When it comes to sounding yet another alarm about the rising tide of antisemitism worldwide, it’s important that we do not overstate things. After all, we don’t want to be like the boy who kept crying wolf until no one believed him anymore, even when a real wolf arrived. But when it comes to antisemitism, it’s actually very hard to overstate things or to sound a false alarm. That’s because things continue to go from very bad to even worse.
In Canada, there has been such a surge in antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023 massacre that the envoy appointed to combat antisemitism has resigned due to exhaustion.
As reported by Amelie Botbol, “The spike in [antisemitic] incidents prompted Deborah Lyons, the country's special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, to step down earlier this month, citing exhaustion from ‘waking up every day to a fight.’”
So, there is so much Jew hatred on display in Canada that the woman whose job it was to combat this hatred and to preserve the memory of the Holocaust had to resign, too exhausted to fight anymore.
How telling and how tragic.
According to an April 7 article published by B’nai Brith Canada, “Antisemitism in Canada has reached perilous, record-setting heights, according to the latest edition of our Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
“It is a stark warning for Canadian society.
“The total number of reported cases of hatred targeting Jews reached an apex of 6,219 incidents in 2024.
“This is the highest number B’nai Brith Canada has documented since the inception of its Audit in 1982. It reflects a 7.4 per cent increase in incidents since 2023, when we recorded a then-unprecedented 5,791 national tally. This corresponds to a 124.6 per cent increase from 2022 to 2024.”
No wonder Lyons was so wiped out. How does one combat this?
Over in Australia, a country once considered a safe haven for Jews, national sentiments continue to turn in the opposite direction.
As reported by Jewish News Services on July 30, “Amid a surge in antisemitic incidents in Australia, a recent survey commissioned by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has revealed concerning findings about public sentiment toward Jewish people in the country.
“The survey, conducted from June 27 to July 1 with 1,000 respondents across Australia, found that fewer than a quarter of respondents held positive views toward Jewish people. Only 9% described their attitude as very positive, while 15% held slightly positive views. In contrast, 28% expressed negative opinions, with 8% saying they had very negative attitudes and 20% holding slightly negative views.”
How remarkable: “fewer than a quarter of respondents held positive views toward Jewish people.” What have the Jewish people done to become so despised?
Against this backdrop, it is little wonder that the anti-Israel protesters in Sydney held on August 3 not only called for unrestricted aid for the people of Gaza and for an Israeli ceasefire. But among the 90,000 who marched, there were those who called out, “Long live the intifada!”
Israelis, it would appear, deserve to die.
Shifting our attention to Europe, Andreas Lombard observed that, “Germany is currently undergoing a shift that I can only describe as catastrophic. Yet again, my country is awash with anti-Semitism, although this time for different reasons.
“In Germany and other European countries, Muslim and non-Muslim anti-Semitism is on the rise. Jews are once again no longer safe in public spaces. At demonstrations in Berlin, the cry ‘Death to the Jews’ is often heard. Meanwhile, the much smaller pro-Jewish and pro-Israel demonstrations are broken up by the police, because anti-Semitic reactions might become violent. The state’s concern is realistic. Jews are being repeatedly attacked in the streets.”
Let those words sink in again: “At demonstrations in Berlin, the cry of ‘Death to the Jews’ is often heard.”
But we shouldn’t be surprised. This tide of hatred has been rising across Europe and around the world for many years now, often fueled by radical ideologies on both the left and the right as well as by a growing, radical Islamic presence.
Now, with daily accusations that Israel is committing genocide against the people of Gaza, allegedly starving them to death, these cries are becoming all the more shrill.
That’s why it is also no surprise that, “Hate crimes against Jews in the United States reached an all-time high in 2024, accounting for 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes, according to FBI data released this week.
“The new FBI report released Tuesday found that hate crimes against Jews accounted for over 17% of all reported hate crimes in the United States in 2024, marking a 16% rise from 1,998 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023 to 2,321 in 2024.”
It is high time we wake up to these harsh realities, confronting hatred with patient love and overcoming ignorance with truth. And where Israel deserves criticism, let it come from faithful friends who are fair and constructive. We dare not partner with the madness.
