Despite the fact that 2008 showed a marked decline in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, hate crimes directed against Jews rose sharply in the beginning of 2009, with a wave that included physical assaults and attacks on synagogues and cemeteries, according to a report released Monday by the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University.According to the study, which was released in conjunction with the opening day of the Durban II UN racism conference in Geneva, although the anti-Semitic outbreak precipitated by the start of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip "featured traditional anti-Semitic motifs, their use was more extreme, intensive, and vociferous than was hitherto known."
Among those perpetrating the attacks, Muslim activists and organizations "showed a high degree of mobilization," the report said, "and were the moving force" behind many violent demonstrations. They were also joined by "leftist and human rights activists, and to a lesser extent extreme-right circles. Jews and former Israelis also took part in some of the rallies, mostly in the US."The report emphasized that it was still too early to determine the exact number of incidents, but cited statistics showing that 250 incidents were recorded in January of 2009 in the UK, as opposed to only 35 during the correlating month in 2008, including a tripling of the number of violent assaults. The report assessed that in January alone, some 1000 "manifestations of anti-Semitism of all types" occurred throughout the world.
Courtesy: The Jerusalem Post
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