Survey: Many Jews in the EU are Afraid

ORF, July 11, 2024

German original: https://religion.orf.at/stories/3225828/

The vast majority of Jews in Europe continue to be affected by anti-Semitism in their daily lives. This is the conclusion of a survey by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

The study was conducted before the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent Israeli army offensive in the Gaza Strip. 80 percent of those surveyed believe that anti-Semitism has increased in the five years prior to the survey.

Among the participants in Austria, 76 percent felt the same way. For the year before the survey, 38 percent in this country reported having been victims of anti-Semitic hostility – similar to the EU average. Five percent were also attacked in that year.

"Wave of anti-Semitism"

These experiences lead many people to feel compelled to conceal their Jewish identity in public. In Austria, 29 percent of Jews never wear Jewish symbols in public for security reasons. Among all study participants, the figure was as high as 48 percent. For 66 percent (EU: 76 percent), this was at least occasionally the case.

70 percent of respondents felt that they were at least occasionally held responsible for the policies of the Israeli government because of their Jewishness (EU: 75 percent). Three-quarters of the study participants across Europe felt the same way.

"Europe is experiencing a wave of anti-Semitism, which is partly fueled by the conflict in the Middle East," warns FRA Director Sirpa Rautio in a press release about the report. "This severely limits the possibility of a safe and dignified Jewish life." The development jeopardizes the success of the EU's anti-Semitism strategy, which was adopted in 2021, FRA Director Rautio added.

Third FRA report

This is the third FRA report on anti-Semitism. To produce it, around 8,000 Jews from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary were surveyed in the first half of 2023. According to the EU agency, 96 percent of Jews in the EU live in these 13 countries. In Austria, 363 people were interviewed. The agency estimates that the Jewish population in this country is 13,650.