A special report by the World Zionist Organization (WZO) released on Monday, just a day before Israel marks its Holocaust Remembrance Day, reveals a sharp increase in cases of Anti-Semitism following the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The report on anti-Semitism prepared for the WZO for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) reveals that there has been a sharp rise in anti-Semitism worldwide in the first quarter of 2020.
The report was produced by Eli Nahum who for 17 years served as a researcher on anti-Semitism at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Nahum’s investigation reveals the coronavirus pandemic is linked to the upswing in anti-Semitism incidents.
The report notes that in countries where there are many cases of anti-Semitism, there are no organized programs to combat the phenomenon.
Diaspora Jews report a fear of walking around in public with Jewish attire such as a kippah, tzitzit, or a Star of David necklace, Nahum noted in the special report.
The report notes that as early as 2019, Jews in various countries experienced anti-Semitism events of a magnitude not seen before in recent years.
In most countries in the world where anti-Semitic events are being monitored, a record number of incidents have been recorded in the past year.
There are several countries around the world where the data is of acute concern. In Germany and the US, there has been an increase in the number of violent incidents with an anti-Semitic motive. In the US, at least one Jewish attack occurs every day on average, and in Germany, a Jew is attacked every three days, noted the author of the report.
This past year, two serious Anti-Semitic attacks took place. The first occurred in California at a Chabad Synagogue in April 2019, where one worshiper was killed and many were injured.
The second attack took place in a German synagogue during Yom Kippur prayers, where an attacker opened fire but failed to enter the synagogue.
The report lists all the findings that occurred during the past year from Yom Hashoah of 2019 to Yom HaShoah of 2020.
Following the findings of the report, Vice-Chairman of the WZO Yaakov Hagoel scheduled an urgent online meeting this week with the heads of Jewish communities around the world to formulate an action plan.
Hagoel stated that “the findings of the report show that the scourge of anti-Semitism has already become a malignant disease that disperses its poison around the world. We have already seen this phenomenon in the Middle Ages during the Black Plague. Then, as today, there is incitement against the Jewish community and a false accusation that somehow Jews are behind the epidemic.”
“Nevertheless, we will combat this deadly phenomenon,” he vowed.