Pogroms, beatings, threats: A wave of antisemitism unseen since World War II sweeps Europe

Mass protests in support of the Gaza Strip and the anti-Israel rhetoric of extreme left-wing politicians and intellectuals have resulted in a paradoxical situation: many European Jews are willing to support right-wing parties that campaign on promises to fight Islamization.

When asked who is the main threat to French Jews today, Rabbi Shmuel Lubecki of the Rouen synagogue confidently answers: Muslims and left-wing radicals.

“The left is normalizing antisemitic discourse by pretending it's directed against Zionists, not all Jews,” Lubecki told The Insider. “[In the last election] many members of the Jewish community voted for the far-right because they see them as a counterweight to the radical left. The far-right hates Muslims, and this douses the flames of hatred for the Jewish community.”

Sociologists confirm this perception — but only to an extent. According to a CRIF poll, voters of the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) and the far-right National Rally are almost equally divided — 55% and 52% — when it comes to negative perceptions of Jews. However, 25% of far-left LFI supporters express sympathy for Hamas, and only 44% consider it a terrorist organization even after the events of October 7. Supporters of Marine Le Pen's far-right party, meanwhile, are far less forgiving of Hamas, with 4% expressing sympathy and 75% calling it a terrorist group. According to CRIF president Yonathan Arfi, “LFI has given antisemitism political legitimacy.”

La France Insoumise is the largest party within the New Popular Front, a left-wing coalition that won last July's snap parliamentary elections. The alliance took home the largest number of mandates but nevertheless did not form part of the ruling coalition. LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon is known not only for his harsh criticism of Israel and its supporters, but also for his openly antisemitic statements.

For example, he called French Jews “an arrogant minority who patronizes everyone” and blamed Jews for the death of Jesus Christ. In October 2023, Mélenchon and his associates refused to condemn the Hamas attack, calling the Palestinian group a “resistance movement” — a characterization that caused a crisis within the parliamentary leftist bloc. One of his party's most prominent lawmakers, Rima Hassan, called the Oct. 7 terrorist attack a “legitimate action” and denied Israel the right to defend itself.

A survey by Fondapol and the AJC found that 92% of French Jews place most of the blame for the rise of domestic antisemitism on LFI, and 57% of the community said they would consider emigration if the LFI candidate wins the next presidential election. “Jews do not seem to have a future in France,” Paris Grand Synagogue Rabbi Moshe Sebbag said after the New Popular Front's victory, advising Jewish youth to leave for Israel.

European right-wing populists are seizing the moment and skillfully playing the Jewish card in their electoral battles — demonstrative concern for Jewish welfare helps them shed their reputation as extremists and xenophobes. A prime example is Dutch anti-Islamist and Euroskeptic Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), which won the country’s November 2023 elections. In its campaign, the PVV emphasized that it considers itself “a great friend of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East,” and promised to move the Dutch embassy to Jerusalem while closing its diplomatic mission in Ramallah.