A new report on global antisemitism has warned of an increase in almost all forms of manifestations of antisemitism, and said that Jews are worrying about their continued association with places they have lived in, “sometimes for centuries”.
The 2018 Kantor Center report on global antisemitism, published on Wednesday, noted an increase among Jews in some countries of “physical insecurity, questioning their place in society and in parties that were their political home.”
The report noted an increase of 13 percent in major violent cases of antisemitism globally, from 342 to 387. The UK was the country with the second highest number of such cases (68), with only the US (more than 100) ranking higher.
The statistics showed that the main mode of antisemitism remained cases of vandalism (216, or 56 per cent), with threats making up a further 23 per cent.
Most of the attacks were against Jewish people rather than institutions, which the organisation said was because “people and their property are less protected than synagogues and community centres.”
In its answer to the question of what has spurred this growth, the centre said antisemitism was “no longer an issue confined to a triangle of the far-right, far-left and radical Islamists — it has become a part of mainstream life.”
It described how all media channels, but particularly social media, had seen “the normalisation and mainstreaming of antisemitism in public forums, debates and discussions.”
It also said that “anti-Zionist discourse” had become mainstream, and whereas previously there would sometimes be a trigger for a growth in antisemitism — such as a direct military confrontation between Israel and Hamas — there had been no such confrontation for the last five years and yet the volume of antisemitism had continued to grow.
The centre urged the importance for Jewish communities to cooperate with other discriminated groups and minorities.
“Extremist groups cultivate hatred against whoever does not follow their views, not just Jews”, it said.
“Let us extend a friendly hand to others.”
