Arutz Sheva discussed Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Memorial Day with Carol Nuriel, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League, and asked her for her opinion on recent increases in the levels of anti-Semitism around the world. Nuriel said that there had never really been a fall in the level of anti-Semitism. “It’s always there in the background, waiting for an opportunity to burst forth,” she said. “We see, for example, how the unrest in Ukraine is being taken advantage of by anti-Semitic groups for attacks against Jews, and how events in Israel and the Middle East raise the specter of anti-Semitism.”

With that, there has been a fall in the number of anti-Semitic acts in the US, with reported cases down 19% over the past year. However, what incidents there were were more serious. The most recent incident showing that level of anti-Semitism was the shooting in Kansas by a former top KKK organizer.

Religion, of course, plays a major role in anti-Semitism, she said. “The Christian world has a hard time breaking away from the notion that the Jews murdered Jesus, despite Vatican declarations to the contrary. This belief, along with the belief that Jews use Christian blood to bake matzahs, is still prevalent among some people.”

That blood libel is very widespread among the Arabs, she said. The media in Arab countries present “scientific studies” that claim to show the veracity of that claim. “The Arab populations easily ‘buy’ those stories because their state media promotes them,” said Nuriel.

Another aspect of modern anti-Semitism is the accusation that Jews are guilty of “dual loyalty,” putting loyalty to Israel before loyalty to their own countries. Many of these stories are spread over the internet, which is helping anti-Semitism grow in a way that cannot be ignored.

All these phenomena are experienced by Jews around the world to some extent, with some “strains” of anti-Semitism more dominant in certain areas than others. But all Jewish communities experience them to some extent. According to Nuriel, communities must learn to defend themselves, and keep law enforcement abreast of developments. Nuriel hopes that additional laws against hatred will be passed in places where anti-Semitism is prevalent.