Global Surge in Antisemitic Acts is Highlighted at Many Yom HaShoah Commemorations, Says Watchdog Group

By: Fern Sidman

As Israel and Jews around the world commemorated Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — with solemn ceremonies, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) warned that the very hatred that fueled the Nazi genocide of six million Jews is not a relic of the past, but a rising global menace.

According to a new report released this week by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC), antisemitic incidents surged worldwide in the days surrounding the commemoration, a deeply troubling juxtaposition that highlights the persistent danger facing Jewish communities around the globe.

In Sweden, the chilling specter of Nazi symbolism returned on April 20th — Adolf Hitler’s birthday — as three massive banners emblazoned with swastikas were draped over a highway just outside Stockholm, in what Swedish officials described as an act of neo-Nazi provocation. CAM noted that this date has historically attracted far-right extremists emboldened to demonstrate their antisemitic ideology.

Meanwhile, in New York City, two men were arrested after targeting visibly Jewish pedestrians in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, using a gel gun to simulate a shooting attack. While no physical injuries were reported, the psychological impact on the local Hasidic community was profound, underscoring the dangerous normalization of intimidation tactics.

In Ukraine, the central city of Kryvyi Rih saw an attacker throw a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue, a stark reminder that even amid wartime conflict, antisemitic targeting persists. In Kathmandu, Nepal, a Norwegian national broke into and vandalized a Chabad House, further confirming CAM’s observation that Jewish institutions, no matter how remote, remain vulnerable.

Perhaps the most disturbing U.S.-based development this week occurred at Yale University, where Jewish students reported being harassed and blocked from campus areas by demonstrators in a newly established anti-Israel encampment. CAM emphasized that these types of protest encampments have increasingly blurred the line between anti-Zionist rhetoric and outright antisemitic aggression.

“This week, as Jewish students attempted to attend an event featuring a speaker from the Israeli Knesset, they were instead met with intimidation on their own campus,” CAM stated in its report.

The most lethal act of violence came at Florida State University, where a student with documented neo-Nazi sympathies and antisemitic imagery on his social media and gaming profiles carried out a mass shooting, killing two and injuring six others. CAM urged authorities to investigate potential ideological motives, warning that the convergence of online radicalization and real-world violence represents one of the most urgent antisemitic threats of our time.

Even cultural events were not immune. At the Coachella Music Festival in California, the Irish hip hop group Kneecap projected obscene anti-Israel slogans above the stage during their performance. CAM categorized this act as not merely political expression but as part of a growing trend of antisemitic imagery and slogans infiltrating entertainment spaces, often under the guise of activism.

According to CAM’s ARC weekly tracking, physical threats, violence, and vandalism constituted 25.2% of all documented antisemitic incidents globally this week, marking a sharp increase from 17.6% the previous week and 14.1% the week before that. These numbers highlight an alarming trajectory, especially around high-profile dates of Jewish remembrance or Israeli national importance.

“The irony is devastating,” said a CAM spokesperson. “As the Jewish world reflects on the darkest chapter of its history, a new wave of hatred erupts in real-time. We are witnessing the continuity of a threat we hoped had been consigned to history.”

The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement reiterated its call for governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to take urgent and concrete measures to counter the rising tide of antisemitism.

Universities must develop robust policies to differentiate between political expression and targeted harassment.

Law enforcement should treat antisemitic violence and vandalism as priority hate crimes, with enhanced penalties for ideological motivation.

Online platforms must be held accountable for hosting and amplifying extremist content that inspires real-world violence.

Moreover, CAM emphasized that education remains the most powerful weapon against hate, calling for increased investment in Holocaust education, interfaith dialogue, and community resilience programs.

As the world remembers the victims of the Holocaust, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement’s findings serve as a sobering reminder: the fight against antisemitism is not merely about preserving memory — it is about ensuring that history does not repeat itself.

“We cannot allow the echo of Nazi hate to grow louder in our own time,” CAM concluded. “Yom HaShoah is not just a day of remembrance — it is a call to vigilance. And that call must be answered with action.”

For ongoing updates, analysis, and the complete ARC report, visit www.combatantisemitism.org.