From Pizzerias to Death Threats: Europe’s Jews Face a New Wave of Antisemitic Hostility Amid Gaza War Fallout

By: Fern Sidman

Jewish communities across Europe are confronting an alarming surge of antisemitic threats, harassment, and discrimination that has escalated dramatically since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 atrocities in Israel. What began as an outpouring of anti-Israel sentiment has increasingly crossed the line into outright bigotry, reviving the darkest patterns of European history. From restaurants barring Israeli customers to students receiving Nazi-themed death threats, the new wave of hostility has left many European Jews questioning their safety and place in societies they have long considered home.

According to a report that appeared on Thursday in The Algemeiner, one of the most widely respected Jewish news outlets chronicling antisemitism worldwide, the incidents span multiple countries and involve both explicit hate speech and more insidious forms of exclusion. While antisemitism in Europe has never vanished, the frequency and brazenness of these recent episodes underscore how quickly anti-Israel rhetoric can morph into attacks on Jews themselves, regardless of nationality or political affiliation.

In Bavaria, Germany, one of the most disturbing incidents of recent weeks unfolded at a popular eatery called Pizza Zulu. As The Algemeiner reported, the restaurant posted a sign declaring that Israelis would no longer be admitted or served on its premises. The notice, plastered across the storefront, attempted to cloak its discriminatory policy in moral language.

“We love all human beings regardless of where they come from,” the sign proclaimed, before announcing that Israelis would be excluded “until they open their eyes, ears, and hearts.”

The dissonance between such proclamations of “love” and the act of barring Israelis has not been lost on Jewish leaders, who swiftly denounced the measure as blatant antisemitism masquerading as political protest. While the sign was removed after outrage spread, questions remain about whether authorities will investigate the episode as a violation of Germany’s strict anti-discrimination laws.

This was not an isolated case. The Algemeiner report further documented another episode in Bavaria where a music shop reportedly forced an Israeli customer to sign a declaration opposing the war in Gaza before allowing him to rent equipment. Such behavior, Jewish leaders say, weaponizes political positions as litmus tests for Jews seeking to engage in ordinary life.

If Germany’s discrimination shocked through its brazenness, Spain’s recent developments horrified through their cruelty. In Madrid, as The Algemeiner report detailed, Jewish students received anonymous letters stuffed with Nazi propaganda, anti-Israel slogans, and chilling threats. The message—“Jewish rats. Palestine will win!”—blended genocidal tropes with modern-day animosity toward Israel, creating an atmosphere of fear for young people merely seeking an education.

Madrid’s Chief Rabbi, Moisés Bendahan, condemned the letters unequivocally. “This is not criticism of Israel or the conflict,” he said. “This is naked, old-fashioned bigotry, designed to terrorize an entire community.”

Spain’s leading Jewish umbrella organization, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE), called on prosecutors to act decisively. In a post highlighted in The Algemeiner report, the FCJE warned that unless hate crimes are punished visibly and swiftly, perpetrators will feel emboldened to escalate their campaigns of intimidation.

The World Jewish Congress also weighed in, emphasizing that Spain must reaffirm its democratic principles by protecting Jews from threats to their basic safety and civil rights.

Switzerland, long considered a relatively safe haven for Jews in Europe, has also been swept into the tide of antisemitic menace. A kosher hotel in the famed resort town of Davos received a letter filled with Nazi imagery and explicit death threats warning: “We will come and kill you all.”

As The Algemeiner report noted, Swiss authorities have launched an investigation, with the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) sounding the alarm. Jonathan Kreutner, the SIG’s secretary-general, highlighted the grave escalation represented by such threats. “A death threat is not a verbal slur,” Kreutner said. “It has a completely different nature and, above all, a completely different effect on the people concerned.”

The fact that such language was once exceedingly rare in Switzerland only magnifies its impact, leaving Jews in the country rattled and wondering whether even traditionally calm environments are becoming infected with violent antisemitism.

Each of these incidents—in Germany, Spain, and Switzerland—reflects a broader pattern documented meticulously in The Algemeiner and other watchdogs: that anti-Israel rhetoric in times of conflict can metastasize into outright antisemitism. What begins as opposition to Israeli military policy quickly transforms into boycotts of Jews, threats to Jewish children, and violence against Jewish institutions.

Since October 7, Jewish communities across Europe have reported spikes in assaults, vandalism, and harassment. In France, mezuzahs have been ripped off apartment doors; in the UK, synagogues have been graffitied with swastikas; in Belgium, Jewish schools have been placed under heavy police protection. The Algemeiner report stressed that these acts are not random but part of a toxic climate where anti-Israel activists feel emboldened to lash out at Jews collectively.

Jewish leaders across Europe are demanding not just condemnation but concrete action. In Spain, the FCJE insists on prosecutorial follow-through. In Germany, antisemitism commissioner Ludwig Spaenle has urged local authorities to examine whether businesses like Pizza Zulu violated anti-discrimination laws. In Switzerland, the SIG has called for enhanced security measures for Jewish institutions.

Yet, as The Algemeiner report pointed out, official responses often lag behind the speed and severity of the threats. Investigations are announced but not always pursued to completion. Statements of solidarity abound, but prosecutions and penalties remain rare. This gap between rhetoric and enforcement fuels skepticism within Jewish communities about whether European governments truly grasp the gravity of the threat.

For many, the current wave of antisemitism evokes chilling historical parallels. A pizzeria sign barring Israelis recalls the exclusionary signage of 1930s Europe that read “No Jews Allowed.” Letters to students plastered with Nazi imagery echo the propaganda campaigns of fascist regimes. Death threats against Jews in Switzerland recall the rhetoric that preceded earlier waves of violence against Jewish communities across the continent.

As The Algemeiner report observed, the repetition of such patterns should serve as a wake-up call. The veneer of political protest cannot obscure the underlying bigotry. Whether cloaked in anti-Zionist rhetoric or framed as humanitarian protest, these actions ultimately single out Jews for exclusion, intimidation, and potential harm.

Global Jewish bodies are taking notice. The World Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, and the European Jewish Association have all condemned the incidents reported by The Algemeiner, framing them as part of a wider assault on Jewish identity and security in Western democracies.

These organizations stress that antisemitism is not only a Jewish problem but a broader societal threat. When Jews are targeted, democratic norms of tolerance and equality come under siege. As such, failure to address antisemitism jeopardizes not only Jewish safety but the health of liberal democratic societies themselves.

The path forward remains fraught. Governments must strike a delicate balance between safeguarding free speech and curbing hate speech that endangers minorities. Jewish communities, meanwhile, are navigating the twin challenges of preserving their visibility and culture while ensuring security for their members.

As The Algemeiner report noted, the stakes could not be higher. The wave of antisemitism gripping Europe today threatens not only Jews but the moral fabric of the continent. Left unchecked, it risks normalizing discrimination, emboldening extremists, and eroding the principles of pluralism that Europe has spent decades cultivating.

For Jews in Europe, the message is clear: vigilance is essential, solidarity is indispensable, and silence is not an option. As Rabbi Bendahan of Madrid observed, what is unfolding is “naked, old-fashioned bigotry.” And as The Algemeiner report warned, such bigotry must be confronted swiftly and decisively—before history repeats itself in forms too tragic to contemplate.