Anti-Semitism on the rise in US and Europe, Franklin Graham warns

"The evil of ISIS really shouldn't shock us" Franklin Graham said. Reuters

Franklin Graham warned that anti-Semitism is once again on the rise, this time in the US as well as in Europe.

Graham, the son of Billy Graham and the current head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), made the comments while endorsing the new film "Return to the Hiding Place" by Peter Spencer, which saw limited release on Friday.

Billy Graham is a popular American preacher affectionately known as "America's pastor," and had produced the original film "The Hiding Place" to which the new film is a sequel.

"It is a great piece, well-produced and powerful," Graham said of the film in an article on the Christian Post.

"This release is very timely and has modern-day application as anti-Semitism is rearing its head again in many parts of Europe and the United States," the BGEA president said.

The Hiding Place was released in 1975, and was a film adaptation of the book by Corrie ten Boom. The book and the film tells the story of ten Boom and her family as they struggled to survive in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II.

The new film will tell the story of untrained teenagers who eventually became soldiers in an underground resistance effort against the rising Nazi empire and their "Death-Skull Storm Troopers." It also tells the story of Hans Poley, a young physics student who refused to join the Nazi party and was forced to hide with Corrie ten Boom where he witnessed the Nazi atrocities against the Jews.

Return to the Hiding Place was screened in last year's Sundance and amassed over 19 festivals awards.

Other groups have also warned against the rising of anti-Semitism.

"Once again young Jewish boys are afraid to wear yarmulkes [skullcaps] on the streets of Paris, Budapest, London and even Berlin," Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress said during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January.

Auschwitz was one of the worst concentration camps in Nazi Germany, with roughly 1.5 million people perishing in the there before its liberation by the Soviet Army in 1945. 

News
Trump forms Religious Liberty Commission to address 'emerging threats' First Amendment rights
Trump forms Religious Liberty Commission to address 'emerging threats' First Amendment rights

In a new executive action, President Donald Trump has established a new Religious Liberty Commission to bolster protections against “emerging threats” to the US’s longstanding tradition of faith-based freedoms. 

Leviticus: the joyful middle book of the Torah
Leviticus: the joyful middle book of the Torah

Hebrew scholar and Jewish academic Irene Lancaster reflects on Leviticus, holiness and loving your neighbour. 

'The Light He Left Behind': Martin Scorsese unveils new documentary featuring final interview with Pope Francis
'The Light He Left Behind': Martin Scorsese unveils new documentary featuring final interview with Pope Francis

Acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese has announced a forthcoming documentary that will showcase the final on-camera interview with the late Pope Francis, capturing the pontiff’s enduring message of compassion, creativity, and cross-cultural dialogue.

5 things to know about Pope Leo XIV
5 things to know about Pope Leo XIV

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Prevost’s ascension to the papacy is his background.