Antisemitic hate crimes have “exploded” in the EU since the devastating October 7 Hamas onslaught and the subsequent war, a European Commission vice president says.
“Many Jews living in Europe are fearing for their own safety,” with firebombs being thrown at synagogues and Jewish shops destroyed and vandalised, Margaritis Schinas told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Online,anti-Jewish messages have “exploded,” he says, including slogans calling for Israel’s destruction and Jews to be killed.
“This is simply unacceptable,” Schinas says, calling for EU member countries to get behind national and European efforts to stamp out antsemitism and racism.
He also underscores the role of a new EU law cracking down on illegal online content, the Digital Services Act, and increased funding for fact-checkers to help battle antisemitism in social media posts.
