Deputy Foreign Minister Kyriakos Gerontopoulos will visit Germany from November 13 to 15, representing Greece at the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) High-Level Event marking the 10th Anniversary of the Berlin Conference on Anti-Semitism, which will take place in Berlin.

At the opportunity of his presence in Germany, Mr. Gerontopoulos will meet with members of the Greek Community of Berlin and visit the Church of the Ascension. He will then travel to Hamburg, where he will meet with the Mayor, Olaf Scholz. He will also visit the President of the University of Hamburg and talks to the students of the university’s Chair of Modern Greek Studies.

Finally, Mr. Gerontopoulos will meet with members of the Greek Community of Hamburg and its Environs, and he will also visit the former concentration camp of Neuengamme and the city’s Church of Saint Nicholas.

How are OSCE states challenging anti-semitism?

Reports
Austria Official figures record 27 cases of anti-Semitic crimes. The Forum Against Anti-Semitism reported 32 cases of graffiti, two cases of damage to property, six physical assaults and 38 cases of threats by email or telephone.

Belgium Anti-Semitisme.be reported 14 cases of graffiti, including two on Jewish property, four on personal property and eight in public places; six cases of threats; and five physical assaults.

Canada Official data will be available in 2014. B’nai Brith reported 319 cases of vandalism, including 25 incidents targeting synagogues, two desecrations of Jewish graves, and 12 against people’s homes; 13 physical assaults, including one against Jewish students on their way home from school and one against a Jewish couple; and 84 cases of threats.

Czech Republic The Jewish Community of Prague reported two cases of vandalism against synagogues, one case of damage to a car, one case of grave desecration and one case of vandalism against a Jewish community building.

Denmark Official figures record 15 anti-Semitic crimes.

France The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) reported the case of 19 March murders of three children and the father of one of the children, shot outside a Jewish school in Toulouse. The perpetrator was killed by the police in the process of being apprehended. LICRA reported a further case of damage to property against a kosher supermarket. The Jewish Community Protection Service reported 96 incidents of physical violence, including a knife attack against a girl, three attacks involving spraying tear gas in the victims’ faces, an attack by a group causing serious injury to a man, and one attack by a group at school against one child resulting in serious injury; one case of robbery and physical assault resulting in serious injury against a Jewish man with significant disabilities; one case of blanks being shot out of a car at a rabbi and his congregation outside their synagogue; 172 cases of graffiti; 71 cases of vandalism; and two cases of arson.

Germany Official figures recorded 1,374 anti-Semitic hate crimes, 41 of which involved violence. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation reported eight anti-Semitic cases of desecration of memorial plaques; seven cases of desecration of cemeteries; three physical assaults, including against a rabbi involving threats and resulting in serious injury, against two Jewish women, and against a group of teenagers by masked men; four cases of damage to property; four cases of desecration of a synagogue, including one incident of urinating in the entrance to the prayer room.

Greece The Greek Helsinki Monitor reported one case of graffiti, including swastikas, on a Holocaust Memorial of the Jews of Rhodes.

Hungary The Monitor and Research Group reported a physical assault; one case of graffiti being drawn on the same synagogue on three different occasions; three incidents of desecration of cemeteries, involving damage to more than 100 tombs; and three incidents of desecration of Holocaust memorials. The Monitor and Research Group and Athena Institute both reported one incident of graffiti on a Jewish memorial site and one physical assault by a group against the president of the South-Pest Jewish Community. The Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organisation reported one incident of damage to property. UNHCR reported one incident of graffiti on a Jewish memorial site and one physical assault by a group against the president of the South-Pest Jewish Community; a further two incidents of desecration of religious sites; one case of vandalism against religious property; and one case of burning an Israeli flag outside a synagogue; and one further case of vandalism against a synagogue.

Ireland Official figures record four anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Italy Lunaria reported one case of vandalism against a Holocaust memorial and one case of graffiti on a municipal library where Holocaust Remembrance Day events were scheduled. The Foundation Jewish Contemporary Documentation Centre reported one case of theft of plaques commemorating Jewish Holocaust deportees, one case of graffiti, two cases of vandalism against synagogues and one case of theft of a menorah from a public place. World Without Nazism reported one physical assault carried out by a group, resulting in serious injury.

Latvia World Without Nazism reported one attempted arson attack against a chapel in a Jewish cemetery in Riga.

Lithuania World Without Nazism reported one case of graffiti on a synagogue and once case of grave desecration.

Netherlands The Centre for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI) reported anti-Semitic incidents including four physical assaults, two threats, one case of damage to property and three cases of desecration to synagogues or cemeteries.

Poland The Ministry of Interior recorded 21 hate crimes and hate incidents motivated by anti-Semitism. The Never Again Association reported two cases of vandalism and/or damage to property, ten cases of desecration of cemeteries, one case of threats against the leader of the Jewish community in Warsaw, eight incidents of graffiti on property and one incident of desecration of a synagogue.

Russian Federation The SOVA Centre for Information and Analysis reported one case of arson and seven cases of vandalism against Jewish property. World Without Nazism reported one case of property damage against a Jewish charity organization. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress reported one physical assault involving tear gas being sprayed in the face of a child, one attempted arson attack on a synagogue, four cases of graffiti on Jewish community centres, one case of damage to a memorial plaque, one case of damage to a menorah in a public place and a case of desecration of a synagogue.

Serbia Official figures record one case of cemetery desecration, resulting in destruction of 39 tombstones.

Sweden Official figures record 132 anti-Semitic hate crimes.

Switzerland The Intercommunity Coordination against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (CICAD) reported one physical assault; five threats, including one also involving property damage to a Jewish woman’s house, one against a student, and one involving a knife; and 11 cases of graffiti including on a car, on a synagogue, on a Jewish library and on CICAD’s offices. Swiss authorities reported that they had no information about these cases. The Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism reported a case of desecration to a Holocaust memorial and graffiti in close proximity to a Jewish library and shop, as well as an arson attack on a scooter.

Ukraine The Diversity Initiative, the Congress of National Communities, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and World Without Nazism reported one serious physical assault against a rabbi by a group using pepper spray. The Diversity Initiative, the Congress of National Communities and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress reported a further two physical assaults, carried out by a group. The Diversity Initiative, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and World Without Nazism reported one case of graffiti on a Jewish memorial sign. The Diversity Initiative and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress reported one attempted arson attack against a synagogue; one case of damage to property; one incident of grave desecration; one incident of graffiti on a synagogue, and four incidents of desecration of Holocaust memorial sites. The Diversity Initiative and World Without Nazism reported an arson attack on a Jewish cemetery. The Diversity Initiative reported a further arson attack against a house occupied by Orthodox Jews and the vandalism of a Holocaust memorial. World Without Nazism reported a further serious assault against a Jewish man, requiring hospital treatment. World Without Nazism and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress reported the desecration of a Holocaust memorial site. World Without Nazism and the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and the Congress of National Minorities reported a further case of desecration to a Holocaust memorial site. The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress reported a further case of desecration to a Holocaust memorial.

United Kingdom Official figures in England, Wales and Northern Ireland record 307 anti-Semitic hate crimes. The Community Security Trust (CST) reported 69 physical assaults, including four resulting in serious injury, one of which was against a boy, one involving a knife and one carried out by a group. Many of the victims were, due to their religious clothing, visibly identifiable as Jewish; the majority were men, while children were the victims in 15 cases. The CST reported a further 39 cases of threats and 53 incidents of damage to or desecration of Jewish property, including 43 targeting synagogues.

United States of America Official figures record 696 anti-Jewish offences. The Anti-Defamation League reported 17 physical assaults including against a boy, a Holocaust survivor, an Orthodox Jew and a man returning from a synagogue; 440 incidents of vandalism and graffiti, including against homes, synagogues, Jewish schools, cemeteries and cars; an arson attack on a rabbi’s home; 469 cases of threats, including one bomb threat and a case where a pig’s head was placed above the door of a Jewish women’s college group (sorority).

Developments
Poland The UN Human Rights Council, in its Universal Periodic Review, encouraged Poland to enact public-awareness campaigns and government training on discrimination and hate crimes in order to decrease anti-Semitism.

Sweden The Swedish Committee against Anti-Semitism (SKMA) continued its training programme on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, primarily for teachers and school staff, but also for politicians and other influential leaders. SKMA works with teaching tools developed by ODIHR and partners. It also conducted similar training seminars for youth in upper-secondary schools.

Switzerland The UN Human Rights Council, in its Universal Periodic Review, encouraged Switzerland to continue to prevent and combat racist and anti-Semitic actions.