VIENNA – Antisemitic events in Austria reached record highs last year, according to a report released on Friday.
Oscar Deutsch, President of the Vienna Jewish Community, said: “The challenge of the emergence of the Semitic phenomenon is a global one and we are working closely with all levels of society to combat the rise of anti-Semitism.”
Of the 8.9 million incidents reported in the Alpine countries in 2021, the majority – about 60% – had “abuse” accounts, including personal and online comments and messages. The next largest category, which made up 27% of the total event, was mass mailing and literature that contained Semitic messages and stereotypes.
About 1% of the total incidents involved assault or attempted assault, 2.5% involved threats, and 10% involved damage and impurity.
The largest proportion of events so far – 461, or 48% of all events – can be attributed to right-wing, ultra-right and neo-Nazi movements. Approximately 15% came from leftists and 11% came from Muslims. A quarter of the incidents could not be attributed to a specific population.
Most of the events covered in the report involve long-recognized types of Judaism, such as Holocaust revisionism, Israel-related comments, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
However, coronavirus-related semitism – such as the treatment of people who refused to be vaccinated or refused to wear masks with Jews under the Nazis – accounted for 28% of all cases recorded in 2021.
