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Jews, Israelis Face Death Threats, Business Bans Amid Rising Antisemitism Across Europe
The children’s bookstore in Sant Cugat, Spain, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti and slogans, prompting outrage from the local Jewish community. Photo: Screenshot
Jews and Israelis across Europe continue to face a troubling surge in antisemitic abuse and discrimination — including death threats, exclusion from businesses, and harassment — amid an increasingly hostile climate that has only intensified in recent weeks.
In Germany, a well-known pizzeria has prohibited Israelis from entering and receiving service at the restaurant, marking one of the latest antisemitic incidents targeting the country’s Jewish community during the war in Gaza.
Pizza Zulu, located in Bavaria in southeastern Germany, posted a sign outside its shop stating that Israelis will no longer be admitted, while insisting the decision was neither political nor racist.
“We love all human beings regardless of where they come from. We believe children should not be harmed regardless of the circumstances. We are an international group, and we belong to civil society, and therefore we will not keep silent like the rest of the world,” the sign posted on the restaurant’s facade read.
“We decided to protest, and our protest is neither political nor racist. We will no longer accept Israelis in the place. We will welcome them back when they decide to open their eyes, ears, and hearts,” it continued.
Following sharp criticism and outrage from the local Jewish community, the sign was reportedly removed hours later, but it remains unclear whether local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident or if the restaurant is now welcoming Israelis back into the establishment.
Meanwhile, the Bavarian antisemitism commissioner, Ludwig Spaenle, reported that in a separate incident in Bavaria, a music shop demanded that an Israeli customer read a statement opposing the war in Gaza before being allowed to rent equipment.
These latest antisemitic incidents come amid a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes and anti-Israel sentiment across Europe and around the world since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, leaving Jewish communities increasingly alarmed over targeted attacks in a growingly hostile climate.
In Spain, a group of Jewish students received anonymous letters containing Nazi imagery, anti-Israel slogans, and a message reading: “Jewish rats. Palestine will win!”
After students in Madrid came forward expressing fear for their safety, local authorities opened an investigation into the incident.
Community leaders denounced the incident, saying that such messages reflect a troubling mix of deep-rooted antisemitism and modern-day anti-Israel hostility.
“This is not criticism of Israel or the conflict. This is naked, old-fashioned bigotry, designed to terrorize an entire community,” Madrid’s Chief Rabbi Moisés Bendahan said in a statement.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) also condemned the incident, urging authorities to pursue prompt, visible prosecutions to prevent further hate crimes.
“This is a chilling warning to all Western democracies that antisemitism remains a potent threat to safety, order, and communal belonging,” the FCJE wrote in a post on X.
The World Jewish Congress also denounced the incident, calling on Spanish authorities to strengthen protections for Jewish communities and reaffirm Madrid’s commitment to religious freedom and minority rights.
“We stand with Spanish Jews in demanding a clear public condemnation of all forms of antisemitism, no matter the guise,” the statement read.
In Switzerland, a kosher hotel in Davos recently received a letter containing antisemitic insults, Holocaust references, Nazi imagery, and explicit death threats warning, “we will come and kill you all.”
Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident after receiving the letter.
The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) strongly condemned the incident, stressing its seriousness and noting that such threats were once rare in Switzerland.
“A death threat is not a verbal slur. It has a completely different nature and, above all, a completely different effect on the people concerned,” Jonathan Kreutner, SIG’s secretary-general, said in a statement.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.