Europe sees sharp rise in attacks targeting Israelis amid growing antisemitism

Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have surged to alarming levels across Europe.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

Across Europe, Israelis are facing a disturbing surge of targeted attacks and hostility, as a wave of antisemitic incidents — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions — spreads amid rising tensions following recent conflicts in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, a group of Israeli teenagers was physically assaulted by dozens of pro-Palestinian assailants — some reportedly armed with knives — on the Greek island of Rhodes.

This latest antisemitic incident took place after the Israeli teens left a nightclub, when a group of pro-Palestinian individuals followed them to their hotel and violently attacked them, leaving several with minor injuries.

According to police reports, the group of 20 Israeli tourists were seen shouting pro-Israel slogans at a bar, which provoked a response from around 10 pro-Palestinian supporters who began calling them “murderers.”

This latest attack came less than a day after pro-Palestinian protests at the port of another Greek island, Syros, forced an Israeli cruise ship to cancel its stop, leaving around 1,600 Israeli passengers stranded and raising safety concerns.

Around 300 protesters gathered at the dock, waving Palestinian flags and holding banners reading “Stop the Genocide” and “No AC [Air Conditioning] in Hell,” while chanting antisemitic slogans.

Last week in Athens, a group of pro-Palestinian activists vandalized an Israeli restaurant, shouting antisemitic slurs and spray-painting graffiti with slogans such as “No Zionist is safe here.”

The attackers also posted a sign on one of the restaurant’s windows that read, “All IDF soldiers are war criminals — we don’t want you here,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have surged to alarming levels across Europe.

This recent attack is just one of the latest in a wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes that Greece and other countries have witnessed in recent months.

In Switzerland, a series of antisemitic attacks in Davos, a town located in the eastern Swiss Alps, has caused significant concern and outrage within the local Jewish community.

Jonathan Kreutner, secretary general of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), informed the newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine of three incidents believed to have been carried out by the same individual.

Local law enforcement is now investigating an unidentified assailant who verbally harassed a Jewish couple at a local store in Davos, spat on them, and physically attacked them in an attempt to force them out.

This same individual is alleged to have later spat on another elderly Jewish couple and insulted a Jewish person on a bus while making threatening hand gestures.

In Germany, four masked individuals vandalized a Jewish restaurant in Freiburg, southwest of the country, on Monday by throwing eggs at its windows and inside the premises.

In Berlin, the planned launch event for a new restaurant by Israeli chef Eyal Shani and entrepreneur Shahar Segal was canceled over the weekend amid an anti-Israel protest.

The restaurant Gila and Nancy, originally set to open this week, will now launch in about three weeks following a surge of online campaigns and boycott calls targeting Israeli-owned businesses.

In Belgium, two IDF soldiers were arrested and interrogated by local authorities following a complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an anti-Israel legal organization dedicated to pursuing legal action against IDF personnel.

According to HRF, the soldiers attending the Tomorrowland music festival were accused of involvement in war crimes.

The organization said they were seen waving the flags of the IDF’s Givati Brigade, which has been “involved in the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and in carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population.”

In France, airport authorities acknowledged a breach of protocol earlier this month after a staff member was filmed chanting “free Palestine” while inspecting passports, reportedly of passengers from Israel.