The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the world rose worryingly, especially in Western Europe, according to a report by Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein which he presented at Sunday's Israeli cabinet meeting.
Statistics reveal that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2012 was 45 percent higher than the previous year.
The report indicates an increase in the number of terrorist attacks and attempted terrorist attacks against Jewish targets, mainly by elements identified with extremist Islamic movements or the radical Right, and a sharp increase in the harassment of Jews, including verbal and physical violence, mainly in Western Europe, in proximity to Jewish community centers.
The report coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day which was marked on Sunday. January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz- Birkenau death camp.
The report mentions a rise in street attacks, both verbal and physical, against Jews throughout the world. The trend is most pronounced in Western Europe. However, anti-Semitic incidents are up throughout the world, in Eastern and Western Europe as well as in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
The report is based on data collected by the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University.
The study singles out the attack on March 19, 2012 on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, which left a teacher and three children dead.
It also points to parliamentary victories by a number of far right anti-Semitic parties in Europe, including the Golden dawn party in Greece and the Jobbik party in Hungary, as a worrying trend.
Israeli Minister Edelstein said, "The report clearly shows that the oft-used premise that this or that policy of the State of Israel leads to an increase or decrease in anti-Semitic incidents is absolutely without foundation. As evidence, one may note that during and after Operation Pillar of Defense there was no sharp increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents. There is no doubt that against the background of anti-Semitic phenomena, there are also anti-Zionist approaches and the delegitimization of the State of Israel. However, to our regret, no policy by the State of Israel affects or reduces these manifestations of racist hatred towards Jews."