The Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive (SPCJ) [Jewish Community Protection Service] released figures for antisemitism in France in 2023 this week, which showed a 1000% increase in antisemitic acts for 2023 compared to 2022.
France similar to other countries is experiencing a surge in antisemitism with the UK experiencing a similar upswing in antisemitism, following the October 7 Massacre.
A total of 1,676 antisemitic acts were recorded by the SPCJ and the French Interior Ministry, with the number of attacks in the three months following October 7 being more than the cumulative total for the past three years.
The majority of acts (60%) are against people and not property, with the acts consisting mostly of threatening words and gestures (40%). Most of the acts were committed in private or on public roads.
Antisemitic acts took place across the country with 95 out of 101 departments recording an antisemitic act.
Antisemitism surged immediately after October 7
The SPCJ found that contrary to claims that antisemitism was a result of the Israeli response to the October 7 attack, antisemitic acts surged immediately after the broadcasting of the October 7 Massacre.
A total of 33 antisemitic acts were recorded on the week of October 2, while 207 were recorded on the week of October 9.
They also identified “Palestine” as a driving force of antisemitic acts, with it mentioned in nearly one-third of antisemitic acts committed since October 7. They also highlight that of those that mention Palestine, one-quarter of them praise Hamas, one-tenth of them advocate Nazism, another third of them advocate jihadism and one-quarter of them are followed by calls for murder.
SPCJ says that French Jews feel increasingly unsafe in their homes with a 1,500% increase in antisemitic acts committed in the private sphere.
School and education are also an increasingly antisemitic sphere of life, with a surge of 1,200% in antisemitic acts committed in school or education. A large proportion (40%) of these acts are related to Nazism, with Nazis apologia being the most common theme among antisemitic acts in schools.
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