Back out in the open, Europe’s anti-Semitism kindles new response

As dusk fell over Paris last Tuesday evening, some 20,000 people gathered around the iconic statue of “La République,” floodlit in patriotic red, white, and blue, to demonstrate their disgust at anti-Semitism.

“I can’t stand this racist filth anymore,” said Florent Nicoud, a bearded young filmmaker. “It makes me throw up.”

France has witnessed an especially shocking wave of anti-Semitic incidents this month, including the desecration of Jewish graves, which were daubed with swastikas.

But hate crimes against Jewish targets are on the rise across the continent, with increases reported last year in almost every country in Europe. As nationalist and populist movements have grown more powerful and Muslim citizens’ grievances against Israel have reinforced

A growing problem‘A constant feature of European history’No easy answers