BRUSSELS—‘’There is a perception gap on Antisemitism: while 89% of Jews say that Antisemitism has significantly increased over the past five years, only 36% of the general public consider it has increased, European Commissioner Vera Jourovan, in charge of Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, as she presented Tuesday the results of a Eurobarometer survey on the perceptions of antisemitism in the EU.
On average, only 4 in 10 Europeans think the Holocaust is sufficiently taught in schools. Of the respondents, 34% do not know that Holocaust denial is criminalised. Over 27,600 people in the 28 Member States took part in the survey.
The presentation, which took place ahead of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day this 27 January, was symbolically held at the Jewish Museum in Brussels where four years ago a terrorist attack took the lives of four people.
4 in 10 Europeans consider that antisemitism is not an issue in their country, the survey shows. In a few countries at least two thirds of people see antisemitism as a problem: Sweden (81%), France (72%) and Germany (66%).
Jourova announced that the European Commission will set up a working group focused on the implementation of the Declaration on the fight against Antisemitism adopted in December by th e EU Council of Ministers. ‘’This declaration should not remain an empty shell, it needs to be followed by actions,” she said. The declaration put the emphasis on security of Jewish communities and premises, education, increasing awareness on antisemitism, better collection of antisemitic incidents and supporting the development of national strategies.
‘’Combating antisemitism must stand high on the EU agenda,’’ said Jourova.
‘’Jewish people should never ask again if there is a future in Europe,’’ she added.
‘’Nobody should be afraid to go to a synagogue or to wear a kippa in the EU,’’ the Commissioner stressed.
Last December, the European Commission presents the worrying results of a survey by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) which finds that 9 out of 10 European Jews feel Antisemitism has increased over the past five years.
The survey polled 16,300 Jews in 12 countries.
85% of European Jews consider Antisemitism to be the biggest social or political problem in their home country.
89% of Jews think Antisemitism is most problematic on the internet and on social media;
28% of respondents have been harassed at least once in the past year;
79% of Jews who experienced antisemitic harassment in the past five years did not report this to the police or another organisation;
34% avoid visiting Jewish events or sites because they do not feel safe;
38% have considered emigrating because they did not feel safe as Jews in Europe;
70% consider that efforts by Member States to combat Antisemitism are not effective.
The EU Commission is planning to conduct a similar survey among young European Jews.