by Geoff Vasil

While Europeans have been looking on as their streets are taken over by belligerent mobs of pro-Palestinian and/or pro-Hamas protestors, with concomitant protests and violence against Israel supporters in the United Kingdom, there has also been a rising wave of anti-Jewish protests, attacks and violence across the Anglosphere beyond the UK, the rest of the English-speaking world.

In the extreme leftist stronghold of Seattle, Washington, in the United States, where the evening news carries openly sympathetic explanations of Hamas’s violent attacks against civilians in southern Israel on October 7, massive pro-Palestinian protests were followed by a series of mailings to four synagogues of white powder with threatening notes. Seattle police, fire and now the FBI are investigating this as an act of terrorism. The mailings were followed by white powder and threats mailed to four county election offices still engaged in counting the November 7 ballot results. An accompanying note said “End the election now.” Traces of fentanyl were found in two samples from the Seattle and Spokane areas mixed with baking soda.

In nearby Tacoma pro-Hamas activists blocked the loading of a military cargo at the port there for 10 hours, in solidarity with a similar blockade at the Port of Oakland in California which lasted 17 hours, organized by the same pro-Palestinian NGO. JTA reported a Jewish man was killed in Los Angeles when a pro-Palestinian activist hit him in the head with a metal megaphone on November 5.

Perception of the Israel-Gaza Conflict in France
by Dov Maimon, Le Point, October 15, 2023

Exploring France’s Evolving Sympathy for Israel and its Jewish Population: An Analysis

In contrast to previous military conflicts when French public opinion leaned toward supporting the Palestinians, a remarkable shift has emerged in recent days. This shift reflects a surge in sympathy in France towards Israel and its Jewish community driven by a complex interplay of factors connected to evolving dynamics in the Middle East and mounting concerns about the growing threat of Islamic extremism. While this new-found affinity is worth describing, its long-term sustainability remains uncertain, given the various potential factors that could shape public sentiment moving forward. …

Full opinion piece in English here.

SKOPJE/VIENNA, 14 October 2023–Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on combating anti-Semitism, and associate professor Dr. Regina Polak, personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, made the following statement:

“The horrific Hamas terrorist attacks that shattered this week’s early Shabbat morning calm along Israel’s southern border have shocked the civilized world. The torture and murder of hundreds of innocent civilians–men, women, children and the elderly–and the forceable taking of dozens more as hostages to a fate unknown call to mind even the actions leading to the mass murder of Jews in the dark days of the Holocaust.

“The expressions of support and solidarity of religious leaders, including Muslims, from around the globe are greatly appreciated. Nonetheless, there have been demonstrators in cities across the OSCE region that praise these heinous acts and ‘celebrate’ the murder of Jews. We have also witnessed a surge in anti-Semitism on social media, and Jewish individuals, communities and their institutions are being threatened. We are grateful to the leaders and diplomatic representatives of many OSCE participating States. We ask them all to carefully assess the heightened security concerns that their Jewish citizens face and do whatever is necessary to address them.”

Israel War: Hamas Attacks Lead to Rising Anti-Semitism
by Beth Bailey, October 12, 2023, Washington Examiner

As another devastating side effect of the deadly October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israeli civilians, Jews around the world are becoming the targets of anti-Semitic hate. First came celebrations of the slaughter. In Cyprus; Sydney, Australia; Ontario and Toronto, Canada; Beirut; Damascus; Baghdad; Cairo and Ramallah supporters of Palestinian resistance came together to applaud attacks on the Israeli state.

The Anti-Defamation League tracked 39 anti-Israel rallies in the United States. They included events in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Anaheim, San Francisco, Columbus, Tampa Bay, Albuquerque, Providence, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In New York one reveler displayed pictures of dead Israelis on his phone. Another showed off a picture of a Nazi swastika. A speaker in Philadelphia attested that “every person who died yesterday wasn’t innocent. Every Israeli settler by default is a terrorist.” In Chicago, crowds chanted, “No Zionism in our town.”

“Make no mistake,” a speaker told crowds in D.C., “We are in celebration.”

These celebrations soon gave way to acts of outright anti-Semitism.