European anti-Semitism: Trends to watch in 9 countries in 2018

Germany
German Jews are worried about anti-Semitism among the new migrant and refugee population, many from Syria and Iraq, and by the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which now holds 13 percent of the parliament and is the third largest party. In March, ADL met in Berlin with organizations that monitor and combat anti-Semitism in Muslim communities and on the far-right and with senior government officials whose work directly impacts the Jewish community and integration of new immigrants. Recent incidents include the anti-Semitic bullying of Jewish schoolgirl in Berlin by her Muslim classmates.

Poland
In our public statements and private conversations with Polish officials, ADL has condemned the outbreak of anti-Semitic rhetoric on Poland, following the adoption of a libel law on Polish involvement in the Holocaust. The Polish Jewish community took the extraordinary step on 19 February to issue an open letter, saying “Polish Jews do not feel safe in Poland” due to “the current wave of anti-Semitism [which] arose in response to” the libel law.

Sweden
Synagogues were targeted after President Trump announced U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with Molotov cocktails thrown at the Gothenburg synagogue and an anti-Semitic demonstration held in front of the Malmo synagogue. Together with Swedish Jewish community representatives, ADL met with the Swedish Police Authority in February to discuss training their officers about extremism.

U.K.
For the first time in years, British Jewish leaders felt compelled to call a public demonstration to protest the constant stream of anti-Semitic incidents in the Labor Party and the failure of its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to address anti-Semitism seriously. Their “Enough is Enough” event was widely covered in British media, and jump-started a serious public conversation about the problem.

Hungary
The Hungarian Jewish community of almost 100,000 has experienced only a few anti-Semitic assaults in recent years, but is concerned about the political atmosphere. Over the past months, leading up to the 8 April election, political campaigns have featured the Jewish financier George Soros as an enemy of the state, intent on flooding Hungary with Muslim immigrants. While the billboards and posters do not feature overt anti-Semitic images, Jewish community leaders worry that the campaign appeals to anti-Semitic sentiment in the Hungarian public. Hungary scored poorly in ADL’s Global 100 survey of anti-Semitic attitudes with a score of 41 percent, compared to 9 percent in the United States and 25 percent on average in the European Union. In March, ADL met Jewish community leaders, extremism researchers, and U.S. Embassy officials. ADL made a direct request to a senior official in the prime minister’s office to cease campaigns that feature George Soros.

Iceland and Denmark
The right to circumcise Jewish newborn boys is under threat in Iceland and Denmark. While Iceland is home to just a hundred or so Jews, ADL is deeply concerned that a circumcision ban there could set a precedent in Europe, especially for Denmark, home to 6,000 Jews, where a public petition in parliament is gaining signatures and public support for a ban is around 80 percent. ADL submitted a strong letter to the Icelandic Parliament, warning that a ban would not only infringe on religious freedom, but also make Iceland a darling of neo-Nazis and other anti-Semitic bigots, who would see that decision as a step to making Iceland judenrein, free of Jews.

Russia
Following the tragic fire at a shopping mall in Siberia that killed 64 people on 25 March, anti-Semitic posts began to appear on Russian social media, suggesting that Jews were responsible and murdered the victims to get blood for Passover matzah,a classic blood libel. Using our social media search capabilities, ADL says it was able to assess the prevalence of these anti-Semitic posts across multiple platforms and reassure Russian Jewish leaders of the limited presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and VK (a popular Russian platform similar to Facebook). This came on the heels of remarks by President Vladimir Putin suggesting that Jews and other minorities may have been behind the meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections.