In the first half of this year, a total of 381 anti-Jewish incidents were reported to the anti-Semitism hotline of the Vienna Jewish Community (IKG), a decrease from the same period last year. However, a higher number of unreported cases can be assumed. More than half of the reported incidents in the first half of 2022 were from the political right, a report shows.
In the same period last year (January 1 to June 30), 562 incidents were reported – this corresponds to a decrease of 32 percent. This decrease is mainly due to the decrease in anti-Semitic incidents related to Corona, they say. The 381 cases reported in the first half of 2022 are: with 219, the majority of incidents involved “harmful behavior”, followed by 82 mass mailings, 61 property damage reports, 12 threats and seven attacks.
Threats and attacks remain at last year’s levels
“The decrease in the total number of reported incidents is encouraging. However, a closer look reveals particular issues, as the number of threats and physical attacks is still at last year’s high levels. But today we see that mainstream society is taking the danger of anti-Semitism seriously and is providing an important impetus to reverse the trend,” IKG chairman Oskar Deutsch said in the report.
Benjamin Nagele, head of the hotline and general secretary of the IKG Vienna, estimates the lower number of reported attacks as a result of political measures. However, the over-representation of verbal and physical violence against children and young people who are recognizable as Jewish remains striking and worrying.
Most Israel-Related Anti-Semitism
66 of the total reported incidents were related to the corona pandemic. 96 related to Shoah relativism, 123 to Israel-related anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitic conspiracy myths led to a report 56 times.
According to the report, 316 cases could be clearly assigned ideologically. More than half (201) of the incidents came from the political right, 81 from the “left” and 34 were “Muslim”. Muslim-motivated perpetrators predominate in attacks and threats, while material damage and insulting behavior involve discrimination from the right.
Most incidents were reported in January (91), after which the number dropped to 50 to 60 reports per month. In May, the number rose again to (72), which the report said was due to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
