'Sharp decline in anti-Semitic incidents in months after Gaza op'

The wave of anti-Semitic attacks which began in December is beginning to die down, according Tel Aviv University's watchdog on the phenomenon.

At an annual Holocaust Day Memorial press conference, the head of the Stephen Roth Institute, Professor Dina Porat, said on Monday that the past few weeks have seen a "sharp decline" in anti-Semitic incidents, which peaked following Israel's invasion into Gaza in December because of Hamas' firing of rockets on Israelis.

"The atmosphere is probably still very hostile, but there are fewer attacks, verbal and physical," she said, adding that "we are still working on the final figures."

She did present preliminary data on the peak period, which suggested a sharp rise in anti-Semitism in January and February compared to the previous year. The U.K. alone saw 250 anti-Semitic incidents in January 2009, compared to 35 the previous January. The number of worldwide anti-Semitic incidents that occurred in January 2008 was approximately 1,000, Porat said.

Additionally, she noted that physical attacks against Jews have declined by more than 10 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year. "There are less attacks but the atmosphere of anti-Semitism is prevalent," she said. "This is noticeable in what has become a commonplace equation, particularly in Europe, between Jews and Israelis and Nazis."

Porat also said that Jews and ex-Israelis are taking up "notable prominence" in leading this line. "They are a small group, but they are very noticeable and loud in compounding the anti-Israel line championed by Leftists in Europe and by Muslims," she said.