Why Europe's Jews Are Afraid 

Rising intimidation and violence that has left many feeling fearful and under threat

A growing wave of antisemitic attacks has swept across Europe in recent weeks, with a string of incidents targeting Jewish sites in multiple countries underscoring an increasingly hostile climate and a rise in targeted violence against Jewish communities.

Synagogues have increasingly been targeted in acts of vandalism and violence amid a broader surge in antisemitism worldwide, with a mounting wave of incidents reported from Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, and Australia.

On Sunday night (19^th April), North Macedonia’s only synagogue was targeted in a separate attempted arson attack in Skopje, the country’s capital - believed to be the country’s first antisemitic incident since World War II. North Macedonia is home to approximately 200 Jews, nearly all based in Skopje. Before the Holocaust, the country was home to nearly 8,000 Jews — with around 3,000 in Skopje — and five synagogues in Bitola.

Meanwhile, in northern Romania, a Jewish cemetery, was vandalised by unknown perpetrators this week.

London Attacks

In Britain, the recent destruction of four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity has been followed by further arson attempts on two synagogues and a business amid record numbers of antisemitic incidents including last year’s Manchester synagogue attack that left two men dead. A timeline of recent incidents reveals the following:

March 23:
Four Jewish community ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service, were torched in Golders Green, north-west London. Four males have been charged over the incident and will appear at the Old Bailey this Friday, April 24.

Wed April 15:
An attempted arson attack was carried out in the early hours at Finchley Reform Synagogue, in north-west London. Bottles, one thought to contain petrol, were placed near the synagogue by two people wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, but neither of the bottles were ignited.

Sat April 18:
Items were found near the Israeli embassy, central London, in the morning, and that night a former Jewish charity building was attacked in Hendon, Barnet. The attackers fled after the bag they were carrying containing bottles of liquid failed to fully ignite.

This latest series of incidents is further evidence of a growing trend in almost daily antisemitic incidents being inflicted on Jews and Jewish buildings across Britain. 

Sun April 19
A “bottle with some sort of accelerant” was thrown through the window of Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north London. Smoke was seen inside a room at the synagogue after officers spotted damage to the window.

The police are investigating whether the string of arson attacks is the work of Iranian proxies after Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI), an Islamist militant group, said it was behind the attacks. Meanwhile, in a separate and more recent incident, seven people have been arrested over an alleged plan to commit an arson attack targeting the Jewish community at an unnamed location. 

Also this week, (21st April), a London Underground driver was suspended after saying at a recent protest that Jews are unsafe on the Bakerloo Line while he is driving.

This latest series of incidents is further evidence of a growing trend in almost daily antisemitic incidents being inflicted on Jews and Jewish buildings across Britain. Our News and Views page contains continual updates of the most shocking and utterly unacceptable expressions of anti-Jew hatred.

Hate crimes go ‘largely unchecked’ 

Fearful and under threat

A BBC Panorama documentary screened on Monday (20th April) featured over a dozen individuals speaking of fears for their safety. Reporter Judith Moritz examined how intimidation and violence has left many British Jews feeling fearful and under threat.

Amanda, a 47-year-old community leader, says that simply going about her daily life has brought her abuse. She has been spat at in the street, branded a ‘baby killer’ and received a death threat, just for being Jewish.

There aren't any Jewish people I know who haven’t got plans to leave ...

In a WhatsApp group of about 20 of her Jewish friends, many of whom are children or grandchildren of refugees from the Nazis who once saw the UK as a haven from antisemitism, she says conversations have shifted from neighbourhood chat to more existential questions.

British Jews Talk of Leaving

“There aren't any Jewish people I know who haven’t got plans to leave,” she says, adding that many of her group are considering emigrating within the next few months, mainly to Israel.

And they are not alone. According to Israeli government migration statistics, more British Jews have moved to Israel in the past twelve months than in any other year since the turn of this century.

A recent survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, external, shared exclusively with Panorama, suggests antisemitism is pushing about one in five British Jews to think about leaving.

Amanda had organised a Hanukkah celebration event last year, but it was cancelled at the last minute by the venue, citing security concerns following the mass shooting on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Excluding Jews "doesn't make us any safer," she remarks. "It just removes us from life."