Antisemitic incidents across the globe, including violent ones and online hatred, increased significantly between Oct. 7 and Oct. 25 compared to that span last year, according to a report from the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist Organization.
In the three weeks since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the number of antisemitic events rose 500% compared to the same period in 2022. A third of the new incidents recorded took place in the United States, largely in Jewish centers such as New York, Florida, Chicago and California. Many occurred on college campuses.
There was also elevated antisemitism in Germany (a 240% rise, according to its Federal Association for Antisemitic Research) and the United Kingdom (a 1,357% increase, per London Police).
Violent antisemitic incidents increased 330% compared to last year, with approximate rises of 128% in the desecration of Jewish sites (including cemeteries), 660% in anti-Jewish harassment and 300% in threats.
Research on “a few social networks” showed a 400% increase in antisemitic hatred online from Oct. 7 to 23 compared to the 17 days preceding the war, and a 340% rise from those dates in September, according to the report. It stated that those numbers are “much higher” than they were with prior Israeli military operations.
“The peak of antisemitic discourse was recorded in the first days of the war, and since then the trend has been relatively stable,” the report reads, which noted that online antisemitic hatred has tended to be concentrated in Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Los Angeles, Marseille, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Santiago, Sydney and Washington, D.C.
“Within the overall increase, there has been a 1,180% increase in antisemitic discourse that includes calls for violence against Israel, Zionists and Jews,” per the report. Most of that (71%) took place in Arabic, while 28% was in English.
“The leading cities in terms of the number of users disseminating violent antisemitic content are Cairo, Amman, Chicago, New York, Sydney and Paris,” the report stated.
Most (80.5%) of the online antisemitism comes from Arab and Islamic groups and individuals, while there has also been “an increase in antisemitic discourse originating from extreme right-wing groups and supporters of white supremacy,” the researchers wrote.
There is also “extensive use of Hitler as a hero in the Arab world and expressions of regret that he ‘did not finish the job.’”
