Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Jews Face New Fears In Europe

Mourners stand in front of flowers during a gathering at the end of Shabbat called by the Jewish Student's Union of France (UEJF) association on January 10, 2015, at the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris, in homage to the victims of a nearby hostage-taking drama in a Jewish supermarket during which five people were killed, including the hostage-taker, and four were left critically wounded before it ended with a police assault on January 9. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)
Mourners stand in front of flowers during a gathering at the end of Shabbat called by the Jewish Student's Union of France (UEJF) association on January 10, 2015, at the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris, in homage to the victims of a nearby hostage-taking drama in a Jewish supermarket during which five people were killed, including the hostage-taker, and four were left critically wounded before it ended with a police assault on January 9. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

The killing of four French Jews in last week’s hostage standoff at a Paris kosher market has deepened the fears among European Jewish communities shaken by rising anti-Semitism and feeling vulnerable due to poor security and a large number of undefended potential targets.

The hostage situation followed the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead. Experts say European Jews have not felt this threatened since World War II, when some 6 million Jews were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University monitoring anti-Semitism have reported a chilling increase in attacks in Europe over the past decade, including deadly shootings in Toulouse, France, in 2012 and Brussels last year. In recent years, France has had the highest number of incidents of any single country, and officials there say they will boost security at Jewish schools.

Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Paris office, discusses the rising anti-Semitism in Europe with Here & Now’s Robin Young.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.