Jewish leaders fearful of recent anti-Semitic incidents
Trump may have spoken against the rising tide of anti-Semitism, but Jews in the US still feel threatened by what one Jewish leader described as a 'wave of anti-Semitism, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the 80's'.
Reports of anti-Semitic attacks in the United States and Europe are growing each day, and officials in Israel and in the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) are worriedly observing the incidents and threats against Jewish cemeteries, community centers and against Jews on social media.
"From conversation with heads of The Jewish Federation in the United States I can't recall a kind of wave of anti-Semitism like this one being experienced by the Jewish communities," Yedioth Ahronoth was told on Wednesday by Amos Hermon, who heads the fight against anti-Semitism in the JAFI.
Speaking about the recent desecration of cemeteries, a series of bomb threats made against Jewish community centers and attacks against Jews on social media, Hermon expressed his grave concern.
"We don't remember this kind of anti-Semitism since we first started observing anti-Semitic incidents, in the 80's," he said.
Hermon also addressed the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in his interview, saying "In West Europe we see a transition from assaults against property to assaults against people. The Jewish community is not impressed with the statistical decline in 2016 compared with 2015. The claim is that security around schools and Jewish communities was indeed reinforced, but beyond those communities Jews are still being attacked."
In the last few days there have been reports of, among other things, gunshots being fired at a Jewish cemetery in Illinois, and swastikas and other offensive graffiti sprayed on cars belonging to Jews in Florida.
In November, a memorial in a New York public park for the late Jewish hip-hop legend Adam Yauch, who was the founder and a member of the popular band Beastie Boys, was found graffitied on with swastikas and bearing the words “Go Trump.”
"I'm deeply concerned about the wave of threats and anti-Semitic attacks that has been surging through the United States in the last few weeks," posted JAFI Chairman Natan Sharansky.
"If there ever was a separation between the demonization of the Jewish state and the Jewish people, it no longer exists.
"These two ugly phenomenon feed off each other, and are both antithetical to the foundations of the democratic societies in the United States and Europe. I'm positive that authorities in the United States will work diligently to bring those responsible to justice and to prevent recurrences."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech at the Jewish People Policy Institute conference, also said that "there is no doubt that anti-Semitism has not disappeared, but it is in our capability to do a lot to fight against it.
"World leader should unequivocally denounce anti-Semitism wherever it exists, and I appreciate the firm stance taken by President Trump and Vice President Pence against anti-Semitism. We expect the same from European leaders, and must demand it from governments around the world, since Jews, wherever they live, should not live in fear."
