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It has bothered me a lot when I've read about verbal attacks on Jews, but it hasn’t alarmed me. However, it seems that the anti-Semites are determined to make things worse for the Jews: they’re escalating to physical attacks. Some people may say that the shift could be temporary; once things settle down in the Middle East, circumstances will improve. I’m just not convinced.
So, what is the evidence of the escalation?
The first article I read got my attention, but I was encouraged at first because actual incidents seemed to have gone down; then the other shoe dropped:
The only category of antisemitism to have grown in the past year is physical assaults, with violence against Jews in the U.S. reaching a 47-year high. This tells us a few things. First, it puts a nail in the coffin of the idea, often parroted on the anti-Zionist left, that much of what gets called antisemitism is criticism of Israel or speech protected by the First Amendment. Second, the headline claim that “antisemitic incidents decreased significantly” is rendered less meaningful when more Jews than ever are being assaulted and killed. According to a report from Tel Aviv University published earlier this year, 2025 was the worst year for antisemitic violence across the world in three decades.
We might also consider how society's treatment of its Jews reflects civil life. According to the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
Antisemitism is a projection, and is caused not by Jews but by internal conflicts in the societies that give rise to it.
October 7, 2023, has been used as a benchmark by some to determine the trends of anti-Semitism. The hope was that once we moved past October 7, patterns would move back to “normal.” Instead, anti-Semitism has been lurking in the background, just waiting for a stimulus to reappear:
According to Prof. Uriya Shavit, the editor-in-chief of the 152-page report, ‘The data raise concern that a high level of antisemitic incidents is becoming a normalized reality.' He continues, ‘The peak in the number of incidents was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, after which we began to see a downward trend – but unfortunately, that trend did not continue in 2025. The steep increase in the number of cases of severe violence is not surprising. The rule that applies to all types of crime applies here as well: when law-enforcement authorities are indifferent to small crimes, the result is big crimes.’
In several countries, incident numbers showed a downward trend, but the number of violent incidents grew:
In France, which has the third-largest Jewish population after Israel and the United States, the total number of incidents declined from 1,570 in 2024 to 1,320 in 2025 (compared with 436 in 2022). However, the number of incidents involving physical violence rose from 106 in 2024 to 126 in 2025. In Germany, a decline was recorded in the number of incidents – 5,729 in 2025 compared with 6,560 in 2024 (and with 2,811 incidents in 2022). However, in the number of incidents involving physical violence, a smaller decrease was recorded: 144 compared with 148. In Belgium, the number of incidents increased from 129 in 2024 to 232 in 2025, and the number of physical assaults increased from 27 to 32.
Worldwide, a rise in anti-Semitic violent incidents is becoming noticeable, especially among young people who were not educated regarding the Holocaust.
Quite honestly, I don’t know what can be done to turn this situation around. I don’t think education makes any difference. If people are arrested for violent acts and punished accordingly, the message may get through. I also realize that in some cases, the rise in violence is in the single digits and might be discounted by some. But I’d be curious to learn of solutions you may have.
What do you think?
Discussion (47)
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Susan, I am so sorry to see reports like this. I wish I had answers but do not. The best we can do is hope, pray, and have rational conversations with others as to how wrong these attacks are.
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You may be right, Brian. It's interesting: I was bothered by the verbal attacks, but if things are going to be much more physical, I can't help feeling a bit intimidated. I guess if I get attacked, I'll fight back.
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The bottom line is that most of the violent attacks on Jews are perpetrated by Muslims, and the more the Muslim population increases in a country, the more likely Jews are to be attacked. One only has to look at how mass migration from Muslim countries into Western Europe has worked out in Sweden, in Germany, in France and elsewhere. Jewish schools, Synagogues and other premises require heavy security, and it is unsafe for “visibly Jewish” people to walk the streets of most Western European cities.
Now the UK has been infected. There have been murders, attempted murders and arson attacks. Very recently, two Jewish men were stabbed by a Muslim man outside a Synagogue in Golders Green, a district in London with a large Jewish population. This last incident at least has led to some soul-searching within the media-political class in the UK, although any relief I feel on that account is outweighed by the horror of seeing radical Muslims -mostly members of the Green Party- have significant success in the local elections in the UK this week, even as some of their councillors and candidates have been arrested for publishing horrible antisemitic material.
Of course most Muslims are decent, hardworking people, but they are let down by their co-religionists- and are slow to speak out against the evil in their communities.
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Yes, I heard the news stories, Charles, and it's very depressing. I don't imagine the "good" Muslims are going to call out their colleagues, and so the nightmare will continue. I just wonder how long it will take for this country to "wise up."
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Many years ago en route to Church I regularly saw “visibly Jewish" families in South Boca Raton. Didn't think anything of it. Just wonder if there is any change.
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