An antisemitic text pinned to the door of a synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic in Oct. 2020 reads in part: “”Enough of Jewish rule in the Czech Republic, if you don’t want to be a Czech then go to
your Israel!” Photo: FZO

The struggle against rising antisemitism in Europe is being compromised by a lack of accurate data on incidents targeting Jews across the continent, a new report on antisemitism by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) asserted on Tuesday.

The FRA’s overview of antisemitic incidents from 2010-20 in all 27 EU member states stressed that antisemitism was an increasing presence online, particularly during the last 18 months that have been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the “inadequate recording of hate crime incidents, including those of an antisemitic nature, coupled with victims’ hesitance to report incidents to the authorities, contributes to the gross underestimate of the extent, nature and characteristics of antisemitism in the EU,” the report argued. Some countries, including Hungary and Portugal, collect no data at all, it said.

“Large gaps remain in data collection on antisemitism in the EU, with Member States collecting different types of data and applying different definitions and recording practices when dealing with antisemitism,” the report noted. “This prevents a meaningful comparison of officially collected data.”

Nevertheless, available data showed that “antisemitism remains an issue of serious concern and that decisive and targeted policy responses are needed to tackle this phenomenon,” the report continued. “The effective implementation of these responses would not only afford Jewish communities better protection against antisemitism but also give a clear signal that, across the EU, the fundamental rights of all people are protected and safeguarded.”

Even when data is maintained, the FRA emphasized, assessing trends is complicated by the fact that many incidents go unreported — especially where victims and witnesses lack the trust that their accounts will be dealt with.

“Not only do victims and witnesses need to be encouraged to report antisemitic incidents, but the authorities need to have systems in place that enable the recording and comparison of such incidents,” the agency said.

Only 13 EU countries — out of 27 member states — were found to currently have “national strategies or action plans to tackle anti-Jewish acts.”

The study noted as well that a growing number of countries had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which provides practical guidance on identifying antisemitic rhetoric and behavior.