By Alexander Ritzmann
This article is part four of CEP’s series on the violent extreme left in Europe. It focuses on antisemitism and eliminationist anti-Zionism within violence-oriented left-wing milieus. The article provides examples and analysis from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain and asks how antisemitic and anti-Zionist narratives can justify violence, connect extremist actors, or contribute to target selection. It concludes with policy recommendations for EU and national authorities on identifying, assessing, and responding to violence-oriented antisemitic extremism.
Key Findings
The Israel–Palestine conflict has become an additional mobilizing issue within parts of Europe’s existing violence-oriented extreme left. Several actors examined here have incorporated antisemitism and/or eliminationist anti-Zionism into established revolutionary, anti-imperialist, or antifascist agendas. Justifying violence as “resistance” is a recurring pattern. Some actors praise attacks or present militant action as a model for political action. The risk of violence increases when general support for “resistance” develops into endorsement of specific attacks, identification of concrete targets, or encouragement of further
violence. Target expansion is an important escalation indicator. In several cases, hostility moves from Israel and Israeli institutions toward businesses, organizations, and identifiable people described as “Zionists. Public lists, collection of identifying information, and intimidation reduce the distance between ideological hostility and physical targeting. Actors perform different functions: some legitimize violence, connect
groups, identify targets, or organize and conduct attacks. These functions can overlap without common leadership. Available statistics cannot establish the scale of antisemitic violence attributable to left-wing extremist actors across Europe. National systems measure different phenomena, and perpetrators’
affiliations often remain unknown.
