Comparing Anti-Semitism and anti-Romani Racism on Human Rights Day

December 10th is designated as International Human Rights Day. For the past two years or so, thinking people across the world have felt a growing urgency (and perhaps even a desperation) to address the renewed waves of anti-Semitic acts that have plagued several different regions. Following the horrific attacks on synagogues in the United States, Jewish individuals – including some members of FORSHV – have been forced to reconsider what anti-Semitism may mean to them personally, especially in light of new security measures at their religious and community gatherings.

What does all of this have to do with anti-Roma racism?

The estimated number of Rom(a), Sinti, Gitanos, and other groups of South Asian origin known as Gypsies is similar to the world’s Jewish population. Both ethnicities have been subject to violence, hateful vandalism, as well as inflammatory rhetoric on the part of politicians. In Europe, Roma have been sounding the alarm on the resurgence of (neo-)fascist activities since the early 1990s, when Romani individuals began to be attacked on a regular basis, just for the color of their skin or other identifying markers. “Gypsies to the gas” and similar graffiti is so common in Eastern Europe that it would not occur to anyone to call the police – and in any case, police-led violence against Roma is hardly uncommon.

Why have international media said so little about this state of affairs, including the horrific ethnic cleansing that drove out the majority of Kosovar Roma at the turn of the century? FORSHV believes that inadequate Holocaust education is a large part of the answer, and that better teaching of cause and effect may have resulted in at least partial inoculation against right-wing extremism of all sorts.

One thing is for certain: ever since the pogroms and the legal “Gypsy hunts” of the 18th and 19th centuries, through the official Nazi policy to completely eliminate all Jews, Roma and Sinti, and now again since the 1990s, anti-Semitism and anti-Romani racism have been equally problematic forces in Western societies. These two related forms of hate should be given the same level of attention, especially in Europe where Romanies are in constant danger.

And at no point should either of these deadly ideologies eclipse the attention given to Islamophobia, racism against BIPOC, homophobia, transphobia, toxic ableism, and other forms of intolerance. There is no reason why it should ever be a competition.

Image description: Three examples of graffiti with the words "white power," "Romové do plynu [Roma to the gas chamber]," and "Bílá síla [white power in Czech]."