EU says anti-Semitism remains a 'serious concern'

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA

Anti-Semitism remains widespread across the EU, according to a report released Thursday on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Although the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights was unable to collect data from 11 of 28 EU members, it found two-thirds of Jewish people considered anti-Semitism to be a problem in their country.

It also reported that 76 percent believed that anti-Semitism had increased over the last five years.

The report was published to coincide with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass, when Nazis carried out a pogrom against German Jews in 1938.

The report was based on data covering 2006-16. It said anti-Semitism remained a “serious concern which requires action” and called for “greater efforts in tackling under-reporting by encouraging victims and witnesses to report anti-Semitism”.

Germany recorded the greatest number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2015 and 2016 – rising from 1,366 to 1,468 respectively.

In the U.K., there were 629 “hate crimes motivated by anti-Semitism” in 2015, rising to 786 the following year.