Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria’s civil war have settled in Germany, a country that prides itself on its success in overcoming its historic legacy of anti-Semitism. But they have brought with them an anti-Semitism of their own, the product of many decades of government indoctrination. Rawan Osman, himself a Damascus native who now resides in Strasbourg, writes:

The influence of anti-Semitism is perhaps most overtly visible in Syria’s foreign policy; the Baathist regime has unapologetically supported terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Hizballah, that target Israeli civilians. The regime’s backing of these organizations should not be miscategorized as support for the Palestinian cause—the horrific state of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in the southern outskirts of Damascus shows the Syrian regime’s blatant disregard for Palestinian lives. Rather, support for these terrorist organizations should be seen as some combination of political expediency and real hatred of Jews.

[A]nti-Semitism is also endemic inside of Syria, and has taken root at every level of society. Religious leaders quote—out of historical and religious context—Quranic [passages] to drive this ideology of hate, while many Syrian intellectuals and artists adopt the dictatorship’s hateful rhetoric without question.

Syrian popular literature is one area that demonstrates the deep relationship between the Syrian state . . . and anti-Semitism. . . . But perhaps the best and most influential example of anti-Semitism in Syria since the start of Bashar al-Assad’s rule is the 29-part Syrian television series ash-Shatat—“The Diaspora.” The writers, along with some of the Syria’s most prominent actors, delivered an appalling compilation of anti-Semitic canards and libels, presenting Jews as the most wicked and immoral people on earth.

Yet while the German government has vowed to combat anti-Semitism, its threats so far have mainly consisted of unspecified consequences for individuals who attack German Jews. As a Syrian, I know that warnings alone are not enough to counter decades of anti-Semitic messaging. In the febrile minds of extreme anti-Semites, attacking Jews can be seen as an honorable and courageous act. In many cases, these individuals have been conditioned since birth to perceive the Jewish people as their enemy.

Established in 2012 and maintaining branches in Europe, North America, and Iran, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network claims its goal is merely to show “solidarity” for imprisoned Palestinians. The organization’s leader, however, has admitted to being a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a notorious terrorist group whose most recent accomplishments include murdering a seventeen-year-old girl. As Arsen Ostrovsky and Patricia Teitelbaum point out, Samidoun is just one example of how the European Union allows Iran-backed terrorists to operate in its midst:

The PFLP is a proxy of the Iranian regime, which provides the terror group with money, training, and weapons. Samidoun . . . has a branch in Tehran. It has even held events there, under the pretext of “cultural activity,” to elicit support for operations in Europe. Its leader, Khaled Barakat, is a regular on Iran’s state [channel] PressTV, calling for violence and lauding Iran’s involvement in the region. It is utterly incomprehensible, therefore, that the EU has not yet designated Samidoun a terror group.

According to the Council of the European Union, groups and/or individuals can be added to the EU terror list on the basis of “proposals submitted by member states based on a decision by a competent authority of a member state or a third country.” In this regard, there is already a standing designation by Israel of Samidoun as a terror group and a decision of a German court finding Barakat to be a senior PFLP operative.

Given the irrefutable axis-of-terror between Samidoun, PFLP, and the Iranian regime, the EU has a duty to put Samidoun and senior Samidoun leaders on the EU terror list. It should do this not as some favor to Israel, but because otherwise it continues to turn a blind eye to a group that presents a clear and present security threat to the European Union and EU citizens.