Since October 7, 2023, antisemitism has risen to alarming levels in Europe and the United States (U.S.). CBS News reports that “Nearly 40% of antisemitic incidents in the world last year took place in Europe, and there was a spike after that Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. In Germany, they nearly doubled. In the U.K., they more than doubled. And in France, they nearly quadrupled” (Yahoo News).
The Anti-Defamation League reports there has been “8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2023 – the highest number of incidents reported since the organization began tracking in 1979. . . Last year, the number of antisemitic incidents outpaced the all-time high set in 2022 by 140%” (CNN). Hillel International reported there has been 1,826 “reported antisemitic incidents on college campuses since October 7 – a 700% increase compared to last year.”
This wave of antisemitism has become the catalyst for Jews in Europe and the U.S. to make Aliyah, to immigrate to the Promised Land of Israel. Jews in Europe and the U.S. believe they will be safer in Israel, even though it is continually threatened by the likes of Iran and under attack by Iranian-backed terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. “Requests from French Jews to relocate to Israel have soared by 430% since October” (MSN). Israel National News also reported that “Last year, 1,100 French Jews left for Israel. This year there will be 4,500. Since 1972, over 100,000 French Jews moved to Israel (out of half a million). Before 2012, 500 Jews left France every year. Number multiplied tenfold.”
Sirpa Rautio, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights noted “Europe is witnessing a wave of antisemitism, partly driven by the conflict in the Middle East. . . This severely limits Jewish people’s ability to live in safety and with dignity” (The Guardian).
The rise of antisemitism in France prompted the chief rabbi of the Great Synagogue of Paris, Moshe Sebbag, to observe, “There is no future for the in France. I tell all young people to go to Israel or a safer country” (Israel National News).
Germany’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has condemned the increase in “anti-Jewish violence, warning, “People are shocked to hear news of houses where Jews live being marked with a Star of David. . . Because that, of course, rings a bell and brings us back to the most horrific times we had in this country” (The Guardian).
Well-known Dutch author, Leon de Winter, whose parents survived the Holocaust, predicts, “I think Jewish life in Europe will be a thing of the past by 2050. There is no future for them here and their desperate love for the old and beloved continent will die” (Israel National News).
Recently, I wrote in an article for Blessors of Israel that “All forms of antisemitism have Satan as their source” (What’s at the Heart of the Hatred for the Jews?). Yet it is important to remember that God is not done with Israel (Romans 11:1-2). In fact, God will use for good what Satan has meant for evil (Genesis 50:20). And God has promised to gather the Jews from the nations and bring them into the Promised Land in order to bless them through their Messiah (Ezekiel 37:21-27).
Now, like never before, Christians must pray for Israel and also her enemies, that the Holy Spirit will convict the lost of their need for the Savior of the world. Jesus Christ is coming back and when He does, “Every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and. . . every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
by Dr. Matthew Dodd | July 19, 2024