
EQUALITY Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU Photos (cover & inside, from left to right/starting in top row): © Stock.adobe.com_Rafael Ben-Ari; Stock.adobe.com_brat82; Stock.adobe.com_dubova; Shutterstock.com_129757388; Stock.adobe.com_Odelia Cohen; Stock.adobe.com_REDPIXEL; Stock.adobe.com_Menschen; Stock.adobe.com_Sergey Nivens; Stock.adobe.com_superelaks. More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018 Print ISBN 978-92-9474-210-0 doi:10.2811/837123 TK-03-18-550-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-9474-209-4 doi:10.2811/696582 TK-03-18-550-EN-N © European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2018 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under FRA’s copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU Foreword When you last walked by one of Europe’s many beautiful synagogues, were heavily-armed police officers standing guard at its gates? It is a jarring sight. But, over 70 years after the Holocaust, it is also all too familiar. This report outlines the main findings of FRA’s second survey on Jewish people’s experiences with hate crime, dis- crimination and antisemitism in the European Union – the biggest survey of Jewish people ever conducted worldwide. Covering 12 EU Member States, the survey reached almost 16,500 individuals who identify as being Jewish. It follows up on the agency’s first survey, conducted in seven countries in 2012. The findings make for a sobering read. They underscore that antisemitism remains pervasive across the EU – and has, in many ways, become disturbingly normalised. It’s not just synagogues that require protection – at countless Jewish community centres and schools, too, special security measures are in place. Jewish people also encounter vicious commentary online, in the media and in politics; endure hostile stares and gestures in their neighbourhoods; come across graffiti and other forms of vandalism; and face discrimination in social settings, at school and at work. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of survey participants feel that antisemitism is getting worse. They also fear for their own safety, and that of their loved ones. They protect themselves by leaving their kippa at home, only discreetly displaying mezuzas, avoiding certain areas in their cities or skipping Jewish events. It is impossible to put a number on how corrosive such everyday realities can be. But a shocking statistic sends a clear message: in the past five years, across twelve EU Member States where Jews have been living for centuries, more than one third say that they consider emigrating because they no longer feel safe as Jews. On September 26, UN Secretary General António Guterres underlined that the “origins of the United Nations itself are rooted in the need to learn the lessons of the Holocaust” and called for combating antisemitism and hatred “with all our energy and will”. We join this call and strongly encourage policymakers across the EU to take heed of the profoundly troubling messages this survey brings, and to step up their efforts now to ensure the safety and dignity of all Jewish people living in the EU. Michael O’Flaherty Director 3 Country codes Country code EU Member State AT Austria BE Belgium DE Germany DK Denmark ES Spain FR France HU Hungary IT Italy LV Latvia NL Netherlands PL Poland SE Sweden UK United Kingdom 4 Contents FOREWORD ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 3 WHY IS THIS REPORT NEEDED? ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 KEY FINDINGS AND FRA OPINIONS ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11 1 MANIFESTATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15 1.1. How big of a problem is antisemitism? .................................................................................................................. 15 1.2. Manifestations of antisemitism affecting the Jewish community .................................................................... 21 1.3. Prevalence and context of negative statements about Jews ........................................................................... 24 1.3.1. Respondents assessing the antisemitic nature of negative comments and their prevalence ....... 24 1.3.2. Context of negative statements about Jews ........................................................................................... 27 1.3.3. Assessing the antisemitic nature of selected opinions or actions by non-Jews ............................... 29 2 SAFETY AND SECURITY ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 31 2.1. Worrying about becoming a victim of hate crime ............................................................................................... 32 2.2. Responses to safety concerns: actions taken or considered ............................................................................ 36 2.3. Assessing governments’ efforts to combat antisemitism ................................................................................. 40 2.4. Influence of events in Middle East on antisemitic incidents ............................................................................. 43 3 VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWS: EXPERIENCES OF HARASSMENT, PHYSICAL VIOLENCE AND VANDALISM ������������������ 45 3.1. Harassment ............................................................................................................................................................... 46 3.2. Physical violence and vandalism against personal property ............................................................................. 51 3.3. Respondents’ perceptions of the incident circumstances and perpetrators ................................................... 52 3.4. Reporting antisemitic incidents .............................................................................................................................. 55 4 EXPERIENCES OF DISCRIMINATION ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 59 4.1. Overall discrimination experiences ....................................................................................................................... 59 4.2. Context of discrimination incidents ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 61 4.3. Reporting discrimination .......................................................................................................................................... 63 5 RIGHTS AWARENESS ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 5.1. Awareness of protection measures against discrimination .............................................................................. 65 5.2. Holocaust denial and trivialisation ........................................................................................................................ 67 5.3. Protection of traditional religious practices ......................................................................................................... 69 ANNEX 1: SURVEY METHODOLOGY ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 73 ANNEX 2: SURVEY IN LATVIA ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 79 ANNEX 3: PREVENTING AND COMBATING ANTISEMITISM: WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? ��������������������������������������������� 80 REFERENCES ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 82 Figures and tables Figure 1: Antisemitism is seen to be a problem in the country today, by EU Member State (%) ................................... 17 Figure 2: Perceptions on changes in the level of antisemitism in the country over the past five years, by EU Member State (%) ............................................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 3: Perceptions of changes in the level of intolerance towards Muslims in the country over the past five years, by EU Member State (%) ......................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 4: Perceptions of changes in the level of expressions of antisemitism on the internet in the country over the past five years, by EU Member State (%) ................................................................................. 23 Figure 5: Opinions on the antisemitic nature of
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