JERUSALEM, Israel – As the spike in anti-Semitic attacks occurs in many parts of the world, the assaults on Jews in western nations take place mainly against ultra-Orthodox or Haredi Jews. That’s a finding of the 22nd annual Anti-Semitism Worldwide Report, published by The Center for the Study of European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, along with the Anti-Defamation League.
The report was issued as Israel prepares to honor the Holocaust victims and its war dead during the “Heroes and Martyrs Remembrance Day,” beginning with a ceremony at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Monday night.
The report cautioned that “The United States, where the largest Jewish minority in the world lives, saw a particularly alarming rise in anti-Jewish violence and slander.”
The report’s study focused on cities with a high rate of assaults, including New York, which had the highest number of anti-Semitic attacks in North America, and London, which had the highest number in Europe.
Concerning New York, the report stated, “Our comparative study suggests physical attacks tend to occur in urban centers on streets and public transportation (rather than inside or outside synagogues); usually do not appear to be pre-meditated; and target in the vast majority of cases visibly-identifiable Jews, particularly ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews.”
Another factor in the attacks was that the ultra-Orthodox were perceived to be vulnerable and unlikely to fight back against their assailants.
The assessment of attacks in the London neighborhood of Stamford Hill noted, “Some ultra-Orthodox residents (but not all) have come to experience physical attacks as part of Jewish life.”
The report also explained that while anti-Semitic assaults rose in countries such as Belgium, Hungary, Italy and Australia, the number of physical attacks declined in other nations, including Germany, Austria, France, the U.K., Canada and Argentina.
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