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Anti-Semitism in the European Union: Reporting Institutions & Sources

(Updated December 2003)

The list of the National Focal Points (NFPs) presented below does not primarily deal with monitoring and recording anti-Semitic incidents. Therefore some NFPs experienced difficulties in collecting data, but they have tried to overcome these difficulties in various ways, as one can see from the list of sources.

• Belgium: Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR)
• Denmark: The Danish Board for Ethnic Equality
• Germany: European Forum for Migration Studies
• Greece: ANTIGONE - Information & Documentation Centre
• Spain: Movement for Peace, Disarmament and Liberty
• France: Agency for the Development of Intercultural Relations
• Ireland: Equality Authority (EA) /National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI)
• Italy: Co-operation for the Development of Emerging Countries (COSPE) • Luxemburg: Association for the Support of Immigrant Workers
• Austria: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights; Department of Linguistics of the University of Vienna; Institute of Conflict Research;
• Portugal: Research Center on Human and Social Sciences
• Finland: Finnish League for Human Rights
• Sweden: EXPO Foundation

The following list gives an overview of the collation methods, databases and data-collecting institutions in the EU Member States used by the NFPs:

Belgium

The Belgian report contained the following sources:
– Forum of the Jewish Organisations of Antwerp
– Newspapers
– Internet

Denmark

Various sources have been consulted in the data collection. The aim was to speak to both official and unofficial sources in order to achieve a full representation. The unofficial sources were identified by firstly speaking to an information worker at “The Jewish Community” (Det Mosaiske Trossamfund), by pursuing the “links” on The Jewish Community’s homepage, and then by checking other “links” on the “Jewish” sites visited. The Jewish Community in Denmark systematically registers all anti-Semitic incidents in Denmark.
The following institutions and organisations have been consulted:
– The Danish Civil Security Service (PET) – as they collect data on “racially motivated” crimes in Denmark.
For incidents of graffiti, vandalism, etc.:
– The Jewish Community (Det Mosaiske Trossamfund), which is the official representative of the Jewish community in Denmark;
– “Maichsike-hadas” – an Orthodox Jewish Community in Copenhagen;
– Chabad – a broad organisation promoting Jewish awareness;
– JIF Hakaoh – a Jewish sports club (via Carolineskolen);
– Carolineskolen – the main Jewish school located in Copenhagen;
– Progressive Jewish Forum – a small organisation working for a “reform Jewish congregation”;
– The Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies;
– The Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen.
Other sources:
– daily newspapers;
– Internet was used to identify homepages with anti-Semitic content.

Germany

The German NFP based its report on the following sources:
– Data from the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation;
– An intensive analysis of the media;
– Internet, the Websites of organisations;
– Analysis of scientific studies: media analyses, opinion polls.

Ireland

Information was mostly supplied by Jewish organisations in Ireland.
Organisations contacted:
– Jewish Representative Council of Ireland;
– the Chief Rabbi’s Office;
– the Israeli Embassy;
– the Ireland-Israel Friendship League;
– the Garda (Irish police);
– Garda Racial and Intercultural Office.
Survey of national newspapers
Internet (right-wing websites)

Greece

Data was collected from three main sources:
– Representative organisations of the Jewish Community in Greece (Regional Boards and Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece). A written request was sent by fax and e-mail to these organisations. Members of the NFP’s staff had interviews with members of the Board of the other main Jewish Communities in Corfu, Larissa and Thessalonica;
– The media were both monitored and studied. The monitoring of the media, which is a routine activity of the INFOCENTER, provides us with information to be further investigated. At the same time, the content of the media reports is also studied since it constitutes an important attitude-forming instrument. Detailed content analyses have not been carried out in the context of the present report, as it was not within its scope, but the essential primary material has been collected, categorised and can be analysed further, if required;
– The Internet was used basically as a source of data -mostly reports from national and international organisations- and also as a source of material pertinent to our inquiry, i.e. anti-Semitic web pages, discussion groups, etc.

Spain

The following information sources were used for the report:
– Mass media;
– Internet (oriented on neo-Nazi and racist groups);
– Violence reports;
– Personal interviews;
– Consultation with several organisations, especially Jewish ones.

France

The sources used to monitor incidents were:
– All daily print press as well as press agencies;
– Jewish Communities’ media (Actualité juive, antisémitisme.info, etc.);
– Jewish groups (CRIF, UEJF), in particular the new structures or initiatives recently set up to counter anti-Semitic acts or for the purpose of victim support (Observatoire du monde juif, help lines such as SOS Vérité - Sécurité or SOS antisémitisme);
– anti-racist non-profit organisations (LICRA, SOS Racisme, MRAP, FASTI)

Italy

The basic sources were made available by the Centre of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (Centro di Documentazione Ebraica Contemporanea, CDEC) in Milan, which systematically collects data on anti-Semitism in Italy.
– Surveys
– Newspapers
– Internet
– Report on anti-Semitism in Italy, edited by A. Goldstaub, June 2002. The report had been presented at the national Congress of UCEI (Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane, 20-23 June 2002)

Luxembourg

Inquiries were made at:
– Representatives of the Jewish community;
– Secretary General of the Israelite Consistory;
– Grand Ducal Police;
– NGO working against racism and anti-Semitism;
– Amnesty International Luxembourg;
Analysis of newspapers

The Netherlands

The report is based on the compilation by the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism, Technical University Berlin. Sources used are from:
– European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), online: Second report on the Netherlands, adopted on 15 December 2000 and made public on 13.11.2001.
– Anti-Semitism Worldwide 2000/1, online, Netherlands;
– Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israel (CIDI), The Hague, online overzicht antisemitische incidenten Nederland 2001 en voorloping overzicht 2002 by Hadassa Hirschfeld;
– Other NGOs: Anti Discrininatiebureaus in Nederland (ADB’s), Landelijke Vereniging van ADB’s (LV), Meldpunt Discrimnatie Internet (MDI), Landelijke Expertise Centrum Discriminatiezaken (LECD), Antifascistische Onderzoeksgroep Kafka, Centraal Meldpunt Voetbalvandalisme, Monitorrapport over Racisme en Extreem Rechts from the Anne Frank Stichting and the University of Leiden; the Dutch Auschwitz Committee, the National Bureau for the Fight Against Racism and the 4th and 5th May Committee;
– Newspapers;
– Internet.

Austria

The analysis is based on a balanced mix of sources:
– NGOs related to the Jewish communities (Forum gegen Antisemitismus [sub-organisation of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien], ESRA, Israelitische Kultusgemeinden Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Graz);
– Other NGOs (ZARA, Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstands [DÖW], Ökologische Linke [OEKOLI], Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft);
– relevant journalists;
– Federal Ministry of the Interior.

The media analysis included monitoring of the following dailies:
Der Standard, Die Presse, Wiener Zeitung, Salzburger Nachrichten, Kurier, Kleine Zeitung, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten and Kronen Zeitung. The NFP looked for the keywords “anti-Semitism”, “anti-Semitic”, “Jew(s)” and “Jewish” in the online archives of these papers. In addition, the following right-wing papers were scrutinized: Zur Zeit published weekly by FPÖ-members, Aula edited monthly by the National-freiheitliche Akademikerverbände Österreichs, an umbrella organisation of the national-“liberal” fraternities, and Der Eckart published monthly by the Österreichische Landsmannschaften.

Internet
The keywords “anti-Semitism – Austria” “Jews – Austria” were used for the general search on the Internet.

Portugal

The NFP gave reference to official institutions, Jewish organisations and anti-discrimination NGOs and the media in a general way.

Finland

Data was collected from three main sources:
– Interviews with a representative of the Finnish Jewish community, a representative of the Friends of Israel Association and the Ombudsman’s office;
– Newspapers;
– Internet.

Intrinsic problem: Although there are some institutions that monitor the situation, they do it usually from a very narrow point of view, specialising their efforts on some particular issue.

Sweden

Sources and methods:
The only Swedish institution compiling a formal index of anti-Semitic incidents is the Swedish Security Police (Säpo); however, such statistics are only published annually the year following the incident.
To compile this report the NFP has made use of its contacts with all three Jewish communities and is continuously receiving reports on registered anti-Semitic incidents. The NFP is also in continuous contact with a number of individuals researching the topic, either in a private or in an academic capacity.
The gathering of information has been done basically through telephone calls that were prepared by sending out the questions well in advance of the calls.
Other information, especially about activities on the Internet and articles in papers, stems from the normal daily collection of information by the NFP.

United Kingdom

This report is based on the compilation by the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism, Berlin. Sources used:
– Data from the Community Security Trust (CST), the monitoring body, which has been accorded third-party reporting status by the police. This allows it to report anti-Semitic incidents to the police and act as a go-between between the police and those victims who are unable or unwilling to report to the police directly. Michael Whine, Anti-Semitism on the streets, in: Is there a new anti-Semitism in Britain?, online www.jpr.org.uk/Reports;
– Lawyers Committee for Humans Rights, Fire and Broken Glass. The Rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe, Strasbourg, May 2002;
– Amnesty International Press Release, AI Index: EUR 3.1.2002 (Public) News Service No: 84, 10.5.2002;
– Anti-Defamation League, Global Anti-Semitism: Selected Incidents Around the World in 2002;
– Anti-Semitism Worldwide 2000/1, online, United Kingdom;
– Survey: Anti-Defamation League, European Attitudes Towards Jews, Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, 27. 6. 2002;
– Newspapers;
– Internet.


Sources: C.R.I.F. - Released by the European Jewish Congress