Conditions in Western European states are looking increasingly hostile to Jews. According to German authorities, the total number of antisemitic crimes (3,464) has more than doubled since October 2023.
The United Kingdom, France, and Germany are the top three European countries for recorded physical and digital antisemitic incidents, according to a new report from Israel’s Diaspora Ministry.
Since the Hamas terror pogrom of October 7th, antisemitism has risen massively throughout Europe. In response, the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has compiled and published a detailed account of the growing levels of hatred and violence.
The risk of a physical antisemitic incident is classified as “very high” in all three countries. Spain, Italy and the Netherlands also returned disturbing figures.
The risk of an antisemitic incident online is classified as “very high” in the UK, where a total of 2.5 million antisemitic social media posts were logged. France had around 1.1 million last year, with a similar “high risk” in Germany. The ministry cited politicians such as left-wing former MEP Jean-Luc Mélenchon, groups such as “Palestine Action,” and media influencers like the musician Roger Waters as fuelling the problem.
The Israeli report echoes a study by the University of Leipzig, which estimated that half of the Muslims in Germany have Israel-related antisemitic attitudes. This proportion is significantly lower among Catholic Christians (7.1 percent), Protestant Christians (5.2 percent) and people without religious affiliation (9.4 percent). In short, German antisemitism now comes in particular from Muslims and people with a migrant background.
