Members of the U.S. congress heard concern Wednesday over an apparent rise in anti-Semitism in Europe and Arab countries that one lawmaker called "unparalleled since the dark ages" of World War II, AFP reports.

"Jewish communities on a global scale are facing verbal harassment, and sometimes violent attacks against synagogues, Jewish cultural sites, cemeteries and individuals," said the congressman, Chris Smith.

"It is an ugly reality that won't go away by ignoring or wishing it away. It must be defeated," added Smith, a Republican from New Jersey who chairs the House of Representative's global human rights sub-committee.