Data collection on antisemitism

• Pages: 4-10

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As already indicated in FRA’s 2019 overview of data on antisemitism, evidence

collected by FRA consistently shows that few EU Member States record

antisemitic incidents in away that allows them to collect adequate off‌icial

data.

2

This is true despite the serious negative consequences of antisemitism

for Jewish populations in particular, as FRA’s second survey on antisemitism

showed,

3

and for society at large.

4

The inadequate recording of hate crime incidents, including those of an

antisemitic nature, coupled with victims’ hesitance to report incidents to the

authorities, contributes to the gross under-reporting of the extent, nature

and characteristics of the antisemitic incidents that occur in the EU. It also

limits the ability of policymakers and other relevant stakeholders at national

and international levels to take measures and implement courses of action to

combat antisemitism effectively and decisively, and to assess the effectiveness

of existing policies. Incidents that are not reported are not investigated or

prosecuted, allowing offenders to think that they can carry out such attacks

with impunity. Victims who do not report their experiences to authorities may

also not receive relevant information about available assistance.

The data that do exist are generally not comparable, not least because they

are collected using different methodologies and from different sources across

EU Member States. Furthermore, although off‌icial data collection systems are

generally based on police records and/or criminal justice data as well as on data

collected by the national equality bodies, authorities do not always categorise

incidents motivated by antisemitism under that heading.

The current state of off‌icial data collection is such that the present report can

provide only an overview of the data available on antisemitism in EU Member

States. The report does not provide acomprehensive account of antisemitic

incidents recorded in the EU as awhole. No off‌icial data sources were identif‌ied

for two EU Member States. In some of the countries where data are collected,

the statistics for 2019 were not available at the time this report was compiled

in July2020.

5

As aresult of gaps in data collection and high levels of under-

reporting, the data presented here cannot be taken as afully accurate portrayal

of the prevalence of antisemitism in any given EU Member State, nor should

these data be used to compare the situation in different countries.

2 For example, FRA (2019), Antisemitism– Overview of data available in the

European Union 2008–2018, Luxembourg, Publications Off‌ice.

3 FRA (2018), Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism. Second survey on

discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU, Luxembourg, Publications

Off‌ice.

4 Results of the 2018 CNN poll on antisemitism among more than 7,000

respondents from the general population in Austria, France, Germany,

Hungary, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom are available on the CNN’s

website. European Commission (2019), Perceptions of antisemitism. Special

Eurobarometer 484– December 2018.

5 No off‌icial data on reported antisemitic incidents are available for Hungary,

Ireland, Malta and Portugal; data for Finland and Sweden are published at the

end of the calendar year.

Data collection on antisemitism