Western politicians condemn anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim bigotry

Signatories urge their governments to 'intensify all efforts' to safeguard Jewish and Muslim citizens as hate crimes surge

At a Berlin rally this month, a sign reads: 'For freedom against hate'. Reuters

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The leaders of the foreign affairs committees of the US and several European nations on Wednesday condemned a surge in anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic “bigotry”.

The signatories of a joint statement noted “an alarming rise in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim bigotry and violence” since the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel's devastating siege on Gaza in its aftermath.

The message comes as anti-Semitic hate crime investigations have “tripled in New York and London” over the past month in comparison to last year.

And in France, the Interior Ministry documented “1,040 anti-Semitic incidents in the month following the October 7 attack”, noting Jewish and Muslim community organisations have “reported even more incidents throughout our countries”.

“We are proud to represent diverse constituencies in vibrant democracies. None of this is acceptable,” the statement read.

“We urge our governments to intensify all efforts to safeguard Jewish and Muslim communities, to condemn these actions when they occur and to implement our national strategies to combat the dark tide of bigotry and hatred."

The signatories are the foreign committee heads of Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the European Parliament, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the UK, US and Ukraine.

They say hateful acts have included “online hate, verbal assaults, vandalism, desecration of Holocaust memorials and cemeteries, intimidation, death threats, and physical attacks".

Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin represented Washington with his signature.

The declaration specifically noted the brutal murder of six-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume in the US, who was targeted for being Palestinian, as well as Paul Kessler, a Jewish man who died following an altercation at a pro-Israel rally in California.

In the aftermath of Wadea's killing, President Joe Biden's administration announced Washington would develop the first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia.

The administration said it was working “with community leaders, advocates, members of Congress and more” to solidify “a joint effort led by the Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council”, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

That strategy follows the earlier announcement of a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism earlier this year.

Anti-Palestinian and Muslim hatred in the US again caught attention this week, with video circulating on social media of Stuart Seldowitz, deputy director of the US State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003, delivering racist tirades against Arab and Halal food vendors in New York.

In one of the numerous incidents uploaded to social media, Mr Seldowitz declared “if we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn't enough”.