GETTY Soldiers were drafted in to protect Jewish areas of Paris after anti-semitic attacks

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Moscow’s Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, was speaking at a conference called “Securing Jewish Communities across Europe”. He said: “At the back of almost every Jew’s mind is the possibility of what could happen. “Sadly, in Copenhagen, Brussels and in Paris, that has become a reality. “The Jewish community finds itself targeted from a number of directions: from the extreme right, the extreme left and Islamic terrorism.”

GETTY Mourners attend a service after two people were shot dead in an attack in a synagogue in Denmark

At the back of almost every Jew’s mind is the possibility of what could happen Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt

Peter Neumann, director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, described Jewish people as a “priority target.” He said: “They are the first ones to be targeted. “If Jews are being targeted, then all citizens should be worried because there is more to come. “Nobody should be lulled into a false sense of security by a period of calm. “Just because the Jewish community has not been attacked in the last year, it does not mean it is not a target.”

GETTY Floral tributes were left after the Copenhagen synagogue attack

Turning to the rise of extremism in Europe, Dr Neumann said: “At the core of every far-right party, there is bona fide antisemitism.” Deputy CEO for Diplomacy of the World Jewish Congress Maram Stern also voiced his concerns and said while he felt comfortable walking the streets in general, when the synagogue is his destination he begins to feel uneasy. He told delegates: “People are curious who walks in and who walks out, it is like you are in a zoo.”

GETTY Soldiers stand guard outside a Jewish school in the Marais district of Paris