Report on anti-Semitism in Italy in 2015,
summary
June 15, 2016
In 2015 the Observatory on Anti-Semitism of the Jewish Contemporary Documentation
Center Foundation – CDEC, a nonprofit social utility organization (ONLUS), recorded
some ninety episodes of anti-Semitism, representing an increase over the years 2012 and
2013 but similar in quantity to records from 2014. One indicator that did continue to grow
from 2014 to 2015 is web-based anti-Semitism, a trend observed both in Europe and
generally around the world.
Information on these episodes has been gathered from the individuals involved in
the incidents (victims), communications by Jewish communities or other organizations,
public sources (newspapers, radio, web, etc.), and studies and analyses by institutions and
organizations in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
The Observatory’s Anti-Semitism Antenna provides a means for gathering
information from victims or witnesses of episodes of anti-Semitism who call the toll-free
number.
Anti-Jewish prejudice in the form of opinions and words is not confined to any one
social, cultural or political class but cuts across all such boundaries. Anti-Semitic discourse
finds expression in various milieux, not necessarily extremist, depending on the paradigm
they draw on: conspiracy theory, Holocaust denial (negationism), demonization of Israel.
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