Nearly 60% increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023 - Combat Antisemitism

Antisemitic incidents increased by 58.2% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to a Tuesday report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC).

Combat Antisemitism Movement’s (CAM) report documented 3,046 reported incidents globally, compared to 1,925 the previous year and 2,215 in 2021 – another year when antisemitism increased globally amid Israeli conflict with Hamas.

Antisemitic incidents caused by far-left (1,019 reported incidents) and far-right (1,021) perpetrators were almost identical and accounted for 67% of all recorded incidents. Islamic extremists accounted for 18.7% of all recorded antisemitic events (571), while 14.3% were categorized as unattributable (435).

The CAM report analyzed antisemitism trends in the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, the Middle East, and the rest of the world as a separate category. The report analyzed 1,174 incidents in the USA, 292 in the United Kingdom, 134 in Germany, 334 in the Middle East, and 776 in other countries around the world.

Antisemitism takes on different forms, yet persists

The antisemitic behavior analyzed in the report took on different shapes depending on the geographic location in question. For example, 49.5% of incidents in the USA were committed by right-wing perpetrators compared to 29.7% from far-left antisemites. However, the UK had 40.4% of their incidents perpetrated by supporters of left-wing ideology in comparison to 20.2% from the right-wing. 

Further, only 5.2% of US-based incidents were Islamic, whereas that figure stood at 15.8% in the UK, 14.2% in Germany, and 94.3% in the Middle East. 

The antisemitic incidents also differed in nature based on geography: 76.9% of Middle East incidents included hateful conduct and speech, 20.7% included use or threats of violence, and 2.4% were acts of vandalism. While the UK had a similar profile for hate speech (75.7% of incidents), vandalism was prevalent nearly six times more than in the Middle East (13.7%) and violence was nearly half (10.6%).

American antisemites were far less likely to utilize hate speech (52%) and had by far the highest rate of vandalism (39.7%) among the areas surveyed.

The report further identified four concerning trends based on their data: the rise of left-wing antisemitism, the increase on US college campuses, the persistence of right-wing antisemitism, and the significant year-over-year spike in 2023.

The CAM report said 2024 was the first year since they began tracking antisemitic incidents that the frequency of left-wing incidents was nearly the same as right-wing incidents. The report also highlighted the spike in campus antisemitism, with a notable 34.9% increase in reported antisemitic incidents on US campuses in 2023.