Much of world Jewry is afraid of being the target of anti-Semitism, a new survey conducted by the World Zionist Organization ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day reveals.
According to the survey, whose findings were presented to the Knesset Aliyah and Absorption Committee on Tuesday, 27% of European Jews said they felt unsafe as Jews where they lived, compared to 11% of Jews in North America.
When asked how safe they felt wearing clothing or symbols that identified them as Jewish, such as a kippah or a Star of David, or using their Jewish names, 51% of Jews living in Europe said they felt unsafe doing so, twice the number of North American respondents who said they felt unsafe wearing items that identified them as Jews.
Nearly three-quarters (70%) of all respondents said they had experienced or witnessed anti-Semitic insults or remarks, and 29% of Jews from Europe said they had experienced or witnessed anti-Semitic vandalism.
Most of the respondents who said they had experienced or witnessed verbal anti-Semitic attacks said they had not reported the incident. When asked, 6% said they did not file a report because they feared for their personal safety; 30% opted "not to make a big deal out of it," and 42% said they had no faith in local law enforcement to handle the problem. Other explanations for not reporting the incidents included a sense that "anti-Semitism is too common to report. It's best to deal with it yourself," "They won't do anything anyway," and "The people who hurt me will say it was a joke."
In addition, an overwhelming 80% of all respondents said they had been exposed to anti-Semitic incitement online, and 59% of respondents worldwide said they felt that politicians in their home countries were anti-Semitic to some degree.
The survey was conducted via social media over the last few months. A total of 1,363 Jews who live outside of Israel took part.
Meanwhile, the bulletproof witness stand where Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann stood trial has returned to Israel after being displayed at various museums in the U.S., including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center outside of Chicago and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan.
The witness stand, which has become an iconic element of the trial, was delivered to the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum in the Western Galilee on Tuesday. It was reassembled in the museum hall, where it will serve as part of a new permanent exhibition devoted to the Eichmann trial. The exhibition is scheduled to open this Friday, as the world prepares to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
