European Jews fear for safety a year after museum attack

A year after a gunman murdered four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, Jews across Europe increasingly fear for their safety and warn they are on the frontline of an Islamist war against democracy itself. Since the attack in the Belgian capital on May 24, 2014, Jews have been slain in jihadist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. Jews were also murdered in a similar attack in the French city of Toulouse in 2012.

The threat of jihadist attacks in Europe is not limited to the Jewish community. Islamist extremists see European democracy and freedom as their primary enemy. However, Jews remain on the frontlines.

European Jewish Congress chief Moshe Kantor

Like EU and European government officials, Kantor voiced concern that Islamist militants trained in weapons use and hardened in battle would mount more attacks in Europe following their return from Middle East war zones. Several thousand European nationals are feared to have joined jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans has said the EU faces a “huge challenge” to reassure Jews about their future on the continent.

I am not anymore in ultra-high-quality names. I don’t think the market valuation is cheap.

Michele Patri

Europe Jews