Anti-Semitism continues to rise in Europe amid a surge in popularity of extremist parties in the region, according to a new study by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. The study's findings were released Monday ahead of Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah).
"Normative Jewish life in Europe is unsustainable," Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, said in a presentation of the study's results in Tel Aviv Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reported. "Jews do not feel safe or secure in certain communities in Europe. The Jews in Europe do not have a future. I think that their future is bleak," Kantor was quoted by the Israeli newspaper as saying.
European Jews experience anti-Semitic incidents almost every day, the reports concludes. "According to that survey, almost half of the Jewish population is afraid of being verbally or physically attacked in a public place because they are Jewish, and 25 percent of Jews will not wear anything that identifies them as Jewish or go near a Jewish institution for fear of an attack," Kantor said.
Researchers recorded 554 violent anti-Semitic acts in 2013, including attacks on people and vandalism against synagogues, cemeteries and other Jewish institutions. For the second year running, France had the highest number of incidents, with Hungary, Belgium and Sweden following close behind. Kantor said anti-Semitic incidents in Russia were relatively low.
The report also warns about the increasing popularity of far-right parties, especially in France, Hungary and Greece, where they are expected to make big gains in European parliamentary elections next month.
