In Paris, London, Berlin and past, an undercurrent of antisemitism that had lengthy simmered, erupted in broad daylight. Within the weeks and months following October seventh, the deadliest assault in Israel’s historical past, the Jewish communities of France and throughout Europe awoke to a brand new troubling actuality. The variety of antisemitic acts in France exploded: over 1,000 had been recorded in simply the weeks after October seventh, and by 12 months’s finish the full soared to 1,676, 4 occasions the 2022 determine. Now this surge in violence and intimidation solely tells a part of the story. Deeper shifts are at play, within the methods politics shirk duty, and in the way in which many French Jews now really feel beneath risk and extra remoted than ever, in a republic dedicated to liberté, égalité, fraternité. Delano D’Souza is happy to welcome Simone Rodan‑Benzaquen, Director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Paris, who describes that second of rupture: “It’s as if on Oct seventh, the underlying antisemitism that was lurking beneath the floor exploded.” It’s a story of how hatred transcends borders, how silence turns into complicity, and the way democratic societies fail their communities when phrases usually are not adopted by deeds.[/gpt3]
