By: Fern Sidman

While global antisemitism surged to alarming levels following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel’s northwestern Negev, the latest research from Tel Aviv University reveals that this dramatic rise has partially subsided — though overall levels remain significantly elevated compared to pre-war norms. The findings, presented in the 2024 edition of the “Annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report,” were released Wednesday ahead of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and highlight the multifaceted nature of the antisemitism crisis unfolding across Western societies.

As detailed by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), the 160-page report — compiled by the university’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry in partnership with the Irwin Cotler Institute — offers a sobering yet nuanced look at the post-October 7 landscape of antisemitism. The report is considered one of the most comprehensive annual reviews of antisemitic incidents globally.

“The sad truth is that antisemitism reared its head at the moment when the Jewish state appeared weaker than ever and under existential threat,” said Professor Uriya Shavit, the report’s editor, as quoted by JNS.

According to JNS, the report reveals staggering regional disparities in antisemitic incident trends. One of the most dramatic increases occurred in Australia, where 1,713 incidents were recorded in 2024 — a sharp jump from 1,200 in 2023 and just 490 in 2022, marking a 250% increase over two years.

Significant rises were also observed in Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and the United States, particularly in cities such as Chicago, Denver, and Austin.

By contrast, France saw an overall decline in total incidents during 2024, though the number of physical assaults rose, according to the JNS report. The United Kingdom reported a drop to 3,528 incidents in 2024 from 4,103 in 2023, though that still represented a stark increase from 1,662 in 2022. October 2023 alone saw 1,389 incidents, while only 310 were recorded in October 2024 — signaling a return to somewhat lower, though still elevated, levels.

In Germany, the report cited 5,177 incidents in 2024, down from 5,671 in 2023, yet almost double the 2,811 incidents reported in 2022. Most tellingly, the country saw 3,163 antisemitic incidents during the final three months of 2023, compared to just 671 during the same period in 2024 — a more than 75% decrease.

Despite the breadth of these figures, the report takes a critical stance on the lack of law enforcement accountability, especially in major Western cities. According to the information provided in the JNS report, fewer than 10% of antisemitic hate crime complaints lead to arrests, shedding light on what senior researcher Carl Yonker described as the “hollow effect” of laws without meaningful enforcement.

“Education and legislation without enforcement are meaningless,” Yonker stated, as quoted by JNS.

The report also includes a deeply personal section titled “It Happened One Day,” which documents firsthand testimonies of victims of antisemitic violence and harassment. These stories cover a range of abuse, including verbal attacks, physical assaults, arson, and synagogue vandalism. As emphasized in the JNS report, the section draws attention to the emotional and psychological toll even seemingly minor antisemitic incidents take on Jewish individuals and communities.

One of the report’s most groundbreaking elements is its first-ever academic analysis of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s prison novel, The Thorn and the Carnation. The study, highlighted in the JNS report, interprets the text as a religiously motivated antisemitic manifesto, shedding light on the ideological underpinnings of the Hamas leader’s worldview.

In addition, separate chapters investigate the spread of antisemitism in Lithuania and Pakistan, the role of left-wing populist movements in Germany, and the mixed results of Holocaust education programs across Western democracies.

Former Canadian Justice Minister and human rights advocate Irwin Cotler, a central figure in the report’s development, issued a stark warning about “an axis of authoritarianism” involving Russia, China, and Iran. According to the report at JNS, Cotler accused these regimes of weaponizing antisemitism as part of larger disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining democratic societies and Western liberal institutions.

He also lamented what he called “the erosion of U.S. leadership” in defending the international liberal order against antisemitic and illiberal forces.

The report concludes with a series of policy proposals aimed at combating the normalization of antisemitism. Among them are establishing clear benchmarks for engaging with political parties that have antisemitic roots or members, enforcing a “two-cycle commitment” to removing offending individuals from public life, and demanding public and unambiguous rejections of hate-based ideologies by institutional leaders.

As the JNS report emphasized, these recommendations are not merely academic, but are presented as urgent blueprints for governments, civil society, and educators to adopt in a world where antisemitism is again becoming disturbingly mainstream.

Although the report documents a reduction in incidents from the peak months following October 7, it makes clear that the baseline level of antisemitism worldwide remains elevated — in some countries, alarmingly so.

The 2024 report from Tel Aviv University offers both a sobering reflection on the past year and a clarion call for action in the months ahead. With geopolitical volatility, extremist ideology, and digital disinformation continuing to fuel Jew-hatred, the authors insist that governments and communities cannot afford complacency.

As Professor Shavit warned, “Antisemitism rises when Jews appear vulnerable. It falls only when the world chooses to make intolerance unacceptable again.”