ANTI-SEMITISM
[1] In one Jewish school ∈London, pupils train for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland ∈France. Police and community groups have increased patrols ∈Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket ∈Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?
[2] Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt anti-Semitism had increased ∈ the past five years. Considering the atrocities ∈Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy ∈a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.
[3] Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons hold unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than ∈France and much lower than ∈Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure ∈Britain has been fairly stable—varying between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher ∈Britain, as ∈ other European countries.
[4] The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, calculates that there were 529∈2013, the lowest number since 2005. None involved serious violence. But the organization calculates that there was a rise ∈2014. The first half of the year saw a 36% increase on 2013. Last July the CST recorded 302 incidents, its highest ever monthly total. London’s Metropolitan Police say the numbers of hate crimes against Jews reported last year almost doubled, though they remain low.
[5] That has much to do with events elsewhere ∈ the world. Anti-Semitic incidents tend to track violence ∈ the Middle East. A sharp rise ∈2009 coincided with Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. A rise ∈2014 would coincide with Israel’s summer incursion into Gaza. Criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism, and the CST is careful to distinguish between the two. But, the organisation points out, the former can be used to bash Jews more generally.
[6] The CST also notes that many incidents occur around the Jewish high holy days, when more people are going to and from synagogues. In 2013 incidents most commonly involved public verbal abuse hurled at visibly Jewish people, including shouts of “Heil Hitler” and “fucking Jewish bastards”. Changes ∈ the demography of British Jews may exacerbate this. The haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, are a growing proportion of British Jews. Their clothes mark them out clearly as Jewish, as do the schools they attend and the areas where they live. As their numbers grow, abuse could increase, even as anti-Semitism more generally does not change.
Adapted from The Economist, January 24, 2015.
Which of the following is most supported by the information ∈ the article?
