The number of anti-Semitic acts registered in France and Belgium has soared since Hamas’ attacks on Israel triggered the Gaza war, according to figures released on Thursday.
In France, 1,676 anti-Semitic acts were reported in 2023, compared to 436 the year before, according to data from the Interior Ministry and the watchdog organization Jewish Communities Protection Agency.
According to the Council of French Jewish Organizations, France’s main Jewish interest group, the number of anti-Semitic acts committed in the three months after the October 7 attacks was higher than in the previous three years combined. It is said that the number was comparable to that of
In neighboring Belgium, Unia, an independent public agency fighting discrimination, received 91 reports related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas between October 7 and December 7, compared to 91 in all of 2022. It was announced that there were 57 cases.
Unia said most of the reports were of statements or actions that could be considered anti-Semitic, including instances of Holocaust denial. In 66 cases, it was clear that the target was Jewish.
Most of the incidents involved hate messages, more than half of which were online, although some comments were made in public spaces. According to the newspaper, Unia is cooperating with the public prosecutor’s office and police in nine cases of assault and damage.
The report cites instances of beatings, graffiti, and the desecration of dozens of graves in the Jewish section of a cemetery near the city of Charleroi.
“We can therefore say that since October 7, 2023, there has been a clear increase in reports of anti-Semitic acts,” Unia said. Additionally, from October 7th to December 7th, eight reports of discrimination and hate speech related to the Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic beliefs of the targeted people were received.
Reports of anti-Semitic acts and comments have increased in many European countries since the outbreak of war.
In Italy, anti-Semitic incidents reached an unprecedented high last year, with 216 incidents reported in the past three months, compared to 241 in the whole of the previous year.
Anti-Semitism Observatory said 454 incidents were reported in Italy last year, the highest level ever reported in the country. That included violent clashes on Saturday in the northern city of Vicenza with anti-Israel demonstrators attempting to protest the presence of an Israeli pavilion at a trade fair.
According to the World Jewish Congress, Belgium’s Jewish population is approximately 29,000. Most of the Jewish community in the capital Brussels is secular, but the port city of Antwerp has a large ultra-Orthodox population and is home to Europe’s largest Hasidic community.
In France, which has Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, the French Jewish Institutions Council announced that 57.8% of anti-Semitic acts in 2023 were against individuals. It included physical violence and threatening words and gestures. The group also noted that “the number of anti-Semitic acts in schools is exploding.”
“Perpetrators of anti-Semitic acts are getting younger. Schools are no longer sanctuaries,” he said.
The Gaza Strip Health Ministry says 26,000 people have been killed in the enclave and 60,000 people have died since an October 7 attack by Gazan militants in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. It was announced that 3,000 people were injured.
Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.