Europe's—Specifically France's—Anti-Semitism Is Disturbing and Scary

          I was sitting in a bar in South Haven, Michigan watching a World Cup soccer game with my cousin, her boyfriend, another cousin, and a different cousin’s boyfriend. The first mentioned boyfriend has been in the family for over five years. He’s an American German Jew. As for the second boyfriend, he’s new to the family; this was my first time meeting him. He’s British but was raised in the United States. Aside from my female cousin, all other people at the table knew more about international soccer than I (although, I believe I’m the only one who played it competitively).
          Regardless, I was sitting at a table watching France vs. Germany, not exactly sure who to root for. On the one hand, as a Jew, I have this somewhat rational, somewhat irrational aversion to Germany. On the other hand, France is France and who can root for France? My cousin’s boyfriend was obviously rooting for Germany and as funny as it was to root against him, I was siding with Germany and the boyfriend.
          That’s a long lead up to an exchange that occurred. Someone was talking about the French team. I jokingly said I couldn’t root for France because they were “a bunch of anti-Semites.” My comment was met with “wows,” surprise and no agreement. No one said that they had just read an article about that or hinted that they knew what the hell I was talking about. Nothing. It was as if what I said was not only offensive but also untrue. I’ll address both of those things: yes it’s offensive but the conversation hadn’t been rainbows and butterflies. We had been talking about players and countries, making jabs and laughing at them. As for the second, yes it’s a clear generalization of an entire country. But it’s not untrue; I didn’t pull it out of my ass.
          France is home to the largest Jewish population in Europe. It is also home to countless anti-Semitic incidents that are reminiscent of 1930s Europe. According to Newsweek's cover story, “Exodus: Why Europe's Jews Are Fleeing Once Again,” the anti-Semitic violence in France is the worst of Europe.
          In June, two young Jewish men were beaten on their way to synagogue in a suburb of Paris. In Bordeaux, Stars of David were painted on homes of Jews. The Sunday Times’ article, “Anti-semitism rears its ugly head,” describes additional incidents: north of Paris, the largely Jewish suburb of Sarcelles “was firebombed by a rampaging mob of more than 400 who attacked a synagogue, a pharmacy and a kosher supermarket.” They yelled “death to the Jews” and “slit Jews’ throat.” The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France claims that eight synagogues were attacked in just one week.
          According to the same Washington Post article, in the first few months of 2014, “reported acts of anti-Semitic violence in France skyrocket to 140 incidents, a 40 percent increase from the same period last year.”
          And this man’s quotes are shocking, disturbing and scary.

“I walked into my kosher sandwich shop the other day and the owner asked me, ‘Is it time to leave? Are we Nazi Germany yet?’ ” said Shimon Samuels, the Paris-based international director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “We’ve got the National Front in first place. We’ve got Dieudonné, spreading his hate. So I told him, ‘Well, do you really want to be the last to go?’ ”

         Samuels is referring to the French comedian Dieudonné who does what looks to be an inverted Nazi salute in his shows. In one of his “comedic” videos, he “jokes”, "“The Germans should have finished the job in 1945.”

          In the recent Newsweek piece, the magazine shared data from surveys conducted in November of 2013 by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union. Here are some quick points from those surveys (all quoted directly from the site)

• 66% considered anti-Semitism to be a problem across the countries surveyed.
• 76% said that anti-Semitism had worsened over the past five years in their home. countries, with the most marked deteriorations in France, Hungary and Belgium.
• 29% had considered emigrating as they did not feel safe.

          There are more articles. Here, here, and here.There are countless articles and stories of the rampant anti-Semitism found not just in France, but all over Europe. With the current conflict in Gaza, it’s only getting worse. Hate for Israel is increasing and because of that hate for Jews is increasing regardless of their connection or lack of connection to the state of Israel.
          When I was younger my mom told us about an incident in her hometown of Forrest City, Arkansas. She told us that they put bacon on her family’s front lawn. For a few years I would tell my friends this story. There was something wrong with the way I told it; I thought it was funny. When my mom realized this, she informed me, point blank, that there was nothing funny about it. It wasn’t meant to be a funny prank or small jab at my mom’s family. Whoever did it was anti-Semitic and wanted to embarrass my mother’s family. It’s not funny, I know that now.
          Being from a highly concentrated Jewish area, anti-Semitism has never been a part of my life. There’s only my mom’s story. There are many problems with this country, but I still have religious freedom. If they wanted to, my brothers could wear yarmulkes without fear of being threatened or beaten. I can wear a Star of David necklace to class each day and out with my friends without fearing for my safety.
          So, I guess I was wrong when I made that comment at the bar in South Haven. I should have said I can’t root for any European teams because they all a bunch of anti-Semites.