A third of Italian Jews reportedly see increase in anti-Semitism

30% of respondents to study spoke of avoiding overt symbols of Jewish affiliation such as kippot, mezuzot and Stars of David.

By SAM SOKOL
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Jewish community in a Rome synagogue during Hanukka 2013. (photo credit: REUTERS)
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Jewish community in a Rome synagogue during Hanukka 2013.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Most Italian Jews do not avoid going to Jewish events or sites despite personal worries over anti-Semitism, according to a report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
The study, released on Tuesday, was based on data that the London-based group collected for a continent-wide examination of anti-Semitism that the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency undertook between 2012 and 2013. Fewer than 25,000 Jews are registered with official Italian communal bodies, the majority of them living in Rome and Milan.
“About one-third of respondents thought that hostility towards Jews in public places had increased in the past five years, and a similar proportion thought that there had been an increase in desecration of Jewish cemeteries, vandalism of Jewish buildings and institutions and antisemitism in political life,” the report found.
Although one-third of the Italian Jews who responded had experienced anti-Semitic harassment within the year before they were polled, and one-fifth recalled suffering discrimination as Jews, 87 percent stated that they had never avoided Jewish events or sites out of fear for their safety.
However, 30% of respondents spoke of avoiding overt symbols of Jewish affiliation such as kippot, mezuzot and Stars of David.
Over 40% expressed concern over the possibility of verbal abuse or harassment, while 30% indicated that they were worried about those close to them suffering physical abuse as Jews.
While issues such as the economy, corruption and unemployment beat out anti-Semitism on the list of Italian Jews’ concerns, “Italian Jews clearly feel that combating antisemitism is a key priority for them,” the report asserted. It added that fighting anti-Semitism formed a core part of many respondents’ Jewish identity.
And while 70% of Italian Jews have not considered emigration, 21% have mulled the possibility – though the number of emigrés is much lower than the total number of those considering a move.
The report also painted a picture of a community that is rapidly aging, with a high incidence of exogamy, stating that “the demographic trends and composition of Italian Jewry have long been characterized by low fertility, aging, and quite high rates of intermarriage.”
Prof. Sergio DellaPergola, an Israeli demographer and co-author of the report, said in a statement that the study “clearly demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of antisemitism and shows the persisting ability of European Jews to distinguish between actual and potential harassment, between real and virtual discrimination, and between the different dimensions of antisemitism, anti-Judaism, anti- Zionism.”
He said that although such research “lags behind” current events to some extent because of the time it takes to collect and process the data, it also aims to anticipate future events.
“In a sense, the findings of the FRA study were prophetic, bearing in mind the tragic events at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last May and in Paris last month. It captured a trend of increasing concern since the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, a trend that is likely to have continued since autumn 2012, the period of our fieldwork,” he said.
“European community and national country institutions will be well advised to listen carefully to the findings and conclusions of this study,” he added. “Hopefully they will also translate the emerging concerns into actual provisions for a better and more secure Jewish and European community.”