A new report by the Anti-Defamation League delves into the rise of left-wing antisemitism in four Western European nations, finding that “its penetration into the political mainstream is cause for concern and has in some cases alienated Jews and other supporters of Israel.” The challenges facing European Jewish communities, the report suggests, “can be a bellwether for what is to come for the U.S. Jewish community.”

The ADL partnered with four European organizations — the U.K.’s Community Security Trust, French magazine K., The Jews, Europe, the 21st Century, German NGO Amadeu Antonio Foundation and Spain’s ACOM — to look at how left-wing antisemitism manifests in each country.

In the U.K., CST found “strong crossover between the pro-Palestine movement, the far left of the Labour Party and other left-wing groups including some Trades Unions.” CST noted that “antisemitic discourse” on social media was found at “every level” of the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, but added that “the situation at the time of writing” — with the party under the leadership of Keir Starmer — “is somewhat different to that which existed” under Corbyn.

In France, K. suggested that members of the country’s Jewish community face “a rapidly growing left-wing antisemitism that includes both anti-Zionism and traditional antisemitism.” K. wrote that left-wing activists in France follow a recognizable pattern: “to engage in antisemitic rhetoric, to deny that antisemitism exists on the left, to excuse the antisemitism of those assumed to be political allies, and then to claim that they are the real champions in the fight against antisemitism.”

Amadeu Antonio writes that in Germany, “Israel-centred antisemitism is a major contributor to the normalisation of antisemitism,” and warns that discourse around antisemitism is “having an impact on politics, art and culture, the politics of remembrance, subcultures and the political left.” Amadeu Antonio added that despite government efforts to push back against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, the movement is growing “not least in leftist, anti-racist and post-colonial circles,” which has begun to cause “debates and alliances to be hijacked by anti-Israel activists.”

But in Spain, some members of the government “openly defend the dissolution of the State of Israel and who are close to its most vicious enemies,” ACOM writes. The organization notes a shift away from right-wing antisemitism that has taken place over six decades, by which “anti-Israel antisemitism of the political left accounts for the overwhelming share of antisemitism, while the Spanish right is almost entirely pro-Israel and guards against antisemitism.” ACOM bluntly adds, “The BDS movement and the extreme left are the same thing in Spain.”

The case studies, the ADL suggests, “demonstrate that the prevalence of antisemitism within elements of the political left in Western Europe is shaped by post-WWII political trajectory, by individual political leaders, and by left-wing non- governmental groups.” Above all, the report “highlight[s] the need for the American Jewish community and supporters of Israel more broadly to pay close attention to the trends happening in elements of the political left in Europe and to remain alert to the potential for them to spread around the world.” Read the full report here.