The Anti-Defamation League warned that “the future of Jewish life in the West” is threatened, and, as he specified, the strong increase in anti-Semitism is correlated with the beginning of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, last October.
The annual report of the ADL, the main Jewish rights group founded by the B’nai B’rith organization in the United States, notes that anti-Semitic incidents had increased before the war broke out in October, but that The conflict had fueled “a fire that was already out of control.”
Written jointly with Tel Aviv University, the document states that Anti-Semitic incidents in 2023 were well above 2022 figures in most countries with large Jewish communities, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Brazil and Mexico.
“The aftermath of Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel on October 7 was followed by a tsunami of hate against Jewish communities around the world“said Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the ADL.
“This year’s report is incredibly alarming, with unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism documented, including in the United States, where 2023 saw the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents ever recorded by the ADL,” he added.
The publication of the report coincides with the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. Likewise, it occurs in the midst of a massive wave of pro-Palestinian protests and pro-Israel counter-demonstrations on university campuses in the United States, with hundreds of arrests.
This also sparked debates about anti-Semitism, while anger among many over the huge number of civilian deaths caused by Israel’s offensive in Gaza, triggering complaints that the protests and criticism are sometimes hateful rhetoric against Jews.
