Anti-semitism on the rise in Europe amid Gaza conflict

The recent escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has sparked a wave of anti-semitic incidents in several European countries, raising concerns about the safety and security of Jewish communities. From Germany to France, from Italy to the UK, from Spain to the Netherlands, reports of vandalism, harassment, threats, and assaults against Jews and Jewish institutions have increased in the past weeks, coinciding with the outbreak of the Gaza conflict.

According to the European Jewish Congress (EJC), an umbrella organisation representing Jewish communities in Europe, there have been more than 100 anti-semitic incidents in Europe since the start of the Gaza hostilities on November 14. Some of the most serious cases include:

In Germany, a synagogue in Düsseldorf was attacked with stones and a firebomb, a Jewish cemetery in Worms was desecrated with swastikas, and a rabbi in Berlin was verbally abused and spat at by a group of youths.
In France, a synagogue in Paris was surrounded by a mob chanting "Death to the Jews" and "Hitler was right", a Jewish school in Toulouse was vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti, and a Jewish woman in Strasbourg was slashed with a knife by an assailant who shouted "Allahu Akbar".
In Italy, a synagogue in Rome was daubed with red paint and a banner reading "Free Palestine, death to Israel", a Jewish shop in Milan was defaced with a swastika and a Star of David crossed out, and a Jewish man in Turin was beaten up by two men who accused him of being a "Zionist murderer".
In the UK, a synagogue in London was targeted with a petrol bomb, a Jewish school in Manchester was evacuated after a bomb threat, and a Jewish man in Glasgow was stabbed by an attacker who shouted "F*** the Jews".
In Spain, a synagogue in Madrid was sprayed with the words "Jews murderers", a Jewish bookstore in Barcelona was ransacked and looted, and a Jewish woman in Malaga was harassed and insulted by a group of men who threw coins at her and told her to "go back to Israel".

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