Reports from throughout the globe seem to point to a significant increase in anti-semitic attacks against Jews in response to the fighting in Gaza.  In France, a car strapped with a gasoline bomb rammed a synagogue in Toulouse. While in the outskirts of Paris, a young girl was beaten by a group of teenagers reportedly shouting, "You'll pay for what the Israelis are doing in Gaza."  It is important to note that Mohammed Moussaoui, a French Muslim community leader, condemned the synagogue attack as being inexcusable.

Belgian Jews have also been targeted, including a Molotov cocktail attack on a synagogue, and the stoning of a Jewish day school. Remarkably, as reported by the Copenhagen Post, the headmaster of a school in southern Denmark "publicly admitted he would refuse Jewish parents' wish to place their child at his school" citing tensions and security concerns for Jewish students.

Meanwhile, in the UK, three youths attempted to light a synagogue on fire in northwest London, while in Sweden a synagogue was also the victim of an arson attack.  Even in Australia (has anyone ever met a hateful Aussie outside of the Gibson family?), a Sydney Jewish resident was attacked, while a Melbourne synagogue was the target of anti-Israeli defacement.

In light of the warnings of Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar that Jews "have legitimized the murder of their own children," Jewish organizations are mobilizing in order to re-visit security precautions. All precautions are wise and necessary, of course. In drawing attention to these attacks, organizations face an intriguing balancing act. While these attacks deserve attention, particularly given the violent rhetoric utilized at anti-Israeli rallies, it is also important for those concerned with the spike in anti-semitic violence to avoid polemical comparisons, parallels that Jewish organizations correctly protest on a regular basis.

Around the world, angry responses to Israel's Operation Cast Lead have, predictably enough, flooded the streets. In Jakarta, protesters carried  mock missiles with the quaint message of "Target: Tel Aviv, Israel," while in the UK Annie Lennox for some reason has contributed her two cents.  It seems that protest has even spread to the universe of awkward tech geeks looking to escape reality (it is good to see that flags burn just as quickly in cyberspace). But what about in the United States? Where can we go for some good, old fashioned Hamas-style shouting and extremism? Turns out that Jewish snowbirds in Florida don't have to travel to the Holy Land this winter in order to be approached by Hamas supporters.

The account reported in the Sun Sentinel seems to have missed or ignored the content spewed by the ANSWER-led rally. Note the particularly foul claims of the young woman at the 3:25 mark, calling for "a bigger oven" and that Jews "need to go back to the ovens." 

Given the overly facile narrative being connected to the events in Gaza, is such blind hatred really surprising? In a war in which Hamas forces have been described as "unarmed police officers, public servants" whose terror tactics have flippantly been called "homemade rockets that fell harmlessly on nearby Israeli territory, and undoubtedly caused anxiety," an oversimplified narrative of aggressor and oppressed continues to be wrapped around the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The Associated Press utilizes terms such as "assault" to describe Israeli actions, while describing Hamas as "resilient."  Does anyone really benefit from an over-simplified narrative? Does it improve the lives of Palestinians living under Hamas-style Sharia?