European Leaders Warn of Significant Rise in Antisemitism

The Chancellor of Germany and the Prime Minister of France have stated that antisemitism has significantly increased in their countries. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, and Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister of France, made these remarks on Friday, November 9, during the 80th anniversary of the events known as "Kristallnacht." Supporters of Nazi Germany attacked Jewish businesses and 1,400 synagogues on the night of November 9, 1938, creating a pavement of broken glass that became known as "Kristallnacht." On November 9 and 10 of that year, 91 Jews were killed in Germany, and more than 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps by the Nazis. The "Kristallnacht" event accelerated the persecution of Jews in Germany and, one year later, with the onset of World War II, led to widespread persecution of Jews in other countries under Nazi control, culminating in the Holocaust, the genocide of Jews. According to Merkel, the events of "Kristallnacht" paved the way for the Holocaust, which was "the greatest crime in human history." The German leader added, "The indifference of the society at that time led to the collective destruction of Jews," and "the shocking actions of the Nazis did not happen overnight, but were gradually intensified." Angela Merkel stated, "Eighty years after that massacre, we see the flourishing of Jewish life, but the rise of antisemitism is also concerning; Jewish life is accompanied by threats; hatred of Jews has become harsher in the depths of society." Meanwhile, Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister of France, presented statistics showing that incidents of harassment against French Jews due to antisemitism increased by 69% in the first nine months of 2018 compared to the same period last year. Philippe wrote on his social media that any attack on any of our citizens solely because they are Jewish resonates as a new "Kristallnacht." The French Prime Minister added that recalling the events of eighty years ago is necessary because there is still a long way to go before antisemitism ends. Philippe quoted Elie Wiesel, the Jewish Nobel Peace Prize-winning author, stating that "indifference" is the greatest danger that leads to an increase in blind hostility against people because of their religion and race. While about half a percent of France's eighty million population is Jewish, reports from France 24 indicate that about 40% of incidents of racial and religious harassment in 2017 targeted Jews. Approximately 400,000 Jews remain in France, down from over 650,000 a decade ago. Alongside the rise of antisemitism, about 250,000 French Jews have emigrated to Canada, Israel, and the United States in recent years. Meanwhile, France still has the largest Jewish community in Europe and is considered the third-largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel and the United States, with around 14 million Jews globally. About 250,000 Jews also reside in Germany, with a report from four years ago indicating that 118,000 of them are of German origin, while the rest prefer to live in Germany and hold German citizenship from countries like the former Soviet republics and even Israel. More than 75 years after the defeat of the Nazis, antisemitism has been on the rise in many European and Western countries. According to Gunter Jikely, a German historian teaching at Indiana University in the United States, there is no exaggeration in the statistics of rising antisemitism in France and also in Britain. Following the attack two weeks ago by an American racist on a synagogue in Pittsburgh that resulted in 11 deaths, Professor Jikely stated, "Hostility towards Judaism is often in the back of many people's minds; however, we must see what factors lead someone motivated by this hatred to take action against Jews."