World Zionist Organization condemns recent antisemitic incidents in Europe

A series of antisemitic attacks have taken place throughout Europe over the past few days, the World Zionist Organization said in a press release.One such incident cited was a case of vandalism, where unknown individuals spray-painted swastikas and antisemitic phrases on the outside walls of a cemetery in Soveria Mannelli, Italy.In another incident, vandals spray-painted swastikas and antisemitic slogans in and next to the home of Sherlock Baines, a 65-year-old Jewish man living in Dusseldorf who was the son of Holocaust survivors.Two other incidents were reported in Germany. In one, a man turned to a woman who spoke Hebrew to her children at a Berlin supermarket and said "These Jews are everywhere, get away from here, Zidovsky scum," the word meaning Jew in Polish and being an antisemitic slur in Russian. In the German city of Weimar, unknown vandals defaced the portraits of survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp, which were displayed in an open-air exhibition.Speaking in a statement, WZO vice chairman Yaakov Hagoel condemned these recent incidents."Antisemitic events have become commonplace for the Jews around the world," Hagoel said. "Unfortunately, for worldwide governments, the window of time to build a plan to eradicate antisemitism is running out... antisemitic events will escalate and become even more violent and physical."