The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs released a report on Sunday that noted an increase in anti-Semitic sentiment throughout 2017 attributing the rise of the far-right and the refugee crisis as triggering factors.

“Anti-Semitism is the dangerous fuel feeding our enemies for generations. We must ensure every Jew in the world can live a safe and proud life,” Diaspora Minister Naftali Bennett is quoted as saying in the press release.

“In 2017 we saw a strong anti-Semitic presence online,” he added. “Much of this discourse was related to the changes in governments around the world, the refugee crisis and the visibility of anti-Semitism in social media. We must act with all available tools against current anti-Semitism to ensure the security of the Jewish people, in Israel and the Diaspora.”

“The refugee population is becoming a risk factor for Jewish communities. Over 50% of refugees in Western Europe hold anti-Semitic views and opinions,” the report stated.

Presented ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day to be marked on January 27, the report also noted that a new edition of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf had become a bestseller in German bookstores in 2017.

In the UK, the press release said that there was a record number of anti-Semitic incidents citing an overall 30 percent rise in such events and specifically a 78 percent increase in physical attacks against Jews. There has also been a rising tide of criticism targeting leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn for not tackling anti-Semitism effectively within his party.

France has witnessed a barrage of anti-Semitic related incidents. In December five people were charged over a brutal attack on a Jewish family in a Parisian suburb, the gang reportedly told the family “you’re Jewish, so you have money.” In November, a French socialist politicians Gerard Filoche was criticized for tweeting a highly anti-Semitic image of three high-profile European Jews. Several kosher restaurants were also victims of arson attacks.

The Diaspora Ministry report also cited a Pew survey across 18 European countries that found 20% of Europeans aren’t interested in accepting Jews in their countries, 30% wouldn’t want Jews as neighbors, and 22% of Romanians and 18% of Poles would like to revoke the citizenship of local Jews.

Addressing an audience at Park East Synagogue in New York on Saturday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned against all forms of discrimination, including anti-Semitism reported the Jerusalem Post. He made reference to Neo-Nazi groups and said the world must “stand together against the normalization of hate.”

Germany, for example, has taken steps to deal with the phenomenon, only last week the German parliament approved a series of measures including introducing the role of an anti-Semitism commissioner. Another amendment addressed anti-Semitic sentiment amongst migrants that, when the government was reviewing deportation claims, would account for evidence of discriminatory views.

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Source: https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/165722-180121-2017-report-pins-growth-of-antisemitism-on-refugee-crisis-and-far-right-rise

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