Antisemitism in Europe: Challenging Official Indifference

This report tracks recent anti-Jewish violence and government responses across the breadth of Europe. The attacks come from organized movements of the extreme right, racist "skinheads," and assailants who invoke the Middle East conflict to demonize Jews and Jewish institutions. Only a handful of European governments systematically monitor and publicly report on antisemitic violence. Few governments have created official monitoring bodies to track antisemitic acts. Instead most European governments contribute to the climate of escalating violence by failing to monitor these crimes, and to enact and enforce laws punishing hate crimes. Official indifference has been the norm. Antisemitism is now squarely on the international human rights agenda. This report focuses on the problem, sets it in the context of other forms of racism and discrimination, and makes concrete recommendations on what needs to be done to combat it.