Jews in the West are increasingly exposed to Antisemitic threats and violence from multiple directions, a recent report warns. Moreover, public officials are failing to counter the growing tide of Anti-Jewish hatred, and in some cases directly promote it.
The number of Antisemitic incidents continued to break records in 2019, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said. Jews are increasingly facing shooting attacks, stabbings, and other forms of violence, the Ministry’s annual report said.
Overall, seven people were killed during the year and many others were wounded. The Ministry noted that the 2019 death toll could have been much higher had some attacks not been disrupted or botched.
Notably, the report identified several worrying trends that are pointing to the West’s growing acceptance of Anti-Jewish attitudes. This includes the rise of Antisemitic leaders like Jeremy Corbyn in Britain, the Ministry said. Similar leaders could emerge in Europe in the coming years, the report warned.
The document paid special attention to the Western failure to properly address Islamic Antisemitism. European authorities tend to exempt Muslim attackers from trial on grounds of mental incapacity, the Ministry noted. In some cases, violence against Jews was justified as a reaction triggered by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As to the far right, the report said that the movement is gaining strength, and that the number of radical rightist activists keeps growing. On the left, public and political figures are promoting new Antisemitism under the guise of anti-Israel rhetoric.
Democrats Flirt With Antisemitism
While the report pays close attention to the rise of leftist Antisemitism in Europe, recent developments in the US Democratic Party are also a cause for concern.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s endorsement of a blood libel against Jews is the latest case of hardcore Antisemitism in the party. So far, Democrats have not taken decisive action against virulent anti-Jewish sentiments or those who promote such views.
Tlaib retweeted a false claim that Jewish settlers murdered a Palestinian boy in Jerusalem. The child in fact drowned in a flooded ditch in a tragic accident. The original tweet featured the hallmarks of a classic blood libel, accusing Jews falsely of brutally killing a child. Tlaib later deleted the post.
This was not the first time that Democratic politicians have flirted with blunt expressions of Antisemitism. This month, NGO StopAntisemitism.org named Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as the leading Jew-hater in 2019.
Among other things, Omar has previously charged that US Jews have dual loyalties, and crudely hinted that they use their money to acquire political clout. She also claimed that Israel was hypnotizing the world.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently lauded the Women’s March for its stand against racism and religious bigotry. Notably, many former fans withdrew their support for the movement because of the Antisemitic views and associations of some of its key organizers.
