First, the conclusion: While we always have to watch out for it, anti-Semitism is no longer a major threat in the United States. In fact, non-Jews willingly marry us, there are two U.S. Supreme Court Justices who openly identify with their Jewish roots and Sen. Joe Lieberman (modern Orthodox) failed as a 2004 presidential candidate because he was, frankly, a really lousy candidate – not because he was Jewish. And on a much lighter note, a woman named Madonna has done more to popularize Jewish mysticism than 10 generations of scholars.

In Europe, however, a different picture emerges and American Jews better get used to being alarmed about coming to the aid of European co-religionists. In fact, a recent poll by Germany’s University of Bielefeld showed that 42 percent of Europeans agreed that “Jews exploit the past to extort money.”

The facts: In 2008, according to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic episodes in this country dropped for the fourth consecutive year. Yet, a study released this week by the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism showed such incidents “increased dramatically around the world, particularly in Western Europe” this past year. The operation is coordinated by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs.

Sadly, more events were recorded during the first three months of 2009 – which covered the conclusion of the 2008-2009 Israeli-Hamas War – than in the entire previous year. In France alone, there were 631 anti-Semitic incidents last year compared to 474 in all of 2008. Great Britain was a close second with 600 incidents, up from 541. Of even greater concern is the violent nature of some events, which resulted in eight murders.

What it means: This highly disturbing information is further proof that those who claim to be “not anti-Jewish, but anti-Israel” can and do encourage a culture of hatred that can lead to tragic results. While one is entitled to oppose the government of Israel’s policies, far too often that spills over into flagrant hatred of all Jews and particularly the Jewish state.

Clearly, Europe is more dangerous for Jews today than just one year ago. That’s not to declare that the community must begin fleeing – although aliyah from France in particular has risen dramatically in recent years. It does mean that more attention and resources must be put into combating European anti-Semitism. While significant efforts have been undertaken in recent years, they clearly fall short. This issue should be placed in the context of intolerance in general and not be solely about Jews. In doing so, the entire continent must confront how xenophobia is gaining ground on its blood-soaked lands.