Disinformation and hatred against Jews increased on the internet in the European Union during the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Fundamental Rights Agency revealed on Thursday, regretting that Portugal does not have official data on anti-Semitism.
“Misinformation and hatred against Jews flourished on the Internet during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the record of anti-Semitic incidents remains weak across Europe. [já que] each country collects data differently and some do not collect data at all, hampering efforts to effectively combat anti-Semitism,” the European Union (EU) Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed in a statement the day it released a report. about this issue.
According to the FRA, the acronym for the agency in English, these gaps in registration and data collection affect the fight against antisemitism, and “some countries, such as Hungary and Portugal, do not collect official data at all”, which also makes comparisons between EU countries difficult.
In the chapter reserved for Portugal in the report, the agency that provides specialized support and advice on fundamental rights pointed out precisely that “there are no official data on anti-Semitism” in the country.
According to the FRA, Portugal also does not “have a national strategy or action plan to combat anti-Semitism”, since “instead, the fight against anti-Semitism is included in the National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination 2021-2025” .
“Some of the measures of the plan [português] are combating discrimination and religious intolerance, including among central and local officials, by monitoring religious freedom law enforcement and targeting security forces and officials associated with the use of racial, ethnic, religious or other expressions ”, listed this European agency.
In total, the FRA revealed in the report, only 14 of the 27 EU countries have national strategies or action plans dedicated to combating anti-Semitism (Portugal is still considered one of them), with another eight member states still developing such initiatives. .
Data from the Fundamental Rights Agency is based on international, governmental and non-governmental data sources in all EU countries, as well as in Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, between January 1, 2011 and December 31. December 2021.
Quoted by the press release, FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty stressed that “anti-Semitism remains a serious problem” in the EU.
“The covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have further fueled this hatred,” said Michael O’Flaherty, who stressed that “without adequate data, the EU cannot be expected to be effective in fighting the antisemitic incidents. “.
“It is high time that EU countries stepped up their efforts to encourage communication and improve registration, so that we can better combat hatred and prejudice against Jews,” the official urged.
Source: TSF
