BRUSSELS— ‘’Anyone who is shocked at the latest EU Report on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU has its head in the ground or is badly disconnected from the reality on the ground,’’ said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), in a comment on the presentation Monday of the results of a comprehensive survey on experiences and perceptions of antisemitism among European Jews.
The survey polled 16,300 Jews in twelve European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, representing 89% of European Jews. They represent over 96% of the EU’s estimated population.
The survey results were presented by European Commissioner in charge of Justice, Vera Jourova, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the Austrian presidency of the EU.
This is the second survey of this kind conducted by FRA. The first survey, conducted in 2012, was already a a ”wake-up call” to the pervasive problem of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The worrying results of the survey found that nine in 10 (89%) respondents feel that antisemitism had increased in their country over the previous five years, and more than eight in 10 (85%) consider it to be a serious problem. The prevailing forum for antisemitic activities, according to respondents, is on the internet and social media (89%), followed by public spaces (73%), media (71%), and political life (70%).
Additionally, 40% said they worried about an antisemitic physical attack, and 70% believe that the government in their country does not combat antisemitism effectively.
The 2018 report also found that 79% of those who experienced antisemitic harassment in the five years prior to the survey did not report the most serious incident to police, indicating an even darker reality than the official national crime numbers.
28 percent of those polled “always or frequently” avoid going to Jewish institutions or attending community events.
39%, representing more than one-third of all respondents, said they had considered emigrating in the five years preceding the survey because they did not feel safe as Jews in the country where they live.
“We thank the EU and the Fundamental Rights agency for confirming what we already knew, Europe as a whole is failing in its fight against antisemitism, and failing in ensuring the safety and security of the Jewish people that live on the continent,’’ commented Rabbi Margolin.
‘’This news is not a lightning bolt out of the blue, but instead is a confirmation of everything that our association members and people who approach us have been reporting to us on their daily experiences,’’ he added.
He urged Member States to adopt the EJA’s ‘’Jewish Red Lines’’ as a concrete sign that they are committed to making a difference. These red lines, ratified by the members of the European Jewish Association at their conference last month, are:
- Political parties and their leadership must sign up to the full IHRA definition of Anti-semitism.
- Every European Country must appoint a dedicated Special Representative to combatanti-Semitism where one already doesn’t exist
- All political parties pledge to exclude from governmentparties or politicians that espouse anti-Semitism as defined by the IHRA definition.
- All political parties to pass, in accordance with their respective rules of procedure, binding resolutions that reject BDS activities as fundamentally anti-Semitic.
- All political parties to support in writing and in party documents their support for freedom of religion and freedom of practice at Member State level and EU level.
“These red lines are the bare minimum that is needed to make a real difference. Europe’s principal leaders and parties should adopt them immediately if they are serious about tackling the unshockingly ‘shocking’ figures in this sad report on European Jewry”, concluded Rabbi Margolin.