Antisemitism in Europe | ARTE Europe Weekly

[Music] anti-jewish hatred it's on the streets and in people's minds as anti-semitic incidents have exploded across the continent we ask are Jewish people still safe in [Music] Europe the Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza are major world events that have polarized European Society Jewish and Muslim people in particular are feeling the effects of this next week we will therefore be making a program about islamophobia today's edition focuses on anti-Semitism for some Jews the situation is so unbearable that they are immigrating to Israel in France for example three times as many people will leave this year for Israel as in 2023 that's according to the Israeli authorities like deline many Jews in Europe feel the same way today we're looking at statistics on anti-Semitism from various countries and talking about what needs to happen for Jewish communities to feel at home again in Europe but let's begin with the events of the last few months the area surrounding the Israeli Consulate in Munich is cordoned off it's the 5th of September and a possible attack has been avoided the alleged gunman an 18-year-old Austrian was armed with a rifle it's likely that he planned to attack the building and its occupants he was shot dead by police the date is no coincidence on 5th September 1972 Palestinian terrorists took hostage and then killed 11 Israeli athletes completing in the Munich Olympic Games in the athletes Village a few days prior to this year's fall Munich attack just after 8:00 a.m. on the 24th of August a blast occurred outside the synagogue in the southern French town of lron moot emotions are running high in the Jewish [Music] Community the suspect is an Algerian who is legally resident in France fortunately no one was killed the attack failed because the suspect got the hours of the services wrong and worshippers hadn't yet arrived at the synagogue on the 15th of June in corar a suburb of Paris a 12-year-old Jewish girl was allegedly gang raped three boys were arrested two aged 13 and one 12 two have been charged with gang rape issuing death threats anti-semitic insults and violence and taken into custody the 12-year-old was charged with three of the same offenses but not with rape and was allowed to go home other countries in Europe have also seen a worrying rise in anti-semitic incident on 31st October 2023 the Jewish part of Vienna's Central Cemetery was targeted a room was set on fire and anti-semitic graffiti was found around the same time some Jewish schools in the UK and Netherlands were closed for security reasons with Jewish organizations fearing they may be attacked now let's get some clarification what exactly does anti-semitism actually mean after all what is and what isn't anti-semitic is hotly debated we asked an anti-Semitism expert at the Amad Antonio Foundation who defines hostility towards Jews in Four Points the first Collective responsibility for example when someone blames their Jewish neighbor because Israel has bombed Gaza however it is perfectly okay to criticize the policies of the Israeli government the second is demonization this is about negative characteristics that are repeatedly attributed to Jews for example they're greedy or even child murderers the third conspiracy theories Jews are often portrayed as powerful manipulators who are controlling things behind the scenes that they control the media or the financial Industries and four extermination history has shown again and again people are murdered just because they are Jews and some people want to wipe the Jewish State off the map so how widespread are incidents of anti-Semitism in Europe today today let's take a look at the map in France anti-semitic acts Rose by 73% Between the first half of 2023 and the first half of this year the Czech Federation of Jewish communities reported a 90% rise in anti-semitic acts between 2022 and 2023 as well Germany saw an 83% Spike over the same period between 7th October 2023 and the end of that year authorities were logging 32 incidents a day on average up from and in 2022 the British Jewish Community has not been Spar either in the last quarter of 2023 there was a 600% rise in anti-semitic acts compared to the year before Italy has seen a similar surge with 26 incidents in the last quarter of 2023 almost as many as in the whole of 2022 when there were 241 Sweden recorded 110 complaints of incitement to anti-semitic hate between 7th October and end of year compared to just 24 for the whole of 22 but of course anti-Semitism has been a problem in Europe long before 7th of October in the war in Gaza the EU Agency for fundamental rights had just surveyed 8,000 Jewish Europeans in summer 2023 and the answers painted a bleak picture even then 90% had faced anti-semitic hate speech online 56% had come across it in real life 51% % had seen it in the media 37% revealed they had been harassed because of their faith 53% worry about their safety and 60% are concerned for their family's safety and finally 76% said they sometimes hide their Jewish identity out of fear of anti-Semitic speech or violence moving through public space can be a source of anxiety the mayor of London recently opened a Tri bus line which links two Jewish neighborhoods in the city citing safety concerns the aim is to avoid people having to change buses where they don't feel safe but can it really be a good thing if the Jewish Community withdraws from public space Marina chsky runs a Counseling Center on anti-semitic violence and discrimination in Berlin we asked her what politicians and wider Society should do now for [Music] um [Music] is at the beginning of this program we asked are Jewish people still safe in Europe the answer is of of course much more complex than the figures we have presented to you today the many security measures at synagogues and Jewish schools are perhaps reassuring but they also show just how bad the situation really is if you want to learn more about the history of anti-Semitism we have an in-depth four-part documentary available to stream on .tv I hope you join us next week and thanks for tuning in Chia chiao [Music]