Israel-Hamas War: Whether in the US, China, Russia, or Europe, open hatred of Jews is on the rise worldwide

A guy yelling “kill Jews” tries to break into a family’s house in Los Angeles. Girls at a playground in London are urged to remain off the slide because they are “stinking Jews.” Social media postings comparing Jews to snakes, vampires, or parasites are common in China and get hundreds of “likes.”

These are a few instances of the antisemitic events that have become more widespread worldwide after the October 7 assault on southern Israel by Hamas militants and Israel’s ensuing war on the Islamist organization in the Gaza Strip. “Since the Second World War, this is the most terrifying moment for Jews.” Speaking outside the Golders Green synagogue in London’s Jewish neighborhood, Anthony Adler, 62, said, “We have had problems in the past, but things have never been this bad in my lifetime.”

Due to concerns about student assaults, Adler, who oversees three Jewish schools, temporarily shuttered two of them after October 7 and increased security at all three. “Our community, families, and children are the targets of a random attack, which is our greatest fear,” he said. The trend is evident in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and South Africa, among other countries where police or civil society organizations have released statistics: since October 7, there have been several hundred percent more antisemitic incidents than there were during the same time last year. Since October 7, there has also been an upsurge in cases of Islamophobia in several nations, including the United States and Britain.

The majority of antisemitic occurrences include verbal abuse, threats or insults sent online, graffiti, and vandalism of Jewish-owned buildings, businesses, or religious institutions. Physical attacks account for a significant percentage. One recurring theme is the use of insults and other clichés with deep roots in antisemitism to justify verbal or physical abuse against Jews in general, citing outrage over the hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israel’s assault of Gaza.

Political scientist Nonna Mayer, a member of France’s CNCDH, an independent human rights commission, stated, “Jew is for them equal to Israel, equal to killing Palestinian children, regardless of their opinion on the conflict, even if they are extremely critical of the Israeli government’s policy.” She was giving an account of the thoughts of people who instigated antisemitic actions.

“ALL EXCUSES”

For many Jews, the atmosphere of dread is greater than it was during earlier spikes in antisemitism associated with episodes of violence in the Middle East. This is due in part to the severity of the Gaza battle and in part to the tragedy of October 7. “What transpired on October 7 completely destroys the notion that Israel was the best place to hide,” Mayer added.

The world’s most terrifying antisemitic event occurred on Sunday when a flight from Tel Aviv resulted in a mob of angry people storming an airport in the Russian territory of Dagestan, seeking for Jews to hurt. In response, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, the head of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia, said that open hostility against Russian Jews had turned into anti-Israeli attitude.

The event demonstrated that “antisemites will use any excuse – the current Middle East crisis being just the latest – to terrorize the dwindling numbers of us that still remain” in the Caucasus, according to Shneor Segal, the senior Ashkenazi rabbi of Azerbaijan. And to what place do they believe they are driving these Jews? He addressed Israel, saying, “The very country whose existence is such an abomination to them!” Though they don’t go to such lengths, a number of global events demonstrate the anxieties and tensions that afflict Jewish communities.

Parents stated that in order to make themselves less recognizable, students at a well-known Jewish school in Buenos Aires were urged not to wear their regular uniforms. Planned camping excursions and extracurricular activities were canceled by other schools.

The Center for Jewish Living at Cornell University in upstate New York was secured more tightly after receiving threats online, including one calling for it to be bombed. On Saturday, as a Shabbat service was taking place at a nearby synagogue, pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Johannesburg marched to an area with a large Jewish population and tore images of Israeli captives in Gaza off the perimeter walls of a community center.

Akiva Carr, who was at the synagogue when the event occurred, said, “I feel rage towards the people who are trying to curtail my freedom of religion and my freedom of movement, for the most part based on their antisemitism.” The official reactions to the rise of antisemitism have differed across nations. Authorities in the United States and Western Europe have generally been quick to condemn antisemitism, show strong support for Jewish communities, and in some situations, bolster security at pertinent areas.

Following the Dagestan incident, the Israeli government issued a statement advising its people to “review the necessity to travel abroad at this time” and advising Israelis living overseas to exercise caution and avoid participating in rallies. There was no sign that the Chinese government had taken any action to stop the deluge of antisemitic hate on social media. The Chinese government often censors terms or phrases on social media that it deems offensive. Chinese legislation forbids using the internet to spread extremism, ethnic hate, or prejudice, according to a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry.