Antisemitism Report: 'October 7 helped spread a fire already out of control'

From Belgium to the US, Brazil to South Africa, and Italy to Australia, 2023 saw an increase of dozens of percentage points in the number of antisemitic incidents in Western countries in comparison to 2022.

Most countries with large Jewish populations recorded increases in the number of incidents in the first nine months of 2023 before the war started; October 7 helped spread a fire that was already out of control, according to a just-released 146-page report on antisemitism prepared jointly by scholars and experts at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Anti-Defamation League (ADL) researchers.

The Annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report, published by TAU and ADL, revealed that in 2023, there was a rise of dozens of percentage points in the number of antisemitic occurrences across Western countries, compared to 2022.

A particularly steep increase was recorded following the October 7 Hamas terrorist massacre in the South. Importantly, however, the first nine months of 2023, the ones before the war started, also witnessed a relative increase in the number of incidents in most countries with large Jewish minority populations, including the US, UK, France, Australia, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico.

"October 7 helped spread a fire that was already out of control," the report stated.

According to it, in New York alone - the city with the largest Jewish population in the world - the New York Police Department (NYPD) recorded 325 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023, compared to 261 it recorded in 2022.Protesters participate in a demonstration against antisemitism in Parliament Square in London, Britain, March 26, 2018 (credit: HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS)

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recorded 165 in comparison to 86, and the Chicago Police Department (CPD) - 50 in comparison to 39. The ADL recorded 7,523 incidents in 2023 compared to 3,697 in 2022 (and according to a broader definition applied, it recorded 8,873); the number of assaults increased from 111 in 2022 to 161 in 2023, and the number of reported acts of vandalism rose from 1,288 to 2,106.

Other countries also saw dramatic increases in the number of antisemitic attacks, according to data collected by the report from governmental agencies, law enforcement authorities, Jewish organizations, the media, and fieldwork.

Antisemitism incidents across the world

In France, the number of incidents increased from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023 (and the number of physical assaults expanded from 43 to 85); in the UK, from 1,662 to 4,103 (and physical assaults from 136 to 266); in Argentina, from 427 to 598; in Germany, from 2,639 to 3,614; in Brazil, from 432 to 1,774; in South Africa, from 68 to 207; in Mexico, from 21 to 78; in the Netherlands, from 69 to 154; in Italy, from 241 to 454; and in Austria, from 719 to 1,147.

Australia in particular recorded 622 antisemitic incidents in October and November 2023, in comparison to 79 during the same period in 2022.

While the dramatic increases in comparison to 2022 largely followed October 7, the report emphasized that most countries with large Jewish minorities also saw relative increases in the first nine months of 2023, before the Gaza war started.

For example, in the United States, ADL data (based on a narrower definition for antisemitic incidents) points to an increase from 1,000 incidents in October-December 2022 to 3,976 in the same period in 2023, but also to an increase from 2,697 incidents between January-September 2022 to 3,547 in the same period in 2023 (NYPD registered a decrease in that period, while LAPD, an increase).

In France, the number of incidents during January-September 2023 increased to 434 from 329 during the same period in 2022; in Britain - from 1,270 to 1,404. In Australia, 371 incidents were recorded between January and September 2023, compared to 363 in the same period in 2022.

On the other hand, Germany and Austria, where national programs for fighting antisemitism are applied, saw decreases.

Prof. Uriya Shavit, head of the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute said that "the year is not 1938, not even 1933. Yet, if current trends continue, the curtain will descend on the ability to lead Jewish lives in the West; to wear a Star of David, attend synagogues and community centers, send kids to Jewish schools, frequent a Jewish club on campus, or speak Hebrew."

Shavit added: "With bomb threats against synagogues becoming a daily occurrence, Jewish existence in the West is forced to fortify itself, and the more it does so, the more the sense of security and normalcy is undermined.

"What the fight against antisemitism needs now is efforts focused on the hubs of poison, and the presentation of measurable and attainable goals. Foremost, the reality in which big companies make big money by spreading big hate has to end."Shavit continued: "The reality is that Israel as a state is limited in what it can do for Jewish communities. But even the little that can be done is not done."Israel does not have a meaningful strategic plan for combating antisemitism that is based on the needs of Jewish communities. The main contributions of the government are pompous statements and sporadic initiatives. Responsibility for combating antisemitism should be delegated to the Foreign Ministry, whose officials are professionals who know the Jewish communities firsthand," he explained.Moreover, "the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry is redundant. A small example of just how much so - a few months ago, we noted in another report that the link provided on its website in English for reporting antisemitic incidents leads to an empty page. This made headlines in the media. And what happened?Nothing. No one bothered to fix it. It still leads to an empty page. There are no limits to the negligence and lack of professionalism."According to Shavit, "One of the biggest challenges of our time is how to mobilize support for the fight against antisemitism without making it the definer of Jewish identity."

Comments by ADL CEO

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, the CEO and national director of the ADL, commented that "the aftermath of Hamas's horrific attack on Israel on October 7 was followed by a tsunami of hate against Jewish communities worldwide.

"Unprecedented levels of antisemitism have surged globally on the streets of London, New York, Paris, Santiago, Johannesburg, and beyond. This year's report is incredibly alarming, with documented, unprecedented levels of antisemitism, including in the US, where 2023 saw the highest number of antisemitic incidents ever recorded by the ADL" there, he stressed.

Greenblatt added that "we are proud to partner with Tel Aviv University on this important annual report, which will be used to inform governments and civil society and help push back against antisemitic trends."

In a special essay for the report, he declared that "antisemitism isn't just an abstract issue. It is a real-life threat to Jewish life in America and Jews around the world, and our history teaches us that we do not have the luxury to be indifferent when moments like these occur. That means we need to be clear-eyed about the threats we face and have the determination to confront them."

IRWIN COTLER, the international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, offered in the report a historical and political analysis of the development of present-day antisemitism and a detailed, 11-point plan for attempting to combat the phenomenon worldwide.

He warned that "the explosion of antisemitism is a threat not only to Jews but is toxic to our democracies. [It is] an assault on our common humanity and a standing threat to human security - in a word, the bloodied canary in the mineshaft of global evil.

"Jews alone cannot combat it, let alone defeat it. What is required is a constituency of conscience - a whole of government, [a] whole of society commitment and action to fight this oldest and most lethal of hatreds," Cotler determined.

The report included in-depth essays on different countries as well as a study on the profiles of the spreaders of antisemitic content on X. The essays examined, among other issues, the proliferation of antisemitic discourses in the Arab world, Turkey, and Iran following October 7 and traced their roots.They also argued that "any future diplomatic negotiations must prioritize the uprooting of antisemitism from Arab societies."Significantly, the report noted that hate speech was articulated long before Israel launched its campaign in Gaza, including in leading university campuses, and thus urged against seeing the recent wave of antisemitism as a mere emotional response to the war."Some antisemitic attackers emphasize their problem is with Israel, not with Jews, and then attack Jews and Jewish institutions," it pointed out.

Antisemitism from both sides of the political aisle

Dr. Carl Yonker, a senior researcher and project manager at TAU's Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry who wrote a study for the report on antisemitism in the US said, "Contrary to the conventional wisdom, post-October 7 incidents were also led from the far-right in America.

"Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and others glorified Hamas, using the war to spread antisemitic propaganda along with conspiracy theories, according to which, the crisis will advance the replacement of a white majority in the West by migrants from the Middle East.

"The fringes in the US are encroaching on the political center from both right and left, making combating antisemitism much trickier," Yonker outlined.

Fighting antisemitism is failing

THE IMPOSSIBILITY of reliably tracking antisemitic incidents in Russia at present was discussed in the report as well.

An extensive essay examined the antisemitic rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of his regime. "At the beginning of 2023, the chief rabbi of Moscow in exile, Pinchas Goldschmidt, warned that Jews should leave Russia before they are scapegoated. Sadly, 2023 did not disprove the words of this wise and courageous religious leader."

Given that the nine months leading to October 2023, most countries with significant Jewish populations saw a rise in the number of antisemitic incidents, including the US, France, the UK, Australia, Italy, Brazil, and Mexico, this indicates that antisemitism was already rampant before the war, "despite the significant efforts invested in recent years by governments on educational and legal initiatives aimed at reversing the trend," the report highlighted.

 "Two years ago, this report stated that the fight against antisemitism was failing. The data from 2023 shows that bad has come to worse. It is time for soul searching. More slogans and more speeches will certainly not do the job. It is equally naïve to think that more budgets will solve everything.

"There is a need for careful, independent, and transparent studies of the methods applied so far to inform... which are effective and which are not [?], which need to be expanded, and which should be neglected[?]. The obvious must be mentioned: As in the case of any social evil, the test for programs applied against antisemitism is whether they lead to a decline in the phenomenon.

"The distress and danger Jews currently experience should not be overstated," the report continued.

The authors also wrote that "there is no good racism and bad racism... racism that can be ignored and racism that cannot. Racism directed against groups considered socially strong is as destructive as any other form of racism. No society can be truly free and peaceful if its Jews are subjected to intimidation and harassment based on their ethnicity and beliefs."

An important lesson to draw from the Gaza war is that peace in the Middle East will not be achieved unless antisemitism is firmly uprooted in Arab societies, they continued.

"Demanding actions to that effect should become fundamental in all future diplomatic processes. Social media is a primary tool in the present-day proliferation of antisemitism. It allows extremist evil-wishers to spread falsehoods, defamations, and conspiracy theories without being held accountable.

"No significant improvement in the fight against antisemitism will be accomplished unless those who provide platforms for hate speech will be made to apply responsible editorial discretion, including such that hinders the abuse of social media by global agents of chaos," the report suggested.

What constitutes antisemitism?

CRITICIZING ISRAEL, including in harsh terms, is not antisemitism. Seeking its elimination as the national home for the Jewish people, including through the false argument that it is an unlawful colonial enterprise, is antisemitic, the report accentuated.Finally, "the historical facts are that the Land of Israel is the ancestral homeland of the Jews, where they maintained a continued presence, and where, with the rise of Zionism, they purchased the lands on which they settled and were given the right to a state by an overwhelming majority of the UN's General Assembly."Those who believe that all the above does not make Israel in its recognized borders a legitimate state should realize that unless they come up with a good explanation why their historical-moral criteria apply to Israel only, they will not avoid the label they try to disavow," it determined.TAU's contribution to writing the report was by the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry with the support of the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice with the support of Richard and Elaine Dubrovsky and Sara Vered.

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