The EU stands by its Jewish communitiessays the Commission in its statement on the incidents of anti-Semitism recorded in the EU.

The vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, underlines that “in recent weeks, Europe has seen an increase in incidents of anti-Semitism at a level reminiscent of some of the darkest moments in our history. Hate has no place in the EU. Never again is now».

“We have seen a resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric in the European Union and around the world: Molotov cocktails thrown at a synagogue in Germany, stars of David on residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish shops and synagogues attacked in Spain, protesters who shouted anti-Jewish slogans” notes the Commission and condemns “these heinous acts in the strongest possible terms».

He points out that these actions are “against everything Europe stands for, against our core values ​​and our way of life».

He adds that such incidents are “against the model of society we represent: a model based on equality, inclusion and full respect for human rights. Jews, Muslims, Christians – no one should live in fear of discrimination or violence because of their religion or identity. The EU is determined to protect the well-being of all its communities, ethnic, religious or otherwise».

The European Commission emphasizes that “we must push back against the rise of anti-Semitism, as well as the rise of anti-Muslim hatred that we have been witnessing in recent weeks – which has no place in Europe. We already have strong tools at our disposal to deal with such incidents: EU law criminalizes public incitement to hatred and violence and sets out a common approach to tackling racist and xenophobic hate speech and hate crimes».

In cooperation with the member states, the Commission states that it will continue to strengthen security measures. “We have already increased EU funding for the protection of places of worship and other places and are working to make more support available. At the same time, we are stepping up enforcement to ensure that online platforms respond quickly and effectively to anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim content online, whether it is terrorist content, hate speech or misinformation» is highlighted.