According to a report released by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Poland dropped last year by 33%. This is the 14th report of the EU agency, which includes, among others, verbal attacks, physical threats, harassment, discrimination, as anti-Semitic incidents.
In 2015, there were 167 cases of anti-Semitic attacks; in 2016, 101, and in 2017 only 73. As emphasized by the secretary of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Andrzej Pawluszek, this is only a confirmation of what we have known for a long time.
“Anti-Semitism is a marginal problem in our country, Poland is one of the safest countries in Europe, also for Jews” – Pawluszek believes and adds that the FRA report confirms the tendency of the decline of anti-Semitic incidents in Poland.
Data of the National Prosecutor’s Office clearly shows that there is a minimum number of anti-Semitic crimes in Poland. The low level of anti-Semitic attacks is also illustrated by the fact that, in 73 incidents that took place in Poland, only 3 concerned physical aggression and 2 destruction of property. The rest are primarily graffiti and insults.
Adam Lipiński, Minister for Relations with Parliament, argues that Poland can be a role model for many countries of Western Europe, where anti-Semitism is a real problem. His words are confirmed by statistics – last year the number of attacks increased as there were 1,504 cases in Germany and 1,382 in Great Britain. Lipiński added that the government is worried about the high level of anti-Semitism in Germany. He also believes that the European Union should deal with the problem with greater concern.