As antisemitism soars, Christians must take action

Back in October 2024, CNE had previously written about the incident surrounding the Maccabi Tel Aviv football club, where Israeli football supporters were harassed and beaten by thugs in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Other acts of violence against Jewish residents continued to haunt the city afterwards.

Now, almost two years on, discrimination and acts of hate against the Jews are getting worse and more violent.

According to data from Eurobarometer, which was published in Euronews, more than half of Europeans believe that antisemitism is "a problem in their country".

Those from France, Italy, and Sweden were the most likely to consider it a problem while those residing in Estonia, Latvia, and Finland were the least likely. Having Jewish friends or acquaintances seemed to have raised awareness of antisemitism versus having those who didn’t have those relationships.

Yet, the Euronews report also revealed that "hostility in public spaces, antisemitic graffiti, and online antisemitism" were the most reported to be a problem among EU citizens. Public acts of hostility towards Jewish people were also reported to be an issue among those in France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Public acts of hostility have included attacks on Jewish places of worship. In the Netherlands, a synagogue in Rotterdam had been attacked by teenage arsonists, and an explosive device was detonated at a Jewish school in Amsterdam. Targeting Jewish places of worship was also seen at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, and in Manchester, UK, when a man drove a car into a group of pedestrians and stabbed worshippers at the nearby Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation.

Even when violence has not been observed, false claims relating to Israel have been seen within various levels of government. Days before Easter, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas repeated claims that Israel is "violating religious freedom" and is failing to protect its holy sites in Jerusalem.

She also cited the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s lack of access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as evidence that it is restricting religious freedom, particularly for Christians. However, according to Tomas Sandell, who is the Founding Director of the European Coalition of Israel, these claims lack "context and fact-checking", he says in an email release.

"The fact of the matter is that Israel is restricting access to all holy sites in Jerusalem ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter, and these restrictions apply to Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike due to security concerns during the ongoing war with Iran. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre faces the same threat as the rest of the city," Sandell says.

The European Coalition for Israel also wrote that despite security concerns, Israeli authorities had a "working agreement" for church authorities to conduct Holy Week services.

"In a day and age when Christian antisemitism is again on the rise, it is unfortunate that the EU High Representative is using her platform to ignite anti-Israel sentiments, suggesting that Christians are being mistreated in the Holy Land," Sandell says.

Sandell also went on to say that "similar accusations and conspiracy theories have been circulated by American right-wing social media influencers like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, but they should not be amplified by the EU's top diplomat."

In reference to the aforementioned figures, the organisation StopAntisemitism named Tucker Carlson "Antisemite of the Year" for "platforming Holocaust revisionists and Nazi apologists" and for a comment within a funeral speech that implied the Jews or Israelis were behind Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Candace Owens was also named "Antisemite of the Year" in 2024 by StopAntisemitism for a four-hour broadcast that attacked Jewish conservative Ben Shapiro and for promoting antisemitic conspiracies that the Jews dominated the slave trade.

She has also been criticised for promoting the theories from German Catholic August Rohling, who believed that Jews were behind a blood libel and that the Talmud was a "secret guide" used for malicious purposes, the Jerusalem Post also notes.

Despite rising violence and endless conspiracies being targeted toward the Jews, Christian efforts to stop them are happening across Europe. And that can be seen as a promising sign.

MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen from the Dutch SGP political party requested a debate in the EU Parliament on the "recent terrorist attacks on the Jewish community in Europe". The debate is set to take place at the end of April. Ruissen also highlighted that it is time to take action.

"Words are not enough. We have to act! What the EU is doing now is mainly symptom control. It is high time to tackle the root causes of the growing anti-Semitism. Think of the influence of radical Islam," Ruissen says in a message from the SGP.

And Ruissen is right. As Christians, we have to act.

According to the Coalition Against Antisemitism, antisemitism itself runs counter to the Gospel, and confronting it is "not optional for Christians". Rather, "it is a gospel imperative," the Coalition writes in their article How to Stand Against Antisemitism: Three Practical Steps for Christians. God’s vision for the world and His second coming are also inherently tied to the salvation of the Jews through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ.

They add that the roots behind such hatred lie in a "deeper, unseen battle" that is spiritual in origin.

And how can we fight against this "unseen spiritual battle"? The organisation outlines steps that Christians can take to combat antisemitism in their communities, which include being educated on the subject, informing the wider Christian Church, and becoming an advocate for the Jewish people.

Reading resources such as "A History of Antisemitism" and correcting "theological errors" such as the widespread belief that the Jews are "Christ-killers" or supersessionism (replacement) theology, which posits that the Church has replaced Israel when it comes to God’s chosen people.

"Christians must respond not only with advocacy and action but also with prayer and a commitment to biblical truth," the Coalition Against Antisemitism says in the article.

"The Scriptures are the story of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. When Christians stay silent in the face of antisemitism, we deny the spiritual heritage of our faith."