In the year 2020, the Federation of Jewish Communities recorded a total of 874 anti-Semitic incidents.  This is 180 more than in 2019, when 694 incidents were recorded.

Violent incidents are still rare in the Czech Republic; in 2020 one case of physical assault with an anti-Semitic motivation was recorded.   In the category of desecration of Jewish property also only one incident was recorded, the other six fell into the category of threats of violent act, harassment or insult of a person due to his-or-her actual or alleged Jewish background.  In both categories, the number of recorded incidents was the same or lower than in 2018 and 2019.

The vast majority of all recorded anti-Semitic incidents – 98% – are expressions of hatred on the internet (articles, posts on social networks, anonymous comments and discussion posts).  An enormous increase in the incidence of various conspiracy myths, related to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent manifestations of anti-Semitism, has been a worldwide phenomenon over the past year. In the Czech Republic, these conspiracy theories were spread by traditional disinformation platforms, but also individuals and groups, with anti-Semitic theses about the intended spread of coronavirus or the promotion of financial interests in relation to vaccination against the disease.

Anti-Semitism in the internet environment cannot be underestimated, the analysis of foreign violent anti-Semitic attacks and the profile of their perpetrators confirms that the act of violence is almost always preceded by radicalization and hate speech, revealed on the internet, especially on social networks.

Despite all these findings, the Czech Republic – as in previous years – can still be viewed as a country that is safe for its Jewish community, especially in comparison with other countries in Central and Western Europe.

The Annual Report is published on the Internet address www.fzo.cz.

The Annual Report on manifestations of anti-Semitism in the Czech Republic in 2020 was published with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture in the Czech Republic and the Endowment Fund for Holocaust Victims.

In Prague, June 9, 2021

Annual Report on Manifestations of Antisemitism in the Czech Republic 2020