Amid the general upsurge of antisemitism in the month since the brutal Hamas massacre of civilians triggered the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish heritage sites and Holocaust monuments have been targeted.
The European Union mentioned several specific incidents in a statement Sunday deploring what it termed a “spike of antisemitic incidents across Europe [which] has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history.”
These included:
Molotov cocktails thrown on a synagogue in Germany, stars of David sprayed on residential buildings in France, a Jewish cemetery desecrated in Austria, Jewish stores and synagogues attacked in Spain, [as well as] demonstrators chanting hate slogans against Jews.
Here are more details, from the ADL and other sources:
Austria:
The ceremonial hall at the Jewish section of the vast main Central Cemetery in Vienna was set on fire. on the right of October 31-November 1, and a swastika and the word “Hitler” were spray-painted on the outer wall.
Germany:
Berlin: In the early hours of October 18, around 3:45 a.m., two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the building housing the Kahal Adass synagogue on Brunnenstraße in Berlin’s central district of Mitte. Police said they smashed on the pavement before dying out and caused no damaged.
“Two unidentified people came on foot and threw two burning bottles filled with liquid in the direction of the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse,” police said in a statement. “The bottles landed on the pavement and broke, extinguishing the fire.”
Bilon: A Holocaust memorial plaque was spray-painted with green paint.
Hannover: Stickers with “Israel murders”, “Free yourself from the cult of guilt”, “Free Palestine. End Israeli occupation” were affixed to a Holocaust memorial.
Gelsenkirchen: “Child murderer Israel” and “Free Palestine” were painted on a memorial to a synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht in November 1938.
Tann: A memorial stone marking the location of a synagogue destroyed during the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom was splashed with red paint.
Greece:
Thessaloniki: A mural at a Holocaust memorial was defaced with the scrawled slogans “Jews = Nazis” and “Free Palestine.”
Italy:
Stolpersteine “stumbling stones” memorials honouring four Holocaust victims were vandalised in Romeat the beginning of November.
Portugal:
Porto: The wall and gate of the Kadoorie Mekor Haim synagogue in Porto were vandalized with scrawled sl0gans “Free Palestine” and “End Israel Aparteid” (sic)
Russia:
Nalchik: A Jewish cultural center under construction was set on fire and “Death to Jews” was painted on the building.
Spain:
On October 8, Madrid’s main synagogue in the heart of the Chamberí district was defaced with graffiti that read “Free Palestine” next to a crossed-out Star of David the day after the October 7 attacks. “Free Palestine” was also sprayed throughout the medieval Jewish quarter of Besalu, and outside the house of a Jewish family in Madrid. In addition, protesters in front of a synagogue shouted “murderous Israel” and “freedom for the Muslim people” and burned an Israeli flag, in Melilla, a small Spanish enclave on the North African coast. See communique from the Jewish community
Sweden:
On November 4, Anti-Israel protesters burned an Israeli flag and chanted anti-Israel slogans in front of the Malmo synagogue.
Tunisia
Anti-Israel rioters vandalized and burned down the historic el-Hamma synagogue.
Access the ADL’s running list of incidents