Jewish life in Europe: Impending Catastrophe or Imminent Renaissance?

There is much debate over the future of Jewish life in Europe. Some Jewish commentators, observing rising levels of antisemitism and Islamic extremism, maintain that Europe is becoming an increasingly treacherous place for Jews to live. Others, witnessing changing modes of Jewish identity and the emergence of innovative forms of Jewish communal activity, argue that Europe offers a fertile environment in which Jewish life can thrive. And, in the midst of this debate, demographers bring data about Europe which demonstrate that the nature of both the Jewish and wider populations is undergoing significant change.

My new policy paper, published by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, examines these hypotheses and assesses their veracity. In doing so, it brings new data into the discussion. In 2012, after winning a competitive tender from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), JPR, working in partnership with its multi-national team of Associate Fellows and the global research agency Ipsos MORI, undertook a pan-European survey of Jewish perceptions and experiences of antisemitism. The findings have now been published by the FRA. The data comprise arguably the largest dataset ever gathered on Jews in Europe, and shed new light on our understanding of contemporary reality.

To read my paper, click here.

To read the FRA report, click here.