A report on antisemitism released this week by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has “consistently shown that few EU member states record antisemitic incidents in a way that allows them to collect adequate official data.”
The report, entitled “Antisemitism: Overview of data available in the European Union 2008–2018,” explained that “the inadequate recording of hate crime incidents, including those of antisemitic nature, coupled with victims’ hesitance to report incidents to the authorities,” is contributing to the “gross under-reporting of the extent, nature and characteristics of the antisemitic incidents” happening in the EU.
“It also limits the ability of policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders at national and international levels to take measures and implement courses of action to combat antisemitism effectively and decisively, and to assess the effectiveness of existing policies,” the FRA report stated. “Incidents that are not reported are not investigated or prosecuted, allowing offenders to think that they can carry out such attacks with impunity.”
It said that victims who do not report their experiences to the relevant authorities “may also not receive relevant information about available assistance.”
The FRA tracked 11 years of antisemitism in 28 member states between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2018, making it clear that “due to gaps in data collection and high levels of under-reporting, the data presented… cannot be taken as an accurate portrayal of the prevalence of antisemitism in any given EU member state.”
