Anti-Semitism returns to haunt Europe

By James Skinner | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2016-12-07 11:12

Participants take part in the March of Life event at the Former Nazi Death Camp Majdanek in Lublin Aug 22, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

An old problem is returning to Europe.

Hardening attitudes toward the continent's Jews have seen a rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in countries across the continent including Britain, France, and Germany. Incidents have ranged from abusive social media posts, to serious violence, even murder.

Recent statistics are shocking. In 2014, Britain's Community Security Trust (CST), which is responsible for monitoring the security of Jews in the country, recorded a total of 1,168 anti-Semitic incidents against the country's small Jewish population of 291,000. In Germany, 1,596 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded for the same year.

However, it is France where Europe's oldest prejudice has returned most dramatically. Recorded incidents hit 851 during 2015, double the number recorded in 2014, although it is thought many incidents go unreported. There have also been high-profile terror attacks against Jews, such as the Porte de Vincennes siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris last year.

While many in Europe's Jewish communities have long voiced concerns about their safety, it seems only recent events have brought the issue to wider public attention.

So, what is driving this rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents? Two things seem certain.

First, anti-Semitic incidents generally spike when there is any kind of military action being undertaken by Israel. For example, Jews in the UK appear to have borne the brunt of the public's anger over Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza during 2009, with a record number of incidents recorded by the CST that year.

While many groups that campaign against Israeli foreign policy claim that they are not campaigning against Jews, just the Israeli state, it is a fact that many public protests have attracted individuals and groups with hardline anti-Semitic attitudes.

Second, Europe's increasing Muslim population is having a big impact on the safety of Jews. Many of Europe's Jewish communities live in the biggest population centers such as London and Paris, and typically Europe's large cities also have big Muslim populations. Evidence suggests that many Jews are being singled out for abuse, intimidation and violence by young Muslim men, especially those with radical Islamist beliefs.

Perhaps nowhere has this been more carefully documented than in the French city of Marseilles where a Jewish teacher was stabbed by a 15-year-old follower of Islamic State earlier this year. The huge influx of migrants into Germany and other parts of Europe, mainly from Syria and other Muslim countries, is only likely to add to this problem with reports of anti-Semitic behaviour by some of their number.

Some European Jews are not waiting to see how the situation will play out. According to the Jewish Agency, almost 10,000 left the continent for Israel in 2015, double the number that left in 2013.

In truth, anti-Semitism never went away. It always existed on the extremes of politics and among parts of the governing elites, as we have recently seen with the row over anti-Semitism within Britain's Labour Party.

Now once again European Jews are at risk, and it is the duty of governments to call out anti-Semites and to tackle the problem. Yet, Europe's economic decline is leading to political instability and the continent is witnessing the rise of populist political movements, some of which espouse anti-Semitic views.

However, governments wield enormous power in setting the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and have the power to keep people safe, even if they do not have the power to change minds.

Migrants cannot be allowed to bring anti-Semitic attitudes with them to the continent. The rights of European Jews to live in peace must come before the rights of any new arrivals to Europe.

And, any organization that promotes violence towards Jews should be banned.

Most challenging of all for European governments is the hardline anti-Semitic attitudes that have become prevalent in established Muslim communities. Only time and education will likely make any impact.

Most importantly, governments must stand firm on what is taught in schools. For example, European schools must not play down the holocaust from history lessons to accommodate Muslim students and parents, as has happened in parts of the Netherlands. Jewish suffering is a fact of European history and must be taught as such.

The current state of affairs reflects a failure by modern European elites to remember the lessons of the continent's dark history, and to properly identify and tackle the anti-Semitism which lurks in their societies. One can only hope that European governments start to provide proper leadership and real policies on this issue, providing some light in the continent's gathering darkness.

James Skinner is a contributing editor at China Daily with an MA in International Relations. He has a particular interest in British and American politics, as well as global security issues.