Report: E.U. lax in monitoring anti-Semitism

NEW YORK (JTA) – Most European countries do not have official data on anti-Semitism, a new report found.

The report, released Monday by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, examined both official and unofficial data on anti-Semitic incidents across 20 European countries from 2001 to 2008.

Only France, Germany and Sweden collect sufficient data to provide for a trend analysis, the report said.

In France, anti-Semitic activity increased markedly over the period considered, though it has declined substantially since the peak years of 2004 and 2002, when 974 and 936 incidents were reported, respectively. In 2007, the number of reported incidents dropped to 386.

In Germany and Sweden, the numbers remained relatively steady over the seven years. Germany reported 1,541 incidents in 2007 and Sweden 118.

In several of the countries, the report found a substantial difference between official and unofficial numbers.

In Austria, for example, the nongovernmental organization Forum against Anti-Semitism reported 62 incidents in 2007, while the government reported 15 criminal incidents.