Jewish Agency Chairman Zev Bielsky and Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog, who is in charge of Diaspora Affairs, presented the Antisemitism Report for 2007 at this week's cabinet meeting.
Despite the decrease in the number of antisemitic incidents in most countries, the report showed an increase in the level of antisemitic activity in certain countries, especially Britain and the Ukraine, the burgeoning of the extreme right and a shift from spontaneous activity to advance planning. The figures also indicated an increase in activity among left-wing radicals collaborating with Muslims in places like North America, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa.
The New York Police Department reported a 30 percent increase in antisemitic incidents during the course of 2007, primarily graffiti sprayed at Jewish centers and cemetery desecration.
The authors of the report note that even in countries with legislation against antisemitic activity and Holocaust denial, enforcement is erratic and ineffective.
At the beginning of the cabinet meeting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "Unfortunately antisemitism continues to penetrate and spread in various countries and grave remarks are made about harming Jews."
"Let's make no mistake about it: antisemitism is not dwindling," said Minister Herzog. "Antisemitism lurks just around the corner and awaits the right time to raise its ugly head."
The Jewish Agency Chairman said, "We can see how the remarks made by the Iranian President have turned into a weapon in the hands of extremists in different parts of the world and lead to acts of violence and brutality. It's hard to believe that 60 years after World War II many Jews still live in apprehension and fear in Europe and elsewhere."
