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Anti-Semitism on Rise in Europe

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Donald Snyder - A continent-wide study conducted by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at the University of Bielefeld in Germany, released last December, found that 46% of the Europeans surveyed somewhat or strongly agree with the following statement: "Israel is conducting a war of extermination against the Palestinians." And 37% agreed with this statement: "Considering Israel's policy, I can understand why people do not like Jews." "(There is) quite a high level of anti-Semitism that is hidden beneath critics of Israel's policies," said Beate Kupper, one of the study's researchers. Kupper said that in places where there is a strong taboo against expressions of anti-Semitism, such as Germany: "Criticism of Israel is a great way to express your anti-Semitism in an indirect way." According to Bassam Tibi, professor emeritus of international relations at the University of Gottingen in Germany, Muslims form a significant subset of this problem. "The growth of the Muslim diaspora in Europe is affecting the Jews," said Tibi. He said many European Muslims think "every Jew is responsible for what Israel is doing and can be a target." "Sweden is a microcosm of contemporary anti-Semitism," said Charles Small, director of the Yale University Initiative for the Study of Anti-Semitism. "It's a form of acquiescence to radical Islam, which is diametrically opposed to everything Sweden stands for."
2010-08-20 08:54:34
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