February 27, 2015

Unleashed harassment of Jews

editor:	Murat Suner

Religious differences lead to conflict, governments try to restrict religious practice or favor some religions over others - all of this is known. But it's getting worse.

A report from the Pew Research Center shows the pervasiveness of religious intolerance around the world in 2013, and finds that the targeting of Jews, in particular, has significantly increased each year since 2007.

The level of discrimination was most stark in Europe. Jews experienced harassment in 34 of the region's 45 countries, or 76 percent - by comparison, members of the group were only harassed in 25 percent of countries in the rest of the world. Muslims also experienced widespread harassment in Europe, with incidents happening in 32 out of 45 countries, or 71 percent - in the rest of the world, this only happened in 34 percent of countries.

But what's different about the discrimination faced by Jews and Muslims is that, in general, Muslims face discrimination from both governments and communities, while "Jews tend to be harassed by individuals or groups in society rather than governments," said Peter Henne, lead researcher of the study.

Discrimination against Jews and Muslims in Europe should be equally troubling, but despite preventing efforts by governments, incidents reported by The Atlantic show unleashed anti-semitism and racism:

- Following an argument, several residents of the Parisian suburb Seine-et-Marne attacked their Jewish neighbors with a crowbar, shouting anti-Semitic slurs.

- An unidentified group poured tar over metal tiles embedded in the streets of Komarno, Slovakia, which were installed to commemorate victims of the Holocaust.

- "Hitler was right" was painted in graffiti beside a swastika on the wall of the town bullring in Pinto, Spain, before a local celebration; city officials left the graffiti up temporarily "so that the celebration could take place without delay."

- During a soccer match in Pozna, Poland, fans shouted, “Auschwitz is your home, off with Jews" at the opposing team. An investigation into the incident was discontinued, officials said, because it was unclear that the opposing team's fans were Jewish.

The BBC recently gathered some views of Europe's young Jews after Paris and Copenhagen attacks. One of them, Nicloas, 25, from France, said: "Some Jews want to leave to Israel and I'm okay with that. But I won't move to Israel because of fear. I think if someone needs to leave France, it's not the Jews - it's the haters."