The Jewish community of Vienna documented a record 965 anti-Semitic incidents in Austria in 2021, according to a new report.
The statistic represents the highest number of incidents since the local community began compiling such data 20 years ago. It also represents an increase of 65 percent from 2020, when 585 acts of anti-Semitism were recorded to the Reporting Office for Antisemitism of the Jewish Community of Vienna.
Roughly 60% of attacks reported last year were categorized as “abusive behavior,” which included in-person and online remarks, the report said. Nearly 30% of the incidents involved mass mailings and writings that featured anti-Semitic messages, while 10% involved damage and desecration.
There were also 22 threats recorded and 12 instances of assaults or attempted assaults.
The report also noted that 28% of the recorded incidents involved anti-Semitism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People supporting right-wing, far-right and neo-Nazi movements were responsible for 461 (48%) of all incidents, while 15% were committed by left-wing supporters and 11% by Muslims. The rest were unattributable to a specific grouping.
