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Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes Reach Record High in US, New FBI Report Reveals

An anti-Israel protester burns an Israeli flag in front of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on June 8, 2024. Photo: Aashish Kiphayet/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

Anti-Jewish hate crimes in the US spiked to a record high last year, and American Jews were the most targeted of any religious group in the country, according to a new report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI on Monday released its 2023 Hate Crimes Report, which found that hate crimes against Jews increased a staggering 63 percent year over year, from 1,124 in 2022 to 1,832 in 2023. Last year’s total was the highest number ever recorded by the FBI since it began collecting data in 1991.

Antisemitic hate crimes also accounted for 67 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes and 15 percent of all hate crimes of any kind recorded by the FBI in 2023, despite Jews making up just 2 percent of the US population.

The FBI report came out amid a historic surge in antisemitism both in the US and around the world, especially across Europe, following the Palestinian terror group Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza. The onslaught was the deadliest single-day killing of Jews since the Holocaust.

“As the Jewish community is still reeling from Hamas’s brutal attack against Israelis on Oct. 7, we are simultaneously contending with an earth-shattering increase in antisemitic violence,” American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement. “The [reported antisemitic crimes] have taken a severe toll on so many American Jews’ way of life. The worst part of this new reality is that young Jews are increasingly on the receiving end of this rise in antisemitic hate, according to AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report. It’s unacceptable that in America of all places there are nearly five antisemitic hate crimes on average per day.”

Surveys from earlier this year revealed that over one-third of Jewish college students have reported needing to hide their Jewish identity on campus, where antisemitic incidents have been particularly rampant, skyrocketing to record levels.

Following the release of the data, the AJC noted that “the actual numbers of incidents is likely greater,” as hate crimes are widely underreported across the country.

“Because many major cities continue to not report hate crimes, the true state of antisemitism in the US is likely much worse than the record number of antisemitic hate crimes in the FBI’s data,” the group said. “The difficulties faced by local, state, and national law enforcement agencies in accurately documenting and reporting this information deprives communities and elected officials the opportunity to truly understand the degree to which hate-based violence permeates American society.”

The FBI data came after the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high of 8,873 outrages — an average of 24 every day. Most of the incidents occurred after Oct. 7, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

On college campuses specifically, the ADL report found that antisemitic incidents rose 321 percent, disrupting the studies of Jewish students and leaving them uncertain about the fate of the American Jewish community.

“At a time when the Jewish community is still suffering from the sharp rise in antisemitism following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the record-high number of anti-Jewish hate crime incidents is unfortunately entirely consistent with the Jewish community’s experience and ADL’s tracking,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement on the new FBI report. “Hate crimes are uniquely harmful, traumatizing both the individual and their community.”

“Although it’s encouraging to see more law enforcement agencies participating in reporting hate crimes data in 2023, we still have a long way to go toward ensuring comprehensive data collection that provides a more accurate picture of the lived experience of targeted communities across the country,” Greenblatt added. “Data drives policy, and without having a complete understanding of the problem, we cannot effectively address this significant surge in hate violence.”

Both the AJC and the ADL called on the US Congress to pass the Improving Reporting to Prevent Hate Act, which among other measures would require law enforcement agencies representing large cities to report credible hate crimes data to the FBI in order to be eligible for certain federal funding.

The post Anti-Jewish Hate Crimes Reach Record High in US, New FBI Report Reveals first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Almost 900 People Were Arrested at London Palestine Action Protest, Police Say

Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

British police said on Sunday they had arrested almost 900 people at a demonstration the previous day in support of Palestine Action, and the government appealed for people to stop demonstrating in support of the banned campaign group.

Britain proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes.

That followed vandalism and incidents targeting defense firms in Britain with links to Israel. The group accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have since been arrested at demonstrations, many of them over the age of 60. London police said 890 had been held following a protest near parliament in central London on Saturday, the highest number of detentions from a single such protest to date.

Of those, 857 were detained for showing support for a banned group, while 17 were arrested for assaults on officers after police said the protest turned violent.

“The violence we encountered during the operation was coordinated and carried out by a group of people … intent on creating as much disorder as possible,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart.

The protest organizers, a group called Defend Our Juries, said that among those arrested were priests, war veterans and healthcare workers, and that they included many elderly and some disabled.

“These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted,” a spokesperson said.

Palestine Action’s proscription puts the group alongside al Qaeda and Islamic State, making it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Human rights groups have criticized the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.

Defense minister John Healey said the firm action was needed to counter accusations by right-wing critics of “a two-tier policing and justice system.”

“Almost everyone shares the agony when we see the images from Gaza … and for people who want to voice their concern and protest, I applaud them,” he told Sky News. “But that does not require them to link it to support for Palestine Action, a proscribed group.”

Many of those arrested in recent weeks are released on police bail, and it was unclear how many were still in detention.

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Witkoff Reportedly Conveys Principals for Ceasefire Proposal to Hamas

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

i24 NewsUnited States (US) Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff conveyed a message to Hamas behind the scenes regarding the conditions for negotiations — involving freeing the 48 remaining hostages in exchange for ending the war — Israeli media reported Sunday morning.

Witkoff’s message was relayed to Hamas through Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who had also helped broker messages in the 2011 Gilad Shalit negotiations, a source told Israeli reporter Barak Ravid. He delivered the message through senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.

The proposal included several general principles in addition to the release of all the hostages in exchange for ending the war, Ravid reported.

i24NEWS correspondent Guy Azriel reported that Israel is not responding to reports of the document of principles, saying, “This is a matter of correspondence between the Americans and Hamas.” The only message from Jerusalem at this stage remains, “We are adhering to the five conditions that the cabinet voted on to end the war.”

Meanwhile, Hamas released a statement Saturday evening expressing their readiness for a ceasefire agreement, saying, “We renew our commitment and adherence to the agreement we announced together with the Palestinian factions regarding the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire on August 18.”

The annnouncment included their willingness to agree to a ceasefire under conditions including the withdrawl of Israeli forces and release of the hostages, but did not meet Israel’s conditions for ending the war which include the full disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of the Strip, and Israeli security control over Gaza.

“We emphasize our openness to any ideas or proposals that would achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the unconditional entry of aid, and genuine prisoner exchanges through serious negotiations mediated by intermediaries,” Hamas added.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Urges Europe to Rethink Nuclear Stance

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

i24 NewsIranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has called on Britain, France, and Germany to change course after their decision to trigger the UN mechanism for reinstating sanctions against Iran.

In an op-ed published Sunday in The Guardian, Araghchi argued that the move has “no legal basis,” claiming the mechanism outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) cannot be applied without considering the United States’ withdrawal from the pact in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.

The minister accused European governments of “blindly following Washington’s strategy” while failing to honor their own commitments, including lifting economic sanctions and restoring normal trade relations with Tehran.

Araghchi also criticized Europe’s silence over Israel’s June strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, warning that such passivity would leave them sidelined in regional diplomacy.

He reiterated Iran’s readiness for dialogue but only under conditions that ensure both strict oversight of its nuclear program and the full removal of sanctions.

He cautioned that failure in diplomacy could have “serious regional and international consequences,” stressing that Iran’s military is prepared to defend against any aggression.

Araghchi concluded by urging Europe and the U.S. to “give diplomacy a chance,” warning that the alternative would be a dangerous escalation that risks further destabilizing the Middle East.

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