Israel charts anti-Semitism rise in Russia, Britain

A government report expressed alarm on Sunday at what it said were sharp rises in violent anti-Semitism in Russia and Britain over the past year, but noted France had made inroads fighting the phenomenon.

Figures from Israel's Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism showed the number of violent anti-Semitic incidents held steady at 96 in world-leader France in 2004, but rose from 55 to 77 in second-place Britain and from 4 to 55 in Russia, third on the list.

The group, under the auspices of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office and the Jewish Agency, said it received reports from local Jewish communities of 282 attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in 2004 compared with 234 in 2003.

"The greatest number of events and the most severe attacks occur in Europe," the report said, listing three incidents last year of violent anti-Semitism in the United States, which has the largest Jewish community outside Israel.

Commenting on anti-Semitism in Russia and Ukraine, where physical attacks against Jews and their institutions rose from 15 in 2003 to 44 last year, the report said the governmental response to a "disturbing situation" was "woefully insufficient."

It said the steep rise in anti-Semitism in Britain was "alarming," with much of the desecration of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries carried out by Islamists.

"A central cause: years of hostile reporting and commentary about Israel in the British press now is spilling over into the street," the report said in apparent reference to coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jewish community leaders in Britain, where around 265,000 Jews live, said in public comments on Wednesday anti-Semitic attacks in the country were increasing substantially.

British police said there had been at least eight racist attacks in the last two months on Jewish men in the Stamford Hill area of north London, which has a large Jewish community.

The British reports came a week after Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, caused global outrage after he was pictured at a costume party wearing a Nazi uniform with a swastika.

He apologized, but Jewish groups said he should visit the Auschwitz death camp for ceremonies this year marking the 60th anniversary of its liberation.

In its report, the Global Forum said that since mid-2004 anti-Semitic expressions in France, where some 600,000 Jews live, had declined somewhat.

"Over the past year, French authorities have invested significant effort in fighting, and educating against, anti-Semitism," the document said.