crimes were reported in Europe, a 23% increase compared to 2021.
In France, where anti-Semitism is one of the most serious problems, 914 cases of anti-Semitic crimes were reported in 2022, an increase of 16% compared to 2021. Of these, 336 were physical attacks, 530 were abusive calls and 57 were cases of verbal violence.
In the Netherlands, there was also an increase in anti-Semitism already in 2022, when 192 cases of anti-Semitic crimes were reported, an increase of 24% compared to the previous year. Of these, 28 were physical attacks, 94 were insults and 70 were cases of verbal violence.
Will they wake up quickly in Europe or will they wait for a big disaster to happen and when they wake up will they realize that it is already too late?
