Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe, especially since Israel started to defend itself against the Hamas rocket attacks launched from Gaza. According to an article in the WSJ Opinion Journal by Daniel Schwemmenthal:
There have been arson attempts on synagogues in Britain, Belgium and Germany. Police last week arrested Muslim protesters who wanted to enter the Jewish quarter in Antwerp. Several Danish schools with large Muslim student bodies say they won't enroll Jewish kids because they can't guarantee the children's safety. In France, a group of teenagers attacked a 14-year-old girl last week, calling her "dirty Jew" while kicking her.
There have been rallies in Germany and the Netherlands over the past couple of weeks, with protesters shouting "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas." Two prominent citizens joined in the protest in Amsterdam: Harry van Bommel, who is a Socialist lawmaker and Greta Duisenberg, who is the widow of the first European Central Bank president. Bommel and Duisenberg marched at the front of the demonstration and called for "civil disobedience" against Israel and Israelis. Even some so-called 'celebrities' got in on the anti-Israeli bandwagon. Ex-Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger, comedian Alexei Sayle and former London mayor Ken Livingstone, held a news conference in London demanding Israel halt the onslaught.
Does the whole of Europe think it's okay for Hamas to launch rockets into Israel, but not okay for Israel to retaliate? Schwammenthal says:
Most of the anti-Jewish violence and protests in Europe come from immigrants. In what may have been a Freudian recognition of the changing face of Europe, CNN two weeks ago used footage of anti-Israeli protesters in London in a report about the growing anger in the "Arab and Muslim world." The mythical Arab Street now reaches deep into Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid.
The Islamist variation of Jew hatred is now being reimported to Europe. Muslims in Europe, watching Hamas and Hezbollah TV with their satellite dishes, are being fed the same diet of anti-Semitism and jihadi ideology that Palestinians and much of the Middle East consume.
Nevertheless, this anti-Semitism is not solely due to the Gaza attacks by Israel. A study by Pew which was released in October (before the Israeli attack was launched against Gaza) found that 20% of French and 25% of Germans held anti-Semitic sentiments. In Spain, it's even worse, with 46% holding unfavorable views of Jewish people. Coincidentally, Spain was the sight of a huge anti-Israel rally on Sunday, with as many as 100,000 people in attendance in Madrid.
The research by Pew mentions several possible reasons for this xenophobia: negative views of Israel certainly play into the mix, as well as Palestinian sympathy. However, increasing anti-Americanism and a "backlash against globalization and immigration" also have a role in the rising trend.
The Pew pollsters do point out that compared with other regions of the world, Europe remains relatively tolerant. After all, anti-Jewish sentiments run as high as 95% unfavorable of Jews in Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. However, the most important element to consider is that the growing tide of anti-Jewish emotion in Europe, especially considering the history of anti-Semitism, is a "troubling trend that it would be unwise to ignore."
