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Two out of every five young European Jews consider emigrating because of antisemitism
Young Jewish adults "more likely" to experience antisemitism than their elders, according to EU report
July 5, 2019 10:06
Young Jewish adults "more likely" to experience antisemitism than their elders, according to EU report
July 5, 2019 10:06Two out of every five young Jewish adults have considered leaving Europe amid fears for their safety and four in five believe antisemitism has become a growing problem over the past five years, according to a European Union survey.
Close to half - 44 per cent - had experienced antisemitic harassment over the past 12 months.
A third of respondents said they frequently avoided wearing an item that would publicly identify them as Jewish.
Vera Jourova, EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said she was saddened that young Jews “fear for their security in Europe, do not dare to wear a kippah and some even consider emigrating”.
She said, “We need to act fast to combat antisemitism in Europe and join our efforts to keep our youth safe.”
The report on Jews aged from 16 to 34 was published this week by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency and based on a wider survey of Jews in 12 countries carried out by the London- based Institute for Jewish Policy Research for the FRA last year.
Young Jewish Europeans were “considerably more likely” than middle-aged and older Jews to experience antisemitism.
While most antisemitic incidents involved harassment, four per cent of young European Jews said they had been the victim of a physical antisemitic assault in the past 12 months.
“The figures paint a portrait of a community living in a context imbued with regular doses of antisemitic hostility,” the report said.
Nine out of ten young Jews believed that the Arab-Israeli conflict had some impact on their sense of security.
Four out of every five said that people in their country had accused or blamed them for something done by the Israeli government.
Most rejected the notion that criticism of Israel was antisemitic. But “sizeable majorities” believed comparing Israel to the Nazis or supporting boycotts of Israel were antisemitic.
Of those who experienced antisemitic harassment, 31 per cent said this had come from someone with “a Muslim extremist view”: 21 per cent from someone with a left-wing view: and 14 per cent from a right-wing view.
More than half the victims of physical attacks - 59 per cent - said the perpetrator was someone with “a Muslim extremist view”.
Of those who had considering emigrating, a third reported making active plans - mostly to go to Israel.
But the report noted that the numbers actually emigrating because of fears of their safety were “fairly low and stable” with the exception of France. There was also evidence of “significant recent increases” from Belgium and Italy.
But even though French aliyah had climbed to more than 6,000 people a year in 2014 and 2015, this still represented only 1.4 per cent of French Jewry.
Young Jews also felt racism more generally on the increase, with nearly three-quarters believing that intolerance towards Muslim had risen over the past five years.
Young Jews were more religiously practising than their elders - which according to the report could reflect the growth of the Charedi population in countries such as Britain and Belgium.
