Antisemitism in Europe

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Antisemitism (also spelled anti-Semitism)—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews—has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe.

While it has been cited as having been expressed in the intellectual and political centers of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, the phenomenon received greater institutionalization within European Christianity following the dissolution of the ancient center of Jewish culture, Jerusalem, resulting in the forced segregation of Jewish populations and restrictions on their participation in the public life of European society at times.

In the 20th century, antisemitism in Europe, particularly during the reign of Nazi Germany, resulted in the Holocaust, a program of systematic murder and dislocation of the majority of Europe's Jewish population.

Roman Empire

Middle Ages

Antisemitism in Europe in the Middle Ages was largely influenced by the Christian belief that the Jewish people were collectively responsible for the death of Jesus through the so-called blood curse of Pontius Pilate in the Gospels.

Persecutions against Jews were widespread during the Crusades, beginning in 1095, when a number of communities, especially in France and the Rhineland, were massacred.^[1]

On many occasions, Jews were accused of the ritual murder of Christian children in what were called blood libels. The first known blood libel was the story of William of Norwich (d. 1144), whose murder sparked accusations of ritual murder and torture by the local Jews.^[2]

The Black Death which devastated Europe in the 14th century also gave rise to widespread persecution. In the face of the terrifying spread of the plague, the Jews served as scapegoats and were accused of poisoning the wells. As a result, many Jewish communities in western and central Europe were destroyed in a wave of violence between 1348 and 1350.^[3][4] For example, some two thousand Jews were massacred by burning in Strasbourg, in February 1349, upon a decision by the city council, before the plague had reached the city.^[5][6] In the German states a total of approximately 300 Jewish communities were destroyed during this period, because of Jews being killed or driven out.^[7]

Another aspect of medieval antisemitism was the many restrictions imposed on the Jews. They were excluded from many occupations because of the fear of competition with the local population. For the most part, they could not own land, since, under the

In the later Middle Ages, Jews were expelled from smaller and larger regions across western Europe as well as the German lands, including monarchy-wide expulsions from England, in 1290, and France, in 1306 and 1394.^[14] The greatest expulsions of Jews were in Spain (1492) and Portugal (1496), where Jews were ordered to convert to Christianity, or to leave the country within six or eleven months, respectively.^[15]

The

The Renaissance, Enlightenment and imperialist eras led to a series of increasingly xenophobic and non-religious expressions of antisemitic phobias and outrages, even as much of the continent had experienced significant political reformation.^[16][17]

In western Europe, Jews were largely limited by local monarchs, especially as a consequence of the growing fear of competition with the local merchants due to the fact that the main occupation of Jews was commerce and banking. Notable examples are the limitation of the number of Jews allowed to settle in Breslau issued by Frederick II of Prussia in 1744 and the banishment of Jews from Bohemia by the archduchess of Austria Maria Theresa, who later also stated that Jews had to pay for remaining in the country.^[18]

With the development of the banking system and the need of rulers for financing their growing state apparatus, the term "Court Jew" was used in some western European states. The court Jews were businessmen and bankers who received privileges from the sovereign and acted as their treasurers and tax collectors.^[19][20]

In many cases, the court Jews obtained significant power as the "right hand" of the sovereign; in other cases, the court Jews were blamed for the financial problems of the states or when the sovereign lost his power. One notable court Jew was Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698–1738) the financial planner for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. Oppenheimer was executed after the death of the Duke and his story was used by Nazi propaganda.^[21]

Most of Europe's Jewish population was concentrated in central and eastern Europe within the borders of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Jews of Poland had been granted an unprecedented degree of religious and cultural autonomy since the Statute of Kalisz in 1264, which was ratified by subsequent Kings of Poland and the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, the Cossack uprising of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Polish-controlled Ukraine (1648) devastated many Jewish communities and tens of thousands of Jews were massacred, expelled, or sold as slaves by Khmelnytsky's Tartar allies. Between 1648 and 1656, tens of thousands of Jews—given the lack of reliable data, it is impossible to establish more accurate figures—were killed by the rebels, and to this day the Khmelnytsky uprising is considered by Jews to be one of the most traumatic events in their history.^[22]

Following the

By the end of the 19th century a new type of antisemitism had begun to develop in Europe, racial antisemitism.^[25] It started as a part of a broader racist world view and belief of superiority of the "white race" over other "races", while existing prejudice was supported by pseudo-scientific theories such as Social Darwinism.^[26]

The main idea of racial antisemitism, as presented by racial theorists such as

The rise of modern antisemitism together with the rise of nationalism and the nation state brought a wave of antisemitism as Jews struggled to gain their rights as equal citizens. In Germany, this brought up the Hep-Hep riots in 1819 when the Jews of Bavaria were attacked for claiming their civic rights.

One of the most famous examples of the 19th century was the Dreyfus affair,^[27][28] when a French officer of Jewish origin, Alfred Dreyfus, was accused of high treason in 1894. The trial sparked a wave of antisemitism in France: eventually Dreyfus was found innocent of the charges in 1906. The affair greatly inspired Theodor Herzl.

In eastern Europe, religious antisemitism remained influential as the industrial revolution affected those areas less. During the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, a number of

Another example of modern antisemitism in Europe was the conspiracy theory of Jewish world economic domination, as presented in the hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion^[33][34] which was first published in Russia in 1903 and became known outside Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917. This theory was strengthened by the leading part Jews like the Rothschild family played in the European banking system.

The

The Holocaust was among the most significant events in modern Jewish history and one of the largest genocides in the history of the world. Approximately six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, accounting for roughly 2/3 of all European Jews.

By the early 20th century, the Jews of Germany were the most integrated Jews in Europe. Their situation changed in the early 1930s after the German defeat in

The Nazi antisemitic program quickly expanded beyond mere speech. Starting in 1933, repressive laws were passed against Jews, culminating in the 1935

With the Nazi

With the end of World War II in 1945, surviving Jews began to return to their homes although many chose to emigrate to the United States, the United Kingdom, and British-controlled Palestine. To some extent, the antisemitism of the Nazi regime continued in different guises. Claims of blood libel and persecution of Jews continued, in part due to fear that returning Jews would attempt to reclaim property stolen during the Holocaust or expose assistance given by elements of the local population in previously Nazi-occupied territories. An example was the Kielce pogrom, which occurred in 1946 in Poland when citizens violently attacked Jews based on a false accusation of the kidnapping of a Christian child.

The postwar period also witnessed a rise in antisemitic persecution in the USSR. In 1948, Stalin launched the campaign against the "

Antisemitism has increased significantly in Europe since 2000, with increases in verbal attacks and vandalism such as graffiti, fire bombings of Jewish schools, and desecration of synagogues and cemeteries. Those incidents took place not only in France and Germany, but also in Belgium, Austria, and the United Kingdom. In those countries, physical assaults against Jews including beatings, stabbings, and other violence, increased markedly, in a number of cases resulting in serious injury and even death.^[39][40] Moreover, the Netherlands and Sweden have also had consistently high rates of antisemitic attacks since 2000.^[41] A 2015 report by the US State Department on religious freedom declared that "European anti-Israel sentiment crossed the line into anti-Semitism."^[42]

This rise in antisemitic attacks is associated on the one hand with the

A 2005 French study showed that anti-Jewish prejudice was more prevalent among religious Muslims than among non-religious ones; 46% expressed antisemitic sentiments compared to 30% of non-practising Muslims in France. Only 28% of the religious Muslims were found to be totally without such prejudice. The few studies available which had been conducted among Muslim youth in various western European countries showed some similar outcomes. A 2011 study of elementary school children in Dutch-language schools in Brussels by a Belgian sociologist showed that about 50 percent of Muslim students in second and third grade could be considered antisemites, versus 10% of others. Also in 2011, Gunther Jikeli published findings from 117 interviews with 19-year-old Muslim youths in Berlin, Paris, and London, the majority of whom voiced antisemitic feelings.^[53]

Participants in the

Islamic terrorists have been involved in some violent attacks on Jews. In 2012 in Toulouse, armed terrorist Mohammed Merah, the child of Muslim parents from Algeria,^[56] murdered four Jews. Merah had previously targeted French army soldiers. A brother of the shooter, Abdelghani Merah, said he and his siblings had been brought up on antisemitic views espoused by their parents.^[56][57]

Public opinion polls

The summary of a 2004 poll by the "

According to 2005 survey results by the Anti-Defamation League,[59] antisemitic attitudes remain common in Europe. Over 30% of those surveyed believed that Jews have too much power in business, with responses ranging from lows of 11% in Denmark and 14% in England to highs of 66% in Hungary, and over 40% in Poland and Spain. The results of religious antisemitism also persist and over 20% of European respondents agreed that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus, with France having the lowest percentage at 13% and Poland having the highest number of those agreeing, at 39%.^[60]

A 2006 study in the Journal of Conflict Resolution found that although almost no respondents in countries of the European Union regarded themselves as antisemitic, antisemitic attitudes correlated with anti-Israel opinions.^[61] Looking at populations in 10 European countries, Charles A. Small and Edward H. Kaplan surveyed 5,000 respondents, asking them about Israeli actions and classical antisemitic stereotypes. The surveys asked questions about whether people thought that the IDF purposely targets children or poisons the Palestinian water supplies.^[62] The study found that "people who believed the anti-Israel mythologies also tended to believe that Jews are not honest in business, have dual loyalties, control government and the economy, and the like." The study found anti-Israel respondents were 56% more likely to be antisemitic than the average European.^[62]

According to a poll conducted by

In January 2019 the European Commission published a survey of 28 countries which showed a wide gap in perceptions between Jews and non-Jews in Europe. 89% of the Jews surveyed thought that antisemitism had "significantly increased" over the last five years, whereas only 36% of non-Jews believed the same.[64]

Eastern and Central Europe

Polling data taken in 2015-2016 shows the following results regarding the proportions of Christians in the following countries who would reject Jews as family members, neighbors or citizens.^[65][66]

By country

Armenia

A major source of antisemitism in Armenia is Israel's strong relations with and arms sales to

On 23 October 2004, the head of the Department for Ethnic and Religious Minority Issues, Hranoush Kharatyan, publicly commented on so-called "Judaist" xenophobia in Armenia. She said: "Why are we not responding to the fact that on their Friday gatherings, Judaists continue to advocate hatred towards all non-Judaists as far as comparing the latter to cattle and propagating spitting on them?"^[72] Kharatyan also accused local Jews of calling for "anti-Christian actions."^[74]

The

In September 2006, while criticizing the American Global Gold corporation, Armenian Minister of Environment Vardan Ayvazyan said during a press conference: "Do you know who you are defending? You are defending kikes! Go over their [company headquarters] and find out who is behind this company and if we should let them come here!"^[77][78] After Rimma Varzhapetian's protests, Aivazian claimed he did not mean to offend Jews, and that such criticism was intended strictly for the Global Gold company.

On 23 December 2007, The Jewish Holocaust Memorial in central Yerevan was vandalized by unknown individuals. A Nazi swastika symbol was scratched and black paint was splattered on the simple stone. After notifying the local police, Rabbi Gershon Burshtein, a Chabad emissary who serves as Chief Rabbi of the country's tiny Jewish community said "I just visited the memorial the other day and everything was fine. This is terrible, as there are excellent relations between Jews and Armenians." The monument has been defaced and toppled several times in the past. It is located in the city's Aragast Park, a few blocks north of the centrally located Republic Square, which is home to a number of government buildings.^[79]

On 12 February 2021, the Holocaust Memorial in Yerevan was once again vandalized.^[80]

Austria

Antisemitism has a long history in Austria, typically focused on the large presence of Jews in Vienna. The Jews were systematically destroyed 1938–1945.^[81]

Evidences of the presence of Jewish communities in the geographical area today covered by

Antisemitism did not cease to exist in the aftermath of World War II and continued to be part of Austrian political life and culture with its strongest hold in the political parties and the media. Bernd Marin, an Austrian sociologist, has characterized antisemitism in Austria after 1945 as an 'antisemitism without Jews', since Jews constituted only 0.1 percent of the Austrian population. Antisemitism was stronger in those areas where Jews no longer lived and where previously practically no Jews had lived, and among people who neither have had nor have any personal contact with Jews.^[84][85]

Since post-war prejudice against Jews has been publicly forbidden and tabooed, antisemitism was actually 'antisemitism without antisemites', but different expressions of it were to be found in the Austrian polities. During the 1980s, the taboo against open expressions of explicitly antisemitic beliefs has remained, but the means of circumventing it linguistically have extended its boundaries in such a way that the taboo itself appears to have lost some of its significance. Anti-Jewish prejudices which had remained hidden began to surface and were increasingly found in public settings. Thus, verbal antisemitism was rarely expressed directly, but rather used coded expressions, which reflected one of the country's major characteristics – ambivalence and ambiguity toward its past.^[84][85]

Today the Jewish community of Austria consists of about 8,000 persons.

Contemporary antisemitism was reported from Serfaus during 2009 and 2010. Several hotels and apartments in the renowned holiday resort have confirmed a policy of not allowing Jews on their premises. Bookings are tried to be detected in advance based on racial profiling, and are denied to possible orthodox Jews.^[86]

Belgium

Over a hundred antisemitic attacks were recorded in

The behavior prompted by the 2012 local elections in the municipality of Schaarbeek impelled the president of the Coordination Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium, Maurice Sosnowski, to observe that "'candidates who belonged to the Jewish community were attacked for their affiliation' and the municipality saw a 'hate campaign under the pretext of anti-Zionism.'"[88] Several other incidents occurred in 2012- in November Demonstrators at an anti-Israel rally in Antwerp rally chanted "Hamas, Hamas, all Jews to the gas." In October, a synagogue in Brussels was vandalized by two unidentified male perpetrators who spray-painted "death to the Jews" and "boom" on the wall.^[89]

The increased frequency of antisemitic attacks started in May 2014, when four people were killed in a shooting at the Belgian Jewish Museum in Brussels.^[90] Two days later, a young Muslim man entered the CCU (Jewish Cultural Center) while an event was taking place and shouted racist slurs.^[91] A month later, a school bus in Antwerp, that was driving five-year-old Jewish children was stoned by a group of Muslim teens.^[92] Towards the end of August 2014, a 75-year-old Jewish woman was hit and pushed to the ground because of her Jewish-sounding surname.^[93]

In

Antisemitism became a political force in Bulgaria in the late 19th century.^[95] In World War II the community of about 50,000 was largely protected when King Boris III refused to hand over the Jews to the Nazis. After the war most went to Israel.^[96][97]

There are about 2,000 Jews still living in Bulgaria today. In early 2019, an incident occurred in Bulgaria where rocks were thrown at a synagogue in

In 2019, Associated Press reported that antisemitism was on the rise, especially from far-right, pro-Russian elements: two physical attacks and three instances of vandalism were reported.^[103]

Denmark

Antisemitism in Denmark has not been as widespread as in other countries. Initially, Jews were banned as in other countries in Europe, but beginning in the 17th century, Jews were allowed to live in Denmark freely, unlike in other European countries where they were forced to live in ghettos.^[104]

In 1819 a series of anti-Jewish riots in Germany spread to several neighboring countries including Denmark, resulting in mob attacks on Jews in Copenhagen and many provincial towns. These riots were known as Hep! Hep! Riots, from the derogatory rallying cry against the Jews in Germany. Riots lasted for five months during which time shop windows were smashed, stores looted, homes attacked, and Jews physically abused.

2011, 2012, and 2013 averaged around 43 antisemitic incidents a year, which included assault and physical harassment, threats, antisemitic utterances, and vandalism.

In 2017 an imam in Copenhagen called during Friday prayers for the slaughter of all Jews, citing a hadith. The Middle East Media Research Institute translated parts of his speech, warning the Jewish community in Denmark, who reported the imam to Danish police officials.^[109]

Recent efforts to outlaw infant circumcision for non-medical reasons have been characterized as motivated by xenophobia in general or antisemitism in particular.^[110] Jonatan Cohn, leader of AKVAH (Department of Mapping and Knowledge-sharing of Antisemitic Events, a department of Jødisk Samfund [da]), describes the proposal as the main thing that "destroys the night sleep of Jewish Danes", more so than antisemitism among "young Muslim men", and goes on to say that^[111]

Apart from the troubling aspect of the many half-truths, the misinformation and the often rather hostile tone that characterizes the circumcision debate, it raises a series of unpleasant questions for many Danish Jews: If a criminalization of so central a part of Jewish religion and culture were to actually be passed, for how long can one then continue one's existence in Denmark? (...) Arabic bullies have so far not managed to create among the Danish Jews so lasting and general an uneasiness that one might need to leave one's fatherland because one intends to continue to practise one's religion. This dubious honour belongs solely to

Jyllandsposten

and its friends in the circumcision debate.

— Jonatan Cohn

Iman Diab and Güray Baba, members of

France

21st-century France

Trends

Despite the fact that a large majority of French people have favorable attitudes towards Jews,

According to a 2006 poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, 71% of French Muslims have positive views of Jews, the highest percentage in the world.[118] According to the National Advisory Committee on Human Rights, antisemitic acts account for a majority— 72% in all in 2003— of racist acts in France.^[119] 40% of racist violence perpetrated in France in 2013 targeted the Jewish minority, despite the fact that Jews represent less than 1% of the French population.^[120]

With the start of the Second Intifada, antisemitic incidents increased in France. In 2002, the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme (Human Rights Commission) reported six times more antisemitic incidents than in 2001 (193 incidents in 2002). The commission's statistics showed that antisemitic acts constituted 62% of all racist acts in the country (compared to 45% in 2001 and 80% in 2000). The report documented 313 violent acts against people or property, including 38 injuries and the murder of someone with Maghrebin origins by far-right skinheads.^[121]

About 7,000 French Jews moved to Israel in 2014. This was 1% of the entire French Jewish population and a record number since World War II.^[122] Conversations within the European Jewish community indicate that antisemitic attacks in France are the impetus for the high emigration figures.^[123] French Prime Minister Manuel Valls expressed his concern about the trend: "If 100,000 French people of Spanish origin were to leave, I would never say that France is not France anymore. But if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure."^[116] The trend of increased emigration continued into 2015 due to a rise in assaults and intimidation by Muslim extremists.^[124] Emigration levels declined in each year from 2015 through 2020.^[125]

Incidents

On 19 March 2012, Mohammed Merah shot and killed three Jewish children and a rabbi at the Ozar Hatorah School in Toulouse, France.^[128] He was later killed during a raid by the French police on his house.^[129] Merah was also inspired by al-Qaeda. Following the murders, the Ozar Hatorah school was targeted by antisemitic hate mail and calls.^[130]

In July 2012, a French Jewish teenager wearing a "distinctive religious symbol" was the victim of a violent antisemitic attack on a train traveling between Toulouse and Lyon. The teen was first verbally harassed and later beaten up by two assailants. The French Jewish umbrella group, CRIF, called the attack "another development in the worrying trend of antisemitism in our country."^[131]

Another incident in July 2012 dealt with the vandalism of the synagogue of Noisy-le-Grand of the Seine-Saint-Denis district in Paris. The synagogue was vandalized three times in a ten-day period. Prayer books and shawls were thrown on the floor, windows were shattered, drawers were ransacked, and vandalized the walls, tables, clocks, and floors. The authorities were alerted of the incidents by the Bureau National de Vigilance Contr L'Antisemtisme (BNVCA), a French antisemitism watchdog group, which called for more measures to be taken to prevent future hate crimes. BNVCA President Sammy Ghozlan stated that "Despite the measures taken, things persist, and I think that we need additional legislation because the Jewish community is annoyed."^[132]

In June 2014, Following the threats facing Jews in France, particularly arising from French-born jihadists returning after fighting in the civil war in Syria, French President Francois Hollande met with an international delegation of Jewish leaders. The French president outlined steps that have been taken to protect the Jewish community, especially Jewish schools, from attacks and growing antisemitism. He was quoted saying that: "We would like to set an example to the world in fighting anti-Semitism," he said, but conceded the current situation – following a murderous attack by a French-born terrorist in Belgium – bespoke a "new, heavy context."^[133]

In July 2014, dozens of young men protesting Israel's actions in Gaza (following the

In December 2014, armed assailants broke into a suburban Paris residence of a Jewish couple, raped the woman while her husband was kept at bay, and robbed the couple. According to a friend of the victims, one of the assailants said the woman during the robbery "Tell us where you hide the money. You Jews always have money." Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls condemned the attack as vile and said that it demonstrated that the fight against antisemitism is a daily struggle. Valls also expressed support for the victims' families. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement that the "antisemitic nature of the attack seems proven," saying that the assailants "started with the idea that being Jewish means having money."^[136]

In January 2015,

From the early Middle Ages to the 18th century, Jews in Germany were subjected to many persecutions but they also enjoyed brief periods of tolerance. Though the 19th century began with a series of

Anti-Jewish propaganda expanded rapidly. Nazi cartoons that depicted "dirty Jews" frequently portrayed a dirty, physically unattractive, and badly dressed "Talmudic" Jew in traditional religious garments similar to those which are worn by Hasidic Jews. Articles attacking Jews, while concentrating on the commercial and political activities of prominent Jews, also frequently attacked them based on religious dogmas, such as the blood libel.

Nazi Germany

The Nazi antisemitic program quickly expanded beyond mere speech. Starting in 1933, repressive laws were passed against Jews, culminating in the Nuremberg Laws which removed most of the rights of citizenship from Jews, using a racial definition that was based on descent, rather than a religious definition which determined who was a Jew.^[141] Sporadic violence against the Jews became widespread during the Kristallnacht riots, which targeted Jewish homes, businesses and places of worship, killing hundreds across Germany and Austria. The antisemitic agenda culminated in the genocide of the Jews of Europe, known as the Holocaust.

Germany 1945 – 2000

In 1998, Ignatz Bubis said that Jews could not live freely in Germany. In 2002, the historian Julius Schoeps said that "resolutions by the German parliament to reject antisemitism are drivel of the worst kind" and "all those ineffective actions are presented to the world as a strong defense against the charge of antisemitism. The truth is: no one is really interested in these matters. No one really cares."^[142]

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Perpetrators of antisemitic verbal harassment and physical assault. Attackers characterised by victim. An attacker may belong to more than 1 group.^[143]

21st-century Germany

A 2012 poll showed that 18% of the Turks in Germany regard Jews as inferior human beings.^[144][145] A similar study found that most of Germany's native-born Muslim youth and children of immigrants have antisemitic views.^[146]

In 2014, antisemitic activities in Germany prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to lead a rally in Berlin against antisemitism in Germany.^[147] In that same year, about 3,500 people rallied in front of the Frankfurt City Hall to protest against a wave of antisemitic incidents in Germany. A few hundred of the protesters were from the Kurdish-Israeli Friendship Association. According to the JTA, "Merkel expressed her support for the event in a letter."^[148]

In May 2016, a new definition of antisemitism was agreed upon at the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Conference, stating that "holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel" is antisemitic.^[149]