“In Western Europe the violence is related to Islamic radicalism. In Central and Eastern Europe, it’s the rise of nationalistic movements,” said Serge Cwajgenbaum, secretary-general of the European Jewish Congress. “There was a slight decrease in anti-Semitic violent attacks, but there was no reduction of anti-Semitism.”

Perhaps the most dramatic anti-Semitic incident was the February murder in Paris of Ilan Halimi, 23, by a gang who tortured him for several weeks in a suburban apartment building.

The suspects reportedly told police they targeted Halimi because “all Jews are rich” — although Halimi’s family is not wealthy, the kidnappers demanded an exorbitant ransom — and they put out cigarettes on Halimi’s face because, they said, “he was Jewish and we don’t like Jews.”

Most of the suspects are Muslims of North African or black African origin.

The number of Jews contacting the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Paris office to inquire about aliyah reportedly doubled after the Halimi murder. French aliyah soared to record levels after the incident, despite a drop in the overall number of anti-Semitic incidents in France in 5766.

In addition, anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment fed by the 2003 invasion of Iraq intensified when Israel and Hezbollah went to war over the summer.

“We are undoubtedly in the middle of a huge and growing problem of the radical Islamicization of many European countries,” said Jonathan Joseph, president of the European Council of Jewish Communities. “The effect of this is increased anti-Semitism and attacks, but I believe that hides a much greater issue: Throughout many communities, groups of radical Islamists are succeeding in de-legitimizing Jewish people among governments.”

The implication was that some Muslims had made anti-Semitism an acceptable sentiment for those already critical of Israel.

In Great Britain, where a crisis over Muslim integration was highlighted by July 2005 subway bombings carried out by Islamic extremists, concern over security is at an all-time high.

Read all: http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17077&intcategoryid=2