A new report tracking acts of hatred against Jews around the world in 2023 shows a parity across the extremes of the political spectrum.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) presents its research based on monitoring 3,046 antisemitic incidents in 2023. The group found that 1,019 (33.5%) came from the far-left and 1,021 (33.5%) from the far-right. The remaining acts came from Islamist (571, 18.7%) or unknown ideologies (435, 14.3%).
This equality between far left and far right differs markedly from CAM’s 2022 and 2021 research.
In 2022, the group recorded 1,015 far-right incidents vs. 260 far-left incidents—a ratio of nearly 4:1. In 2021, the numbers shifted to 935 far-right incidents vs. 419 far-left incidents—a 2:1 ratio.
CAM’s research shows that the ratios were closest in the years when Israel fought Hamas—2021 and 2023. The group’s chief of staff Arthur Maserjian told JNS that “During the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas [“Operation Guardian of the Walls”], we also monitored a severe spike in incidents from the far-left and Islamist sources, overtaking far-right incidents.”
Regarding what last year’s numbers may have looked like had Oct. 7 not triggered greater far-left antisemitism, he said, “Had the trends from January to September 2023 held, CAM still monitored a slight uptick in antisemitism incidents year over year” and named an approximate 4% increase.
Maserjian said that “far-left incidents have become increasingly violent and threatening in nature in the post-Oct. 7 reality, whereas a larger share of prior manifestations involve hate speech. This paradigm shift represents a convergence of traditional far-right violent antisemitism and antisemitism emanating from the far left.
“With antisemitic incidents on the rise worldwide, the report underscores the importance of addressing antisemitism across the ideological spectrum with equal measure,” Maserjian told JNS.