Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, told a press briefing yesterday that the EU was working on legislation to penalize anti-Semitism.

According to Ma’ariv (Hebrew link), Faaborg-Andersen said:

We take the subject of anti-Semitism very seriously. Several months ago we published a report on the subject, examining anti-Semitism in seven countries from the Union, that showed, among other things, that about one third of Jews are afraid of verbal or physical violence against them on account of their Judaism. …
Jews feel this fear, this discrimination, even if doesn’t always exist. It’s impossible to argue with emotions and the fact is that many Jews feel this way; there are many would prefer not to go out with a kippah outside of the synagogue.

The ambassador expressed his regret that though the EU agreed to pass laws against anti-Semitism in 2008, only 19 of the 28 union countries had done so up to now.

In 2005, the EU adopted a “working definition” of anti-Semitism:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

A recent study was characterized as showing that European Jews faced anti-Semitic attacks on “an almost daily” basis. France, host to Europe’s largest Jewish community and the third-largest in the world, is experiencing a very high emigration rate, with a large portion of those leaving heading to Israel. Some analysts have blamed the increase in European anti-Semitism on the diplomatic policies of the EU.

[Photo: Beny Shlevich / Flickr ]