Report points to worst outbreak of anti-Semitism since World War II: “War in Gaza has further spread fire”

There has been a sharp increase in hatred of Jews worldwide since the outbreak of the war between Israel and the extremist Palestinian organization Hamas. This is “the worst wave of anti-Semitic incidents since the end of World War II,” according to the annual report by Tel Aviv University and the Jewish-American NGO ADL.

The researchers write in the report published on Sunday that anti-Semitism was already increasing before the start of the war, which broke out on October 7. “The war in Gaza has helped spread the fire, which was already out of control, even further,” it said.

For example, a total of 3,500 anti-Semitic incidents were counted in the United States from January to September 2023. In the last three months of the year, almost 4,000 incidents were added.

In Belgium, researchers reported a total of 70 incidents based on the reports on antisemetisme.be. This is a doubling compared to the 34 reports in 2022. Moreover, 62 of the 70 reports in our country took place since October.

If current trends continue, Jews will no longer be able to experience their identity in safety and freedom in the West, the report says. But at the same time the findings are also put into perspective. “The fear and danger that Jews are currently experiencing should not be overestimated,” the authors emphasize. “This isn’t 1939, let alone 1942.”