Following the outbreak of warfare between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jews around the world are facing an increase in anti-Semitic attacks. As Israel tries to defend itself in Gaza, anti-Semites elsewhere are taking the opportunity to attack Jews.

In one of a spate of anti-Semitic incidents across France, attackers rammed two cars packed with gasoline bombs into a synagogue in the French city of Toulouse on Monday, causing the building to catch on fire. The people inside, attending class with a rabbi, escaped unharmed. The National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism also reported that a rabbi’s car had been vandalized.

A wave of anti-Semitic attacks has also hit Belgium. In Antwerp, attackers tried to torch an Orthodox Jewish family’s house last week. Angry rioters burned Israeli flags in the city, vandalized Jewish symbols and scrawled graffiti on Jewish shops. Several Jews received death threats saying, “You are not safe. I know where to find you. Child by child.”

In England, arsonists tried to burn down a synagogue Sunday night. Last week, a group of three Arab-looking men dragged a Jew from his car and assaulted him. The Community Security Trust, a Jewish defense group, has reported 24 anti-Semitic incidents in the past week.

In Denmark, a 27-year-old shot two Israelis with a handgun. In Sweden, a man threw a burning object through a synagogue window at the congregation inside.

These are just some of the sordid incidents in a spate of anti-Semitic violence sweeping across Europe.

Last March, the United States State Department released a report, titled “Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism,” warning about rising anti-Semitism around the world. The report stated:

[T]he distinguishing feature of the new anti-Semitism is criticism of Zionism or Israeli policy that—whether intentionally or unintentionally—has the effect of promoting prejudice against all Jews by demonizing Israel and Israelis and attributing Israel’s perceived faults to its Jewish character.

The recent anti-Israeli attacks are a result of the same old anti-Semitism that has plagued Europe for millennia. For information on where this is leading, read our articles “Holocaust Hypocrisy,” “Death by Prejudice” and “Anti-Semitism Revives!”