The Rise in Antisemitism Is Not Israel’s Fault

After the Oct 7 massacre and Gaza war, antisemitism has skyrocketed throughout the West. Antisemitism increased by 316.5% during 2024 in Australia, according to one report. The same year, the Observatory of Antisemitism found a 321% rise in anti-Jewish incidents in Spain. Antisemitic incidents in the West range from bomb threats at Synagogues to the targeted massacre of Jews at Bondi Beach.

Historically, Jews have been hated for their religion and race. While these forms of Jew hatred are still at play, a third form has emerged as a driving factor behind many Palestine protests – hating the Jews for having a state. Antisemites often defend their antisemitism under the guise of criticising Israel and Zionism. This is evident in the many charges levied against Israel, like genocide and apartheid, which are often used to cast Jews as an evil people causing trouble.

However, “criticism of Israel” is often an excuse to mask hatred of Jews. This is obvious when one examines how many pro-Palestine advocates acted in the immediate aftermath of Oct 7.

In Sydney, on Oct 8, 2023, just after the initial massacre by Hamas, many Muslims openly celebratedthe attack, with Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun exclaiming “I’m smiling and I’m happy.” Just after Oct 7, the Opera House was lit with the colours of the Israeli flag to show sympathy for Israelis, but numerous protestors showed up, igniting flares and chanting “f…the Jews.”

In Manchester, on Oct 8, 2023, Palestine supporters gathered to listen to Richard Barnard, cofounder of Palestine Action (which is now designated as a terrorist organisation in the UK). Barnard told the crowd:

“When we hear the resistance [i.e., Hamas], the Al-Aqsa flood [i.e., Oct 7], we must turn that flood into a tsunami of the whole world.”

If these activists really care about human rights, why did they, without any consideration for the innocents slaughtered on Oct 7, immediately attack Israel, and even outright support Hamas? The reason is that they are antisemitic. The claims of criticising Israel and Zionism are used to defend anti-Jewish hatred that such actors spew.

Even worse, this kind of antisemitic rhetoric has been expressed by numerous professors at universities. For example, on Oct 7, Albany Law School professor Nina Farnia wrote:

“Long live the Palestinian resistance & people of Gaza, tearing down the walls of colonialism and apartheid.”

A Cornell University professor called Hamas’ attack “exhilarating” and “energising.” Another professor, Danny Shaw of City University of New York, posted:

“These Zi^nists are straight Babylon swine. We need to protest their neighborhoods. Where is your humanity? Why are you racist arrogant bullies? You think you are better than others? Zionism is beyond a mental illness; its genocidal disease. #Israel #Gaza #Gaza_Genocide.” (p. 121)

With multiple professors holding such views, it’s no surprise that Western college campuses have become dangerous for Jewish students. For example, one Jewish student at Columbia University said he was harassed with shouts of “you f*****g Jew,” while walking in his dorm.

Another horrific example of antisemitism which cannot rationally be defended as criticism of Israel, is the tearing down and vandalisation of hostage posters. The only possible motive that could drive someone to tear down posters crying for the release of people kidnapped by terrorists is a fanatical hatred for that group of people.

Journalist Douglas Murray succinctly puts it:

“In city after city across the West, Jewish communities and others put up posters of the kidnapped Israelis. And in city after city, they were torn down. In almost no place outside Israel did these posters stay up. Cities in which a poster of a missing dog would be left up with reverence seemed to have a colossal problem with allowing posters of missing Israelis to be put up in the same way.” (p. 119)

It is undeniable that the Palestine protests have been filled with outright hatred for Jews, including support for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. If Israel’s actions were the root cause of the rise in antisemitism, how does one explain the immediate antisemitic reactions, celebrating Oct 7? Or the tearing down of Israeli hostage posters? The reality is that no matter whether the IDF is the worst army or the most moral army, antisemitism will still skyrocket.