Antisemitic incidents declined slightly in 2024 but remain above pre-war levels, says Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University published its Annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2024 on Wednesday, just ahead of Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, which starts on Wednesday evening. 

The report found a slight decline in world-wide antisemitic incidents during 2024, however, the level remains above the prewar levels recorded in 2023. 

Professor Uriya Shavit, the report’s lead editor, said, “Around the world, levels of antisemitism remain significantly higher compared to the period before October 7.” 

Shavit also noted that the report challenges a commonly held opinion of steadily increasing antisemitism following the outbreak of the Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza War. 

“However, 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,” Shavit noted. “The peak was in October-December 2023, and a year later, a sharp decline in the number of incidents was noted almost everywhere.” 

Regardless, Shavit laments the rise in antisemitism occasioned by the attack on Israel. 

“The sad truth is that antisemitism surged just as the Jewish state appeared most vulnerable and under existential threat.” 

The 160-page report was prepared by 11 researchers from the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice, at Tel Aviv University. 

The annual study, which has been published for 25 years, has become one of the most authoritative studies on the subject over those years. 

Also contradicting some of the popular narrative regarding antisemitism, the researchers found a decrease in antisemitic incidents in 2024 compared to 2023 in several countries with large Jewish populations. 

Countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Germany saw overall decreases in the number of antisemitic incidents, although France did see an increase in the number of physical assaults on Jews during 2024. 

Particularly concerning, say the report’s authors, is the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia over the past few years, even preceding the start of the Gaza War. 

The “Executive Council of Australian Jewry” recorded 1,713 antisemitic incidents in Australia during 2024 compared to 1,200 in 2023. Alarmingly, the number of incidents in 2023 was almost three times the recorded number in 2022. However, the report did find a decrease in incidents over the last three months of 2024. 

Another country of concern, Italy, also recorded an alarming increase in antisemitic incidents, where the “Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation” registered 877 such incidents in 2024 compared to 454 in 2023. 

The Tel Aviv University report did not list incidents for the entire United States, focusing primarily on cities with large Jewish populations, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. 

Most of those cities saw slight increases in 2024 over the figures for 2023. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which released its annual report the day before, did focus on national results, finding a 5% increase in the number of recorded antisemitic incidents across the United States. 

According to the ADL report, in the United States, protests regarding Israel were a major driver of antisemitism for the first time since the organization has started collecting data. The ADL recorded more than 9,300 antisemitic incidents across the U.S. in 2024, compared to 8,873 in 2023. The group also said that incidents took place across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

“This horrifying level of antisemitism should never be accepted and yet, as our data shows, it has become a persistent and grim reality for American Jewish communities,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. 

Another country that experienced a rise in antisemitic incidents was Canada, where the “B’nai Brith” organization documented 6,219 antisemitic incidents in 2024 compared to 5,791 in 2023, which was itself an increase from 2,769 recorded incidents in 2022. 

The Tel Aviv University report also contained several separate studies, including one on the role of law enforcement in several global cities. It found that only a negligible percentage of complaints about antisemitic incidents led to actual arrests and charges. 

Carl Yonker, a senior researcher who worked on the report, said, “Much more can be done if the will exists.” 

“Education and legislation without enforcement are meaningless,” Yonker stated. “The fight against antisemitism requires dedicated efforts from police forces and prosecutors, not pompous statements and grotesque award ceremonies with Hollywood stars.” 

The Tel Aviv University report’s editor Shavit stressed that antisemitism is not a “fringe issue.” 

“Antisemitism is not just a problem of the past or a fringe issue,” Shavit noted. “It is a mirror to our societies. And in 2024, that reflection is still deeply troubling.”