Protesters at a Jewish solidarity march in New York City on Jan. 5, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Rates of antisemitic incidents have experienced a “sharp decline” across the world more than a year after Oct. 7, 2023, according to the author of a new study from Tel Aviv University.
The study of global antisemitism, published this week, noted that the number of incidents decreased in many countries in 2024, including France, Britain, Germany, Mexico and South Africa, although rates broadly remain higher than they were before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“Contrary to popular belief, the report’s findings indicate that the wave of antisemitism did not steadily intensify due to the war in Gaza and the humanitarian disaster there,” said Uriya Shavit, the report’s chief editor, in a press release. “The peak was in October-December 2023, and a year later, a sharp decline in the number of incidents was noted almost everywhere.”
The study was conducted by Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice. It collected tallies of antisemitic incidents in 2024 from “dozens of police departments, specialized agencies and organizations that monitor and combat antisemitism, Jewish communities, Jewish leaders, and media organizations,” which often employ differing standards and definitions of antisemitism.
Despite the overall downward trend, in some countries, including Australia and Italy, there was a notable spike in the number of antisemitic incidents, the report said. In Australia last year, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, there were 1,713 antisemitic incidents, compared to 1,200 in 2023. Italy saw 877 antisemitic incidents in 2024, compared to 454 in 2023, according to a Jewish watchdog group.
The report was published the same week as another study of antisemitism in the United States by the Anti-Defamation League that reported 9,354 antisemitic incidents across the country, marking a 5% increase from the previous year.
The ADL found that the spike in the United States was partially attributable to an 84% spike in campus antisemitism after a year that saw widespread pro-Palestinian protests at universities. More than half of the total incidents counted were related to Israel or Zionism.
The Tel Aviv University report also discussed hate crime enforcement by local police departments and found that in Chicago in 2023, 10% of antisemitic incidents resulted in arrests. In Toronto, 6% of anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023 resulted in arrest, and London had an arrest rate of 4% over the same period. In New York City between 2021 and 2023, about a third of antisemitic incidents resulted in arrests.
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