Israel info centre registers sharp rise in anti-semitic incidents
The number of reports of anti-semitism registered by the Israel information centre Cidi rose 35% last year to a record 182, the organisation said on Monday.
Cidi has been monitoring anti-semitism for 38 years and the 2018 total has beaten the 171 complaints reported in 2014, during the Israel Gaza conflict, the organisation said.
Most of the incidents (44) revolve around swearing while anti-Israel demonstrations on Dam square in central Amsterdam generated 18 reports of anti-Jewish chanting.
But there were fewer cases of vandalism and confrontations with neighbours or others in the victim’s immediate vicinity, Cidi said. Two incidents involved physical attacks on Jewish people’s homes.
‘Anti-semitic swearing, bullying and intimidation has a major impact on the victims,’ the organisation said. ‘But they also contribute to a growing feeling of insecurity in the Jewish community as a whole.’
The agency registered a further 127 incidents of online anti-semitism, up from 95 in 2018. These were particularly inspired by news reports, such as the announcement by Dutch railway firm NS that it would pay compensation to Holocaust victims, Cidi said.
‘Social media companies are still not doing enough to combat anti-semitic and other racism statements on their platforms,’ the organisation said.
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