Anti-Semitic acts have increased “significantly” since the beginning of 2009

Rabbi Andrew Baker, representing the OSCE presidium with responsibility for fighting anti-Semitism, expressed his concern about the recent upsurge of incidents in France and the United Kingdom, the countries with the largest number of Jewish communities of the European continent, together with Russia.

In total, 352 anti-Semitic acts were reported in France for the month of January 2009 alone, compared with 459 for the whole of 2008, according to the French Ministry of Home Affairs. In the UK, 150 anti-Semitic acts were reported between December 27^th and January 14^th, during the Israeli offensive.