A chain to be broken” “

2002 and 2003 were characterised by an “alarming increase” in cases of anti-Semitism. Profanation of tombs, anti-Semitic graffiti, physical assaults, insults, threats and the destruction of Jewish property: these are just some of the many racially motivated and anti-Semitic episodes registered in the course of 2002 and the first months of 2003 and highlighted in the first report of “The Stephen Roth” Institute of the university of Tel Aviv, an authoritative watchdog that monitors the various forms of anti-Semitism and racism. The report also dedicates extensive coverage to anti-Semitism in Europe. We give a résumé below. BELGIUM. Some 35,000 Jews live in Belgium. The anti-Semitic climate seems correlated with the situation in the Middle East. Anti-Semitic episodes had as their protagonists some Islamic fundamentalists who, during a demonstration in April 2003, sacked Jewish shops to the cry of ‘death to the Jews’. In 2002 a sizable group of young Arabs had beaten up three Jewish youths close to the synagogue in Antwerp. In the first months of 2003, 6 cases of aggression, 4 of deliberate damage to property, 6 of threats and 2 of abuse were registered. Far-right groups such as “Nation” have also been active in anti-Semitic episodes. Reactions to the violence have also been registered. Apart from the efforts of the security forces to counter such episodes, interventions have been made by King Albert II (July 2002) and by Anna Diamantopoulou, Commissioner for Social Affairs of the European Commission (February and March 2003). DENMARK. There are 7,000 Jews out of a population of over 5 million. The majority live in Copenhagen. In spite of Denmark’s long history of peaceful co-existence, the Jewish community was subjected to 65 attacks, including verbal and written threats, physical assaults and the destruction of property in 2002 alone. For this reason, the community activated a telephone hotline for the victims of anti-Semitic violence in June last year. Many of these acts were perpetrated by members of far-right groups (Progress Party, Danish National Front) and Islamic fundamentalists (Hizb ut-Tahrir). The growing number of episodes of this kind has forced the mayor of the Danish capital to ask the police to give special protection to citizens of Jewish faith. As an example of such episodes, the assault of a hundred young Palestinians and members of the Neo-Nazi White Pride Front on a pro-Israel march promoted by Christian activists on 7 April 2002 may be recalled. Reacting against such episodes, the Turkish Islamic community has dissociated itself from every form of anti-Semitism, as also have numerous citizens of Palestinian origin, who even went so far as to buy a full page in the leading daily Politiken to express their abhorrence of antisemitism. FRANCE. There are over 500,000 Jews in France: it is the largest community in Europe. Between 2002 and 2003 it suffered over 900 ‘incidents’. Their victims have even involved children of school age, forcing their parents to transfer them from state schools to private Jewish-run schools. Jewish children have been assaulted on school buses, beaten up, insulted, and threatened outside schools and on public transport. The perpetrators of these cases of violence, not only verbal but also physical, have included extreme left-wing groups (Revolutionary Communist League, Lutte des Ouvriers, Workers’ Party), anti-globalization movements and far-right groups. On the religious level, more or less explicit anti-Semitic attitudes are associated with Islamic groups within the huge Moslem community, some 5 million faithful. It should be noted that Muslims, too, have been the victims of religious discrimination, as confirmed by the National Human Rights Commission of the French government (CNCDH). Christians and Muslims have also expressed their solidarity with the Jewish community by expressing their dissent on various occasions. GREECE. Even the small Jewish community in Greece, no more than 5,000, has been subjected to cases of anti-Semitism, fomented by a series of editorials, books, letters and articles in various sections of the press (including Stochos, Neoi Anthropoi, Hora) of various political affiliation. Some of these have compared the Israeli army to that of the Nazis. Many of the attacks have taken the form of the profanation of tombs and neo-Nazi graffiti in Jewish cemeteries at Drama, Patras, Thessalonica and Chalkis. A monument dedicated to the Holocaust on the island of Rhodes was also destroyed. Erected on 23 June 2002, it was virtually demolished on 2 July. A certain attitude of the Greek Orthodox Church, that has never absolved the Jews from the death of Christ, persists. During Holy Week the Jews are indicated as ‘theoktoni’ (deicides). ITALY. The some 30,000 Italian Jews have often denounced anti-Semitic attitudes by far-right groups (including Comunità Politica d’Avanguardia, which denies the Holocaust, and Forza Nuova, which defines itself as anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic, and is close to Catholic fundamentalist movements) and anti-globalization movements. In left-wing political formations the anti-Israeli polemic is linked to anti-American propaganda. Nonetheless, in spite of some serious episodes, the level of physical violence remains low. On the other hand, the phenomenon of anti-Semitic graffiti is on the increase. Fundamentalist Islamic groups have also been associated with cases of anti-Semitism. The book Sognando Palestina (Dreaming of Palestine) (2002) by Rhanda Ghazy, a fifteen-year-old Italian girl of Egyptian origin, may be cited: it is characterised by “an anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist approach” to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Various sites on the internet disseminate anti-Semitic propaganda. HOLLAND. There are some 30,000 Dutch Jews. In contrast to Italy, physical assaults with an anti-Semitic motivation are on the increase in Holland. Far-right ultra-nationalist groups are particularly active in fomenting anti-Semitism; their members expressly declare themselves racist and antidemocratic. A total of 33 physical assaults on Jews, 68 cases of verbal threats and insults were registered in 2002. Incidents linked to Islamic propaganda in support of the Palestinian cause have also been registered. POLAND. The Polish Jewish community consists of some 10,000 persons. The Polish political spectrum comprises several extra-parliamentary groups that actively promote anti-Semitism (Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski, Polska Wspolnota Narodowa). An attack on the synagogue and 80 profanations of tombs were registered at Wroclaw in May 2002. A further 17 tombs were destroyed in the cemetery of Starachowice accompanied by ‘Jude raus’ slogans. In March 2003 the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) reminded the Polish government of its obligation to prohibit any demonstration inciting racial discrimination”. SLOVAKIA. The main problems posed to the Slovak Jewish community (some 3000 strong) between 2002 and 2003 were caused by neo-fascist elements and political parties like the Slovak People’s Party that transmits xenophobic messages and Slovenska Pospolitost formed of skinheads. During this period 50 Jewish graves were desecrated in the cemetery of Levice; other profanations took place at Zvolen and Kosice. In some cases the anti-Semitic vandalism coincided with Hitler’s birthday, 20 April. The response of civil society has been positive: the commitment of the government has been pledged by the President himself, Rudolf Schuster. Various commemorations of the Holocaust have taken place in the country. SWITZERLAND. The developments of the Middle East crisis have contributed to deteriorating attitudes towards Israel in Switzerland too, where some 18,000 Jews live. ‘Incidents’ of anti-Semitic press have been few. On the other hand, an increase has been registered in pro-Palestinian demonstrations accompanied by the distribution of material encouraging the boycotting of Israeli products and anti-Semitic slogans. Verbal aggressions have been reported at Lausanne and Zurich. Swastikas and neo-Nazi slogans were found in the synagogue of Beit-Ya’akov in Geneva in February 2002. Activists belonging to left-wing and anti-globalization groups have diffused texts with racist and anti-Semitic contents on the internet. UNITED KINGDOM. Some 350 anti-Semitic attacks were directed against the 300,000-strong Jewish community in the UK in 2002 alone. There have been 7 reported cases of the profanation of Jewish cemeteries. In April 2002 the synagogue of Finsbury Park was vandalized; in this case too the attack was influenced by developments in the Middle East and also the anti-Semitic literature disseminated in particular by the extreme right. Islamic fundamentalist groups, especially during demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people, have also transmitted Anti-Semitic propaganda. All these incidents gave rise to debates in the main broadsheets (Sunday Times, The Times, The Economist, The Independent) during 2002. Most papers have published editorials and comments denouncing anti-Semitism.