Antisemitism spiralling out of control worldwide Armenia, ASALA on the shameful list

Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom carries the article by journalist Rachel Avraham which discusses the increase in global antisemitism, highlighting anti-Jewish sentiments in Armenia and the activities of the terrorist organization ASALA. Caliber.Az reprints the piece.

While Israel wages Operation Iron Swords following the brutal October 7 Massacre, Jews in the Diaspora continue to feel the heat, as antisemitic attacks worldwide continue to spiral out of control. In recent days, an Israeli restaurant in Montreal was attacked, a mob of five people physically assaulted an Orthodox Jewish man in New York, a 12-year-old Jewish girl in France was gang raped by a mob of anti-Semitic teenagers and a synagogue in Armenia had a stone hurled inside of it.

Falafel Yoni, an Israeli-owned restaurant in Montreal, recently had its windows damaged after it was targeted by anti-Semites, who struck projectiles at it, believed to be fired from an airsoft gun. According to reports in the French media, the rape of the 12-year-old girl occurred in Courbevoie, a suburb of Paris, where the girl was approached by three boys aged 12 and 13 while in a park with her friend. The teenagers dragged her into a shed, where the gang rapists beat her and raped her, both anally and vaginally, while uttering death threats and anti-Semitic remarks. The three teenagers were arrested; two are presently in French custody.

Meanwhile, the Orthodox Jewish man who was assaulted in New York sustained mild injuries, while the suspect remains at large. Furthermore, the attack on the synagogue in Yerevan did not occur in a vacuum, as the Armenian terror group ASALA attacked the same synagogue in October of last year and in November, the synagogue faced an arson attempt by the same terror group. Armenia's Chief Rabbi Gershon Burshtein recounted to Armenian TV how the arsonists tried for 40 minutes to ignite the synagogue, first with a small amount of petrol, then bringing more. This was the first arson attack against a synagogue outside the Middle East since October 7.

The president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), one of Europe's largest rabbinical organizations, demanded that the Armenian authorities detain ASALA group members, outlaw the organization, and increase security for the Jewish community. The CER warned, "If there is no proper response and Jewish blood is spilt in the streets, the responsibility will be on the head of the Armenian government." Despite this, none of the perpetrators were detained.

Israel's Ambassador to Armenia Joel Lion also called on the Armenian government to condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, thoroughly investigate the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. According to the Jerusalem Post, Armenia is the "most anti-Semitic country in the post-Soviet space" for 58% percent of the population harbors anti-Semitic views.

The attack on a synagogue in Yerevan, the attack on an Israeli restaurant in Montreal, the rape of the 12-year-old Jewish girl, and the assault of a Jewish man in New York comes at a time when campuses across the Western world are emerging from violent protests, of which protesters literally destroyed the library at Portland State University, spray-painting it with graffiti that read "Long Live the Intifada" and destroyed property there. These protesters did likewise on a number of other campuses across America.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, "Less than half (46%) of Jewish students reported feeling physically safe on their campuses during the first half of the fall semester of the 2023-2024 school year. Now, the surge in protests has intensified anti-Jewish hate, leaving many Jewish students feeling threatened and, in some cases, unsafe. While some college and university administrations have met the moment and implemented additional protections, many have not."

All of these incidents are a sign that anti-Semitism is spiraling out of control across the world. As the war wages on in Israel against the brutal Hamas terror organization, Jews across the Diaspora are suffering from a wave of anti-Semitic attacks, inspired by anti-Semitic propaganda that is fanning out of control due to the war in Gaza, which has begun on campuses but spread off-campus as well.

I recently visited Powell Bookstore in Portland, Oregon and was shocked to discover that most of the Israel/Palestine section of books is presently dominated by anti-Israel propaganda. The local newspaper the Oregonian is also not known to be Israel-friendly. And in this same city, it was the anarchists influenced by such anti-Israel books and anti-Israel articles in the local newspaper who did to the local library on campus what ISIS did to Palmyra. The signs of the damage that they did can still be viewed today. The university has still not recovered.

While Israeli Jews are facing rocket and other terror attacks and live in the horrific reality that far too many Israelis are still being held hostage under brutal conditions in Gaza, while still reeling from the murder of all of those innocent Israelis during the October 7 massacre, Diaspora Jews are living in a reality where it has become unsafe to openly identify as Jewish in some parts of the Diaspora. In fact, my brother, who studies at Portland State University, decided to start wearing a cross necklace to his doctoral classes, hoping that the anti-Semitic bigots that dominate his campus will leave him alone.

However, Portland is not an isolated example. What is happening in Portland is in fact the new normal worldwide. Last May, a report by the ADL and Tel University found that there has been a steady rise in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide since October 7. The report said the New York Police Department recorded 325 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023 — up from the 261 recorded in 2022. The Los Angeles Police Department recorded 165 incidents in 2023 compared to 86 incidents in 2022, according to the report. France had 1,676 incidents last year, up significantly from the 436 recorded in 2022, according to the report. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, noted that the brutal massacre on October 7 "was followed by a tsunami of hate against Jewish communities worldwide."

Although Israel and the Jewish Diaspora are now disconnected at a time when many Diaspora Jews are not traveling to the Jewish state due to the war, both Israel and the Jewish Diaspora remain united in the suffering that was caused by the October 7 massacre. And as one Jewish lawyer from Chicago illustrated, "This hatred has occurred throughout human history, and as Jewish victims, we will always remain united in our love for one another, and will eventually prevail against those who hate us." However, he added that many are suffering until such a victory occurs: "I would not want to be that 12-year-old Jewish girl in France."