We don't have any idea whether soccer star Nicolas Anelka is a racist or an anti-Semite. Until yesterday he had no record of being either. One thing is certain: He is no fool. In the wake of his celebration of the first of two goals he scored for West Bromwich Albion against West Ham United on Saturday, using the "quenelle" - a wink-wink disguised version of the Nazi salute - he didn't issue any apologies or denials.

One morning in June, the owners of the African restaurant La Mamma in Warsaw found ugly and offensive graffiti near its entrance. Someone in the Muranow neighborhood, the site of the former Jewish ghetto, apparently did not like the restaurant, which is a meeting place for Nigerian immigrants. To make sure the eatery’s owner got the message, the offender painted a black man hanging from a rope and added the words, “chocolate daddy.”

The United States on Monday denounced what it called a spike in anti-Islamic sentiment in Europe and Asia, pointing to restrictions and violence against Muslims including the faith’s minority sects...Secretary of State John Kerry also voiced alarm at what he called rising anti-Jewish sentiment, and filled a position of special envoy to combat anti-Semitism.

"Governments must do everything they can to fully protect Jewish citizens from the oldest and most persistent form of prejudice"...Reporting on and combating anti-Semitism should be part of a full array of human rights and democracy programming, funding and public diplomacy efforts.

Despite leveling criticism at Israel for “excessive force,” the report could and should have been a major prize for Israel’s public diplomacy. How often, and particularly at a time of precious few PR gifts, does a UN-sponsored investigation uphold the legitimacy of Israel’s naval blockade and highlight the danger of Hamas from Gaza?

France’s ambassador to Israel presented data yesterday showing a 45 percent drop in anti-Semitic incidents in his country during 2010. Cristophe Bigot attributed the year-over-year drop to a sharp rise in 2009 in the wake of Operation Cast Lead.