European leaders support Israel but their streets do not

YNET NEWS

In London, the pro-Palestinian demonstrations turned violent, in Berlin Jewish homes were marked and in many places parents chose not to send their children to Jewish schools, fearing that they would be harmed. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive on Tuesday for a solidarity visit to Israel. The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs began cooperating with the Cyber Department of the State Attorney’s Office in order to remove anti-Semitic content from social media.

The echoes of war between Israel and Hamas are clearly heard worldwide, and especially in Europe in countries with a large Muslim population. Since this weekend, the Jewish and Israeli communities around the world have experienced moments of anxiety, following a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and threats to harm Jewish institutions.

A particularly tumultuous scene was in London, where the Jewish community anxiously followed the large pro-Palestinian demonstrations and rallies on Saturday, at least one of which involved violence when an Israel supporter who was waving the Israeli flag was beaten by the demonstrators and rescued at the last minute by dozens of British policemen.

On Friday, seven Jewish schools decided to close their doors even though the community’s security organization did not officially order to close them. Jews and Israelis living in the UK say the demonstrations arouse harsh emotions and remind them of an incident that took place in 2021 when Palestinians who came from Manchester drove through Jewish neighborhoods and chanted “We will rape your daughters”. In addition, there were demonstrations inside schools, and Jewish teachers and students felt unsafe.

“Even now the schools’ staff instructed the children not to come with a uniform and a symbol so that they would not be recognized as Jews. There is great anxiety here,” said sources in the Israeli community in Britain.On the other hand, the Jewish community in the UK made large donations to Israel, including assistance given by health professionals and sending protective equipment for the IDF. The community in the UK is also mourning the deaths of four British nationals who were murdered, three of whom are Jews. It is also reported that nine British nationals were kidnapped. “Anti-Semites do not distinguish between Israelis and Jews”

In Germany, the situation has worsened in recent days and Star of David inscriptions have been sprayed on Jewish houses. According to local sources, there are many threats and attempts to demonstrate against Israel, but the German police dispersed these demonstrations with a heavy hand. It should be noted that there is also a lot of social solidarity and demonstrations of pro-Israel support by non-Jews, but on the other hand, there is a growing protest from the Muslim immigrant community. 

The German authorities also made sure to increase security at Jewish institutions, and pro-Palestinian demonstrations were banned in some cities. The Frankfurt International Book Fair canceled awarding a prize to a Palestinian writer and announced uncompromising support for Israel.