Austria
Austrian soldier imprisoned for showing photos of swastika tattoo on testicle
When: June
Where: Austria
What: An Austrian soldier, who posted pictures online of a swastika tattoo on one of his testicles, was sentenced to 19 months in prison. The 29-year-old soldier, who was not named in the Austrian media, was previously convicted for posting pictures online of Nazi World War II memorabilia. Click here to read more.
Canada
Mock eviction notices were sent to residents in Canadian cities
When: 3 June
Where: Canada
What: Canadian Jews received fake eviction notices in their mailboxes as part of a campaign to draw attention to what Palestinian activists have called “immoral evictions” of Palestinians from a neighborhood in east Jerusalem.
“We regret to inform you that your house is scheduled for demolition in the next three days. If you do not vacate the premise within this time frame, we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings,” the document reads.
President and CEO of the WJC-affiliated Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Shimon Fogel said that the campaign contributes a “profound sense of distress and anxiety,” adding, “I have never seen the level of fear — almost panic — that is taking hold within the Jewish community across the country.” Click here to read more.
Two heads of an extremist publication lost their appeal of a conviction for promoting hatred against women and Jews. Among the offensive statements made in the publication were accusations that Jews drink the blood of Christian children along with expressions of Holocaust denial.
Czech Republic
Report finds surge of online antisemitism in Czech Republic amid pandemic
When: 2020; Report published on 9 June
Where: Czech Republic
What: A report published by the Federation of the Jewish Communities found 874 antisemitic incidents in 2020, 180 more than during the previous year. Antisemitism online was particularly apparent, and accounted for 98% of the total number of incidents. Antisemitic posts included conspiracy myths blaming Jews for the pandemic and claiming that vaccination serves their financial interests.
“The analysis of violent antisemitic attacks and the profiles of their perpetrators confirms that a violent act is almost always preceded by radicalization and expressions of hatred vented on the internet, especially on social media,” the report said. Click here to read more.
France
French presidential candidate suggests Toulouse Jewish school murders were part of elections conspiracy
When: June
Where: France
What: Far-left politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, who won 19% of the votes in France’s last presidential race and is running again next year, suggested that a jihadist’s 2012 murder of four Jews in Toulouse was part of an election conspiracy.
“You’ll see that on the last week of the presidential campaign, we’ll have a serious incident or a murder,” said Melenchon, leader of the Unsubmissive France movement. “In 2012 it was Merah, last week it was Champs-Elysee.”
“All of this has been planned in advance,” he claimed. “We get all kinds of people pulled out of nowhere at a very serious event which, once more, allows to point fingers at Muslims and to invent a civil war. It’s boring.”
Representative Council of Jews of France President Francis Kalifat condemned Melenchon’s remarks as “an obscene attack on the memory of the victims.”
Melenchon’s remarks were in reference to Mohammed Merah, who murdered three Jewish children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012. Click here to read more.
Two Jewish communities in southern France were targeted with antisemitic threats. In one incident, a handwritten letter was delivered to the Jewish community in the town of Béziers, which derided Jews as a “sh**ty race,”, “parasites” and the “cancer of humanity.”
Béziers Mayor Robert Ménard — who was directly threatened in the anonymous letter along with his family — urged the arrest and full prosecution of the as-yet-unidentified offender. “In the current context, you never know what it can lead to,” Ménard said. “We must tell these people that it will end in court, that we will do everything possible to find and sanction them.”
A retired French army general is facing possible criminal charges following an appearance on a popular TV show during which implied that Jews control the media.
Germany
Arson attack on Ulm synagogue
When: 5 June
Where: Ulm, Germany
What: A masked man unsuccessfully attempted to set the synagogue on fire.
State Premier Winfried Kretschmann called the incident a "vile attack," adding, "It shows the insidious face of antisemitism, which we oppose clearly and unambiguously.”
Thomas Strobl, interior minister for the state, described the incident as “repulsive” and added that anyone who tries to set fire to a Jewish place of worship would be "met with the full force of the law." Click here to read more.
A swastika was scrawled on the ark of a synagogue at the Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. “It is simply sad. This hatred of Jews must finally stop,” the Orthodox Rabbinical Conference said, according to the Associated Press. “The ugly grimace of antisemitism does not pause even in areas of high security, at a place of encounter, silence and stopping, where people from all over the world meet briefly while traveling and are in transit.”
A new report on antisemitism found more antisemitic incidents in 2020 compared to 2019. According to the document, there were an average of 159 incidents per month and a quarter of them were related to COVID and conspiracy myths regarding the pandemic.
Italy
Italian police dismantle antisemitic, racist online group
When: June
Where: Italy
What: Italian police dismantled an online group propagating antisemitic and racist propaganda. The group was “inspired by Nazi, antisemitic and Holocaust-denial ideologies, as well as by anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.”
Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said the online site “was inciting youths to carry out extreme gestures.” According to an Italian news agency LaPresse, the group planned to attack a “NATO structure″ with homemade explosive devices. Click here to read more.
Netherlands
Dutch Education Ministry urged to combat antisemitic bullying
When: June
Where: Netherlands
What: Following the publication of a shocking article exposing antisemitic bullying experienced by Jewish students during the Israel-Hamas conflict, a Dutch parliamentarian is calling for the Dutch Ministry of Education to implement measures to combat antisemitism in schools.
The article, entitled “My child doesn’t want to be Jewish anymore,” outlined the ordeals experienced by several Jewish children attending different public schools in The Netherlands.
Among dozens of reported incidents was one by an Israeli-born mother of three teenagers, who gave her name as “Anna.” She alleged that her youngest child verbally attacked with statements such as “Your mother is Israeli; your family kills people and your mother does that too.”
“My middle child just changed schools and hasn’t told anyone there that he’s Jewish. When classmates ask him why he has such a Jewish first name, he replies that it is a Mormon, Biblical name.” Click here to read more.
Oceania
Muslims yell "Free Palestine, "walk out during speech by New Zealand Jewish leader
When: 14 June
Where: New Zealand, Oceania
What: More than a dozen Muslim attendees at the Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism conference in New Zealand shouted, “Free Palestine” and staged a walkout during a speech by New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses.
The incident occurred as Moses told the crowd that the country’s leaders should be consistent when condemning terrorism.
“We need to hear leaders condemn all support for terrorism and all terrorism equally whatever the source, target and circumstances, and even when it is not politically expedient to do so,” she said, according to The New Zealand Herald. “Hezbollah and Hamas, their military wings, are proscribed terror organizations in New Zealand.” Click here to read more.
Poland
Krakow city official says good-luck figurines of Jews are "antisemitic" and should not be sold
When: June
Where: Krakow, Poland
What: A spokesperson for the city of Krakow characterized figurines of Orthodox Jews that are sold as good luck charms as antisemitic. “This figurine is antisemitic and it’s time for us to realize it,” said Robert Piaskowski, the city’s alderman for cultural affairs. “In a city like Krakow, with such a difficult heritage and a painful past, it should not be sold.” Click here to read more.
Antisemitic graffiti was found on a railway ramp near Warsaw where Jews were deported to Treblinka.
Sixty-seven gravestones were desecrated at a Jewish cemetery in Bielsko-Biała. The incident occurred about a week after several children toppled 63 headstones of Jewish graves because they wanted to use the slabs to build a fortress.
Romania
Headstones smashed at Jewish cemeteries in Romania
When: 6 June
Where: Ploestiz, Romania
What: Sixteen headstones were knocked over and vandalized, according to the Center for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism in Romania. Click here to read more.
Several teenagers smashed the windows at a synagogue in Orastie. Suspects were identified and the incident is being treated as vandalism.
Russia
Russian actor compared COVID-19 restrictions to Holocaust
When: June
Where: Russia
What: Russian actor Yegor Beroyev compared Russia’s COVID-19 restrictions to the Holocaust at the World War II-themed TEFI TV awards on the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
“I woke up in a world where [the vaccine has] become an identification mark,” Beroyev said, as she donned a gold Star of David patch.
Beroyev criticized the restrictions as a form of discrimination that will determine “whether you’re a citizen or you'll be sent to a reservation, whether you’ll be allowed to attend places and events, and whether you’ll enjoy all your rights and benefits.” She added, “How could we, the descendants of [World War II] victors, allow that?” Click here to read more.
United Kingdom
Journalist who vandalized Warsaw Ghetto wall to teach British teachers about antisemitism
When: June
Where: United Kingdom
What: A journalist who wrote “Free Gaza and Palestine” on the walls of the former Warsaw Ghetto will teach members of a British teachers union about antisemitism.
"To have somebody with this sort of track record organizing antisemitism training workshops for your union is simply grotesque," wrote WJC Vice President and Board of Deputies of British Jews Marie van der Zyl in a letter to a British teacher’s Union, National Education Union (NEU). “The NEU has a responsibility, therefore, to ensure that the education it offers to its own members on antisemitism is given by providers who are widely respected within the Jewish community.” Click here to read more.
Antisemitic attacks in London reached an all-time high, with 201 reported incidents in May, according to the Community Security Trust (CST). Almost all of the incidents were linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The previous high for antisemitic incidents in one month was 179 in July 2014.
Detectives are investigating an apparent antisemitic hate crime as two masked men in their late 20s attacked two Jewish victims. Detective Inspector Kevin Eade said: “This behavior has no place in our city and it will not be tolerated. “All Londoners should be able to live free from harassment or abuse.” Fortunately, a young Muslim man at a nearby diner intervened and confronted the attackers, who proceeded to flee the scene.
Britain’s Foreign Office announced in a statement that “the UK has decided not to attend the UN Durban Conference anniversary event later this year.” The WJC-affiliated Board of Deputies applauded the decision saying, “We warmly welcome the Government’s announcement that the UK will not attend Durban IV, a commemoration of a supposedly anti-racism conference which itself was antisemitic.”
United States
NYPD investigating multiple antisemitic incidents in New York
When: June
Where: Brooklyn, NY
What: The New York Police Department (NYPD) has opened multiple investigations into antisemitic incidents. One one occasion, three men on motorcycles approached a Jewish man and demanded money. When the Jewish man threatened to call the police, they took his kippah and fled while shouting antisemitic epithets. In a similar incident, a Jewish man in East Flatbush was approached by an unidentified suspect, who threatened him and made antisemitic comments. Click here to read more.
An unidentified man threw a cinder block at the window of Young Israel of Century City (YICC) and a kosher restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Reacting to the incident, Rabbi Elazar Muskin of YICC said it was no mistake that a synagogue and kosher restaurant were vandalized, explaining, “He chose the most well-known kosher restaurant in the city, and he chose a prominent synagogue, and it was premeditated because he was carrying this box with cement. He knew what he was doing.”
In less than one month, two Arizona synagogues were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti including swastikas and slurs. Reacting to these incidents, Governor Doug Ducey said that antisemitism had no place in the state and called for “those responsible [to] be held accountable."
In two separate incidents, four Orthodox Jewish men were assaulted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as they were walking home from religious services.
