The Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism released its first full-year report on the global surge in antisemitism on Sunday, the first official review covering events through all of 2024 since the October 7 massacre. The findings were scheduled to be presented to government ministers during a cabinet meeting.
The report reveals that throughout 2024, antisemitism around the world became more structured, with financial backing from international organizations and, in some cases, national governments. It includes detailed statistics comparing antisemitism rates during the entire year of 2024 with those recorded in the first ten months of 2023, prior to the October massacre.
According to the data, Canada experienced a staggering 970% spike in antisemitic incidents, Australia saw a 320% increase along with a 260% jump in antisemitic violence, the United States recorded a 200% rise, and antisemitic incidents in France grew by 300%.
The findings also indicate that 64% of French citizens believe Jews are justified in fearing for their safety in France, 84% of Jews living in Germany feel unsafe, and 90% of Jewish residents in Britain avoid downtown areas during anti-Israel protests.
The Diaspora Ministry’s report identifies Spain and Ireland as Europe’s most antisemitic countries. France, Britain, Canada, and Australia are criticized for their “moral ambiguity” in addressing antisemitism while voicing what the report calls disproportionate criticism of Israel, thus heightening the danger to Jewish communities.
French President Emmanuel Macron is singled out in the document for statements he made about Israel’s actions during the war in Gaza, which, according to the report, “legitimized antisemitic rhetoric by the French far-left.” The report contends that Macron’s comments emboldened Luc Mélenchon, head of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, who downplayed antisemitism even after a French Interior Ministry report showed a 300% surge in antisemitic incidents in early 2024. Among far-left supporters in France, only 44% consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
In Britain, the report highlights criticism leveled by the Chief Rabbi against the Labour Party for imposing an arms embargo on Israel. Meanwhile, in Canada, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) condemned the government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after it voted to censure Israel at the United Nations in December 2023, warning it would fuel additional hatred toward Canadian Jews.
The report brands Canada the “champion of antisemitism” in 2024, noting that antisemitic incidents there multiplied by 7.5 times over the previous year. It also found that 85% of Jewish Canadians believe the Trudeau administration failed to adequately confront the rise in antisemitism.
The United Nations and the Palestinian Authority are also heavily criticized in the report. It accuses the social media giant TikTok of being a major driver of antisemitic sentiment, noting that an Israeli executive resigned after labeling the platform “an existential threat to Israel” and exposing that key policy decision-makers were Hamas and Houthi supporters.
In the realm of higher education, the report names Columbia University as the most antisemitic campus in America, with 127 reported incidents during 2024 alone. It further notes that nearly 90% of antisemitic episodes on college campuses in September were driven by far-left ideologies.
The BBC is also faulted for its continued refusal to label Hamas a terrorist organization. A former BBC employee disclosed that the network’s leadership routinely suppressed internal complaints regarding antisemitism. Jewish leaders in Britain argued that the BBC’s actions contributed to global antisemitism and efforts to deny or downplay Hamas atrocities.
Concluding its findings, the report urges governments worldwide to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and to enforce laws combating antisemitic hatred. It calls for action against unbalanced criticism of Israel and warns that failure to do so endangers Jewish communities everywhere.
{Matzav.com}