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European Report Shows Antisemitic Attacks Account for More 20% of All Hate Crimes

Antisemitic acts made up more than 20 percent of hate crimes committed in the larger European area in 2019, according to a new report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Gathering data from 34 of the OSCE’s 57 member states — which include the US — the report counted 1,704 acts of antisemitism within an overall tally of 6,964 incidents.

Jews were more than three times more likely than Muslims or Christians to be targeted, the figures revealed, with 577 attacks against Christians and 511 against Muslims.

Europe’s Jewish population is less than one percent of the total on the continent.

Acts driven by racism and xenophobia accounted for 3,033 incidents while anti-LGBT outrages involved 1,278 incidents.

In publishing the data, the OSCE emphasized that collating the true number of hate crimes was virtually impossible, since most incidents are not reported and many countries are yet to train their police and judicial officials to deal with such crimes.

“In many countries there are mechanisms in place to record and collect comprehensive data on hate crimes,” the OSCE said in a statement. “However, a large number do not provide police and prosecutors with the tools and knowledge they need to recognize, record and effectively investigate such crimes. This frequently deprives hate crime victims of the opportunity to access much-needed specialist support.”