The number of the most severe and violent incidents monitored worldwide by the Kantor Center was close to 400 – representing a 13 % increase from last year.
In Western European countries, the situation is the worst – specifically in Germany where there was a 70 percent increase in violent antisemitism.
TEL AVIV—‘’ There is an increasing sense of emergency among Jews in many countries around the world,” said Moshe Kantor, President f the European Jewish Congress (EJC) as he presented Wednesday the 2018 ”Annual Report on Antisemitism Worldwde” a the Kantor Center at Tel Aviv University.
The report shows a 13% increase in violent ant-Semitic attacks worldwide last year.
‘’Antisemitism has recently progressed to the point of calling into question the very continuation of Jewish life in many parts of the world. As we saw with the second mass shooting of a synagogue in the U.S., many parts of the world that were previously regarded as safe no longer are,” he stressed.
“Additionally, as we recently witnessed with the disgraceful cartoon in the New York Times, antisemitism has entered gradually into the public discourse,’’ he added, in reference to the cartoon published last week in the paper which featured U.S. President Donald Trump wearing a yarmulke, sporting dark-tinted glasses and being led by a dog with the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a large blue Star of David hanging from its collar.
‘’Threats, harassments and insults have become more violent, inciting to even more physical violence against Jews. It feels like almost every taboo relating to Jews, Judaism and Jewish life has been broken,’’ Kantor said at a press conference.
In 2018, he said, we witnessed the largest number of Jews murdered in a single year since decades.
The number of the most severe and violent incidents monitored worldwide by the Kantor Center was close to 400 – representing a 13 % increase from last year.
In Western European countries, the situation is the worst – specifically in Germany where there was a 70 percent increase in violent antisemitism.
The countries with the highest number of major violent cases are the US with over 100 cases, the UK with 68 cases, France and Germany with 35 cases each and Canada with 20 reported cases involving violence against Jews.
“It is now clear that antisemitism is no longer limited to the far-Left, far-Right and radical Islamist’s triangle – it has become mainstream and often accepted by civil society,” Kantor noted.
“It represents a clear danger not only to Jews but to society as a whole. Antisemitism is the common denominator that unites extremists on the political spectrum, as part of their politics of intolerance that puts us all in danger.”
“With the political centre becoming more fragile, these extremist movements and groups seek to gain political power by attacking the foundations of democratic societies,” Dr. Kantor concluded.
Kantor has called on all world leaders ‘’to take the fight against antisemitism more seriously and clamp down on those who spread hatred.’’
The report was published on the eve of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.