World
Over 100 rabbis question EU leaders over ‘future for Jews in Europe’
More than 130 rabbis called for greater protection for synagogues and community sites amid surging antisemitism across the continent
September 18, 2025 13:45
More than 130 rabbis called for greater protection for synagogues and community sites amid surging antisemitism across the continent
September 18, 2025 13:45A group of 138 rabbis from 23 European countries have signed a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to "urgently address" the need for more security outside synagogues across the continent.
The letter begins by stating: "[We] have found ourselves serving on the frontline as the visceral antisemitic hate facing our communities increases daily."
It goes on to talk about how antisemitic incidents have dramatically increased since the October 7 massacre, saying it has now become "untenable and intolerable".
"Harassment and abuse against Jewish communities [is] spiking, leading to increased self-censorship and declining feelings of physical and emotional safety among Jewish people."
The letter, which includes ten signatures from the UK, continues: "We are constantly asked by our communities whether there is indeed a future for Jews in Europe, or if we have reached a critical point wherein their countries no longer provide the safety and support required for those identifying as Jewish to live without constant fear."
Antisemitism across Europe has risen rapidly since October 7. In Germany, as reported by AP, 2023 saw 4,782 antisemitic incidents compared to 2,616 the year before. Half of these incidents were after October 7.
In France, according to Euro News, 2023 saw the number of incidents more than triple that of 2022 from 436 to 1,676. And in the UK, the CST found 2023 to have seen 4,103 incidents, compared to 1,652 in 2022. This was the highest yearly figure since records began.
It is these three countries that saw the highest Rabbinic representation in the letter to von der Leyen.
The letter continues: "[We] write asking you to urgently address the need for increased security provisions at our places of worship, our community buildings and throughout Jewish neighbourhoods with armed protection.
"This work needs to be carried out in partnership with existing Jewish security organisations, leveraging their expertise and knowledge to ensure that implemented security measures are tailored to the specific concerns of and threats to Jewish communities.
"It is a great pity that such measures are necessary throughout Europe in 2025, but the unfortunate reality is that, in this crisis moment, Jewish communities simply do not and cannot feel safe on a day-to-day basis."
The letter also calls for "fortified security measures" and says that it is "only the first step". "They would immediately make our communities safer and deter potential attackers who hold the Jewish diaspora responsible for the current war in Gaza," it reads.
And it calls for greater police training in regard to antisemitism, for forces across the continent to adopt a "zero-tolerance attitude" towards perpetrators and for legal processes to be "fast-tracked" for speedier prosecution.
"Without these actions," it concludes, "we fear that the sense of abandonment felt by Jewish communities towards their governments will reach a critical point and, thereafter, we can expect the beginnings of a mass exodus of European Jews from the communities they have lived in, contributed to and cherished for so long.
"80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, such an exodus would be a damning indictment of failure."
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