Several European leaders have expressed their views against antisemitism growing in the region as the incursion in the Gaza strip is ongoing. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among the majority who cautions the seemingly racist slogans and attacks on Jewish institutions, Bloomberg reported.
According to spokesman Georg Streiter for the German government, "(German Chancellor Angela Merkel) sharply condemns the flare-up of violence and the antisemitic utterances. It's an attack on freedom and tolerance and an attempt to undermine our free democratic order. This is something we can't and won't accept."
The casualty, injury and property damage costs incurred in the Gaza Strip conflict has incited protests around Europe. Moreover, some of the rallies in France and Germany now include antisemitic chanting, with a few turning violent.
On June 19, an illegal demonstration of as many as 7,000 protestors had turned ugly when police used tear gas and arrested 44 people on the grounds that its size and makeup are forbidden. Youths in a town in northern France, teenagers have vandalized Jewish-owned shops and burned cars. The town authorities had to install security in a synagogue for fear that it would be attacked. Bloomberg said around 18 people were arrested.
In Berlin, police has vowed to take action against people who have used an antisemitic slogan in response to criticism that authorities had not acted quickly when racist chants were used in the demonstration. Antisemitic speech is criminalized in Germany, who has a harrowing history on racism thanks to Adolf Hitler's campaign to wipe out all Jews.
President Dieter Graumann of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, meanwhile, has blamed the constant criticism of Israel's military offensive for the harassment and attacks it received from revelers at home.
Berlin's state interior minister, Frank Henkel, said in a statement, "There is no place in our country or our city for antisemitism. Germany as well as Berlin have a historical responsibility to protect the state of Israel."
