Eurotopics.net

As the situation escalates in the Middle East conflict, anti-Israeli demonstrations and anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in Germany. Israeli flags were burned at demonstrations in several cities on the weekend, and synagogues have been pelted with stones recent days. Commentators discuss the fact that many of the violent protests can be traced back to young men of Arab or Turkish origin.

It took several months for the vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 to get going in Europe due to vaccine shortages. But now a new problem is emerging: certain sections of the population are proving hard to reach or uninterested in the jab. Commentators look at the reasons.

With a large demonstration on 15 May 2011 and a protest camp on Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square in the weeks that followed, the 15-M movement was born in Spain ten years ago. Using grassroots democracy and plenty of creativity, the "outraged" (indignados) fought for social justice and against austerity measures, corruption and democratic deficits.

Despite still relatively high infection rates (the 7-day incidence rate on 14 May was 156), the strict lockdown in Greece has for the most part been lifted after around six months. The country also officially reopened its doors to tourists on Saturday. Greek media take stock of the general mood in the country.

April 22 is Earth Day. This year, several of the world's political heavyweights are making ambitious announcements. The EU wants to cut CO2 emissions by 55 percent instead of 40 percent compared to 1990 by 2030, and US President Joe Biden is hosting a climate summit with 40 heads of state and government to follow up on global emissions targets. In the view of Europe's press, however, far more must be done.