The number of anti-Semitic acts around the world, especially in Europe, registered a large increase during 2006.
According to a report, 590 acts of vandalism and violence were committed during 2006 against Jewish people, property and institutes such as synagogues and cemeteries.
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The number of physical attacks against Jews, including children and adolescents, doubled compared to 2005.
This information was published Sunday morning in a report compiled by the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism in Tel Aviv University together with the World Jewish Congress.
The report was released for the Holocaust Memorial Day, on Monday.
The report stated that the attacks were mostly random, making it very difficult to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. In reality, many of the attacks were committed by Muslim immigrants and far-right groups.
Torched Jewish center in Paris (Photo: Reuters)
A total of 324 violent incidents was registered in Europe, higher than in other regions of the world.
The highest number of anti-Semitic acts commited in the UK in the last 20 years was registered. The statistics in France and Belgium also show an increase in anti-Semitism. Germany remained steady but high, holding the record for desecrating cemeteries and Holocaust-memorial monuments.
Anti-Semitism rears its ugly head not only in Europe. Australia, Canada (especially in the French speaking regions) and South Africa have registered alarming increases in anti-Semitic incitends.
In the US, however, anti-Semitic acts dropped by 12 percent, although some of the cases reported were severe, like premeditated murder.
A concentration of incidents was recorded during the Second Lebanon War and immediately after it.
The writers of the report explained: "There is no doubt that the war and the hostile mood surrounding it brought violence by Muslim extremists and far-right groups against Jews to escalate worldwide."
They detailed other causes for the rise in anti-Semitism including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad's Holocaust-denial and other statements against Israel.
"His claims represent an increasing belief in Europe, whereby Palestinians are victims of a holocaust; they also coincide with another viewpoint that is gaining momentum among post-colonial, intellectual circles, anti-Americans and advocates for anti-globalization, who, for various reasons, regard the establishment of the State of Israel as a historic mistake," they clarified.
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