Now it’s official and we have the data to prove it: to be a Jew in Europe today you must hide your Jewish identity.
In its latest survey of Jews’ experiences and perceptions of antisemitism, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found an astounding 76% of European Jews have avoided wearing anything outside of their homes or synagogues that would enable passersby to know they are Jewish—up from 30% in 2013 when the first FRA survey was released.
Before the 2013 survey, our information about antisemitism in Europe was extensive but largely anecdotal. We knew that Jewish communities were experiencing a steady erosion of their sense of safety and security and saw some of the first lethal attacks on Jewish targets in Europe in 2012. The data have only grown more alarming over the last decade.
Today, a staggering 80% of European Jews believe antisemitism has increased in the past five years and nearly all (96%) experienced antisemitism in the past year, with two-thirds saying they encounter it “all the time.”
Yet despite significant efforts to encourage Jews to report incidents of antisemitism either to the police or to Jewish community organizations, most still do not. Only one in four incidents of antisemitism and 49% of acts of antisemitic violence are actually registered.
Sadly, nearly half (48%) of those who do not report say this is because they do not think anything will change. Less than one-third of those surveyed believe their governments are taking the necessary steps to ensure their security.
Forced to acknowledge the troubling reality made evident by that 2013 survey, European leaders finally began to mobilize. In 2015, the European Union appointed a national coordinator to combat antisemitism. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also recommended measures that governments could take to improve the security of Jewish communities. In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) adopted a Working Definition of Antisemitism that offered examples of both traditional and new forms of this age-old hatred, including antisemitism related to Israel.
But the headwinds proved strong and, even with these actions, FRA’s 2018 survey concluded that antisemitism was pervasive and had become “disturbingly normalized.” It found that more than one-third of those surveyed had considered emigrating because of it.
The most recent report, which closed its polling before Oct. 7 and thus failed to capture the explosive increase in antisemitism that followed the Hamas massacre, demands that we bring a new urgency to the battle.
The essential steps to counter antisemitism are clear:
Governments must ensure the safety and security of their Jewish communities by providing police protection and funding the necessary security enhancements and private guards that Jewish schools, synagogues and community centers require.
In the face of antisemitic incidents, political leaders must speak out clearly, swiftly and without regard to partisan interests. Far too many are quick to point out antisemitism in the opposition while turning a blind eye to those within their own camp.
Education is critical for both those with a professional responsibility to respond to hate crimes and the general public. The IHRA Working Definition is an indispensable guidance tool, already adopted by a majority of E.U. member states, with special value for colleges and universities seeking to protect students, staff and faculty from hostile learning environments.
Antisemitism may be the world’s oldest hatred, but it has the uncanny ability to mutate and adapt over time and across borders, employing conspiracy myths that make Jews a ready target for all political and ideological groups. For these nefarious actors, demonstrating its irrationality is only further “proof” of its insidious nature.
Protecting Jews from antisemitism is a worthy goal in itself. But history has demonstrated that it is not only a threat to Jews. Left unchecked, it will endanger other minorities and undermine the very tenets of our democracies.
If Jews are to have a future in Europe, we must do more, we must do it better, and we must mobilize all of society to act with us. A Europe without Jews is no longer unthinkable, but it must not become inevitable.