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Over 40% of European Jews Thinking of Emigrating Due to 'Safety Concerns' – Poll

The EU body which carried out the poll has urged European leaders to do more to tackle anti-Semitism, warning it could spiral out of control unless action is urgently taken.
Sputnik

41 percent of Jews in Europe are considering emigrating due to “safety concerns” over rising anti-Semitism in the continent, a fresh poll has found.

The report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights also revealed that around 80 percent of UK Jews think anti-Semitism is a major issue in national politics, amid the ongoing scandal surrounding the Labour Party and its alleged tolerance of anti-Semites.

READ MORE: Netanyahu: IDF is Jews' 'Best Answer' to Anti-Semitism

Almost a third of the 16,000 surveyed Jewish respondents, from all across Europe, said they avoid holy sites and religious events because they feel unsafe and vulnerable.

Alarmingly, 95 percent of the sample in France deemed anti-Semitism to be a “fairly big or very big” in the country, with nine out of ten reporting to have been attacked or have faced hostility in public for their religious beliefs.

Věra Jourová, the European commissioner for justice, described the poll’s findings a major disappointment for the bloc, urging leaders to do more to stamp out the issue.

She directly addressed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and called on him to “pay attention” to the survey.

“I read quite a lot of his quotes and a lot of articles and he is trying to get out of this label but, OK, I hope he will pay attention to this survey. This is a serious message we have received from the Jewish community. We must do everything to let the Jewish communities now that they are not alone in Europe,” Jourová said on Monday.

READ MORE: EC Deputy Head: Hungary's Orban Should Avoid Implicitly Anti-Semitic Campaigns

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