EU will step up security of Jews in Europe against 'troubling' antisemitism

The European Commission connected Friday condemned “those who are importing” nan warfare successful Gaza to Europe and will “step up” its protection of Jewish citizens, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews.

The Commission reacted to a caller missive sent by much than 100 European rabbis to President Ursula von der Leyen, informing her that since nan Hamas-led 7 October onslaught against Israel, Europe was encountering “visceral antisemitic hate” and “increased information provisions” were “urgently” needed.

The comments besides travel aft Belgium witnessed unprecedented acts of antisemitic violence, and aft a German shopkeeper posted a statement banning Jews from entering his shop, causing outrage.

“We spot a troubling emergence of antisemitism, a inclination that is wholly unjustifiable,” nan Commission spokesperson said, adding: “We guidelines firmly against each forms of antisemitism. Jewish group must consciousness safe crossed Europe.”

The spokesperson said strengthening information of Jewish group would beryllium a “priority” for nan Commission, “and we are fresh to measurement up this support.”

Student demonstrations and vandalised graves

On Thursday night, a gathering of centre-right politicians successful nan metropolis of Liège commemorating nan decease of Jean Gol, a starring Jewish politician, turned into a fiasco.

Belgian media reported that 12 policemen were injured successful demonstrations that progressive 400 people, galore of whom were students who threw firecrackers and rotten apples astatine nan participants, and called them “complicit of genocide” successful Gaza.

Meanwhile, a group of unidentified group tagged “Never Again” — a motto that has agelong been associated pinch remembering nan Holocaust — connected Gol’s sedate adjacent Liège, prompting Belgium’s King Philippe to denounce “hatred and antisemitism” arsenic “unacceptable”.

Earlier this week, successful nan German metropolis of Flensburg, a shopkeeper caused wide outrage aft he placed a statement successful his shop model reading: "Jews are banned from here! Nothing personal. No antisemitism. Just can't guidelines you." 

The incident sparked outrage connected societal media, pinch users saying they felt for illustration they had been transported backmost to nan Nazi era.

Many institutions and anti-defamation NGOs person already sounded nan alarm astir nan intensifying attacks connected Jewish communities successful Europe since Hamas' 7 October 2023 onslaught connected confederate Israel, erstwhile its militants killed astir 1,200 people, astir of them civilians.

Fears of wide exodus of European Jews

According to UNIA, Belgium’s independent nationalist institution that promotes equality and combats discrimination, 277 group signalled antisemitic acts and 79 investigations were opened successful 2024, compared pinch 59 successful 2023.

The Commission has a coordinator connected combating antisemitism and adopted its first-ever “EU Strategy connected combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life” in 2021. But nan information business has worsened, and galore personnel states have national measures to combat antisemitism.

Among nan urgent measures, nan European Rabbis mention nan request for “increased information provisions” successful Jewish places of believe and neighbourhoods; an online reporting system search incidents of antisemitism, arsenic good arsenic circumstantial training for constabulary officers “to raise consciousness of really to correctly place and woody pinch antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents, and nan offenders perpetrating them.”

“Without these actions, we fearfulness that nan consciousness of abandonment felt by Jewish communities towards their governments will scope a captious constituent and, thereafter, we tin expect nan beginnings of a wide exodus of European Jews from nan communities they person lived in, contributed to and cherished for truthful long,” nan signatories wrote.

“Eighty years aft nan liberation of Auschwitz, specified an exodus would beryllium a damning indictment of failure,” they added.  

Similar comments were made by Moshe Kantor, nan President of nan European Jewish Congress, who denounced “a caller norm for Jews successful Europe” in a caller op-ed for Euronews.

Antisemitism, Kantor said, has gone “far beyond nan policies of a government”, and “holding Jews collectively responsible for a conflict thousands of kilometres away.”

“If Jews reason that their early successful Europe is unsafe, nan nonaccomplishment will not only beryllium theirs, it will beryllium Europe’s,” he concluded.