There was a 340 percent increase in anti-Semitism worldwide in the past year compared to 2022.
By Rachel Avraham
According to the 2024 antisemitism report, presented to President Isaac Herzog by the heads of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel ahead of International Holocaust Memorial Day, there was a 340 percent increase in anti-Semitism worldwide in the past year compared to 2022, Yedioth Achronot reports. This report reaffirms a similar study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, which found nearly half of all adults worldwide hold anti-Semitic beliefs.
The sharp rise “poses a real threat to the foundations of Western democracy, where the new antisemitic discourse erodes the fundamental values of democratic society and creates cracks in the wall of pluralism and tolerance,” Raheli Baratz, head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism at the World Zionist Organization and author of the report, told the Times of Israel.
The United States saw an increase of 288 percent over the totals of 2022, while antisemitic atrocities in Canada rose by 562 percent, Algeimeiner reported. Meanwhile, according to the report, incidents in France surged by over 350 percent, and the United Kingdom experienced a spike of 450 percent, with nearly 2,000 acts of antisemitism in the first half of 2024 alone.
The Times of Israel noted that there was a dramatic increase in anti-Semitism in Asia. In China, social media platforms were flooded with antisemitic content and conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial. In Japan and Taiwan, there were anti-Israel protests and Nazi gestures, something previously not common in the region.
According to Algeimeiner, the report found mixed results in South America, where Chile’s antisemitic incidents increased 325 percent, but Argentina saw a slight decrease. According to the report, anti-Israel statements from Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also provoked tension with the Jewish state and that led to an increase in online antisemitism.
The Times of Israel reported that in former Soviet bloc countries, 2024 was marked by a significant escalation in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric. For example, the terror attack at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, where ISIS massacred 145 people, led to a slew of antisemitic conspiracy theories, particularly on social media. According to the report, a series of violent attacks in Dagestan in June, including the burning of synagogues and churches and the murder of 22 people, was accompanied by a widespread online incitement campaign.
In the Muslim world, the Iranian regime and its proxies Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Shia militias in Iraq remain global leaders in spreading anti-Semitism. However, countries like Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are moving in a more positive direction at the governmental level, although gaps do still exist between these respective governments and the vast majority of their population.
According to the report, Australia experienced a sharp 387% increase in antisemitism, with incidents including synagogue arson, property vandalism, and physical assaults being registered. The Times of Israel reported that South Africa saw a 185% increase in antisemitic incidents, including calls for boycotts of Israel and anti-Israel propaganda. The report noted that the actual number of antisemitic incidents is likely higher than reported.
Worldwide, the report found that 41 percent of anti-Semitic incidents featured inciteful propaganda, 15.5 percent included violence, and approximately 25 percent focused on Israel hatred, in other words, the new anti-Semitism. The research also showed online antisemitism surged, increasing over 300 percent. Analysts found that classical antisemitism made up 38.5 percent of reported content, Holocaust denial accounted for 21.1 percent, and anti-Zionist material comprised 15.4 percent.
