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Global Antisemitism Skyrocketed 340% From 2022 to 2024, Says New Report Presented to Israel’s President
Dr. Raheli Baratz, head of the Department for Combating Antisemitism and Community Resilience at the World Zionist Organization; chairman of The Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog; and chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Yaakov Hagoel; present their 2024 Antisemitism Report to President of Israel Isaac Herzog. Photo: Courtesy of Maayan Toaf/GPO
There was a staggering 340 percent increase in total antisemitic incidents worldwide in 2024 compared to 2022, according to newly unveiled research from the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
Announced on Monday, the new report presented by the two groups to Israeli President Isaac Herzog also showed that antisemitic incidents skyrocketed globally last year by nearly 100 percent compared to 2023.
Researchers chose to analyze data starting in 2022 in order to assess a year without a major event inflaming antisemitism, namely the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The report documented similar levels of antisemitic incidents growing in both North America and Europe last year. The United States saw an increase of 288 percent over the totals of 2022, while antisemitic atrocities in Canada rose by 562 percent. Meanwhile, incidents in France surged by over 350 percent, and the United Kingdom experienced a spike of 450 percent, with nearly 2,000 acts of antisemitism in the first half of 2024 alone.
In Asia, the report found a new emergence of antisemitism in a region with previously fewer incidents. Chinese social media sites featured a boost of antisemitic content and conspiracy theories which Israel’s embassy in the state called a “tsunami.” Japan and Taiwan saw anti-Israel protests and Nazi salutes, both formerly rare.
The report found mixed results in South America, where Chile’s antisemitic incidents increased 325 percent, but Argentina saw a slight decrease. Anti-Israel statements from Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also provoked tension with the Jewish state and an increase in online antisemitism.
In South Africa, antisemitism increased by 185 percent, while Australia saw a jump of 387 percent.
Analyzed at a global level, the report found that 41 percent of incidents featured antisemitic propaganda, 15.5 percent included violence, and approximately 25 percent focused on Israel.
The research also showed online antisemitism surged, increasing over 300 percent. Analysts found that classical antisemitism made up 38.5 percent of reported content, Holocaust denial accounted for 21.1 percent, and anti-Zionist material reached comprised 15.4 percent.
At an event held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, two leaders from the World Zionist Organization (WZO) — chairman Yaakov Hagoel and Raheli Baratz, head of the group’s Department for Combating Antisemitism and Community Resilience — and two from the Jewish Agency (JAFI) — chairman Maj. Gen. (Res.) Doron Almog and Yigal Palmor, director of international relations — gave the report to Herzog.
“The report indicates a serious increase in antisemitism worldwide. Social networks have become central platforms for spreading hatred and antisemitism under the guise of freedom of expression,” Herzog said in a statement. “Calls to boycott Israel, especially when combined with ancient and ugly hatred against the Jewish people, are rapidly degenerating into violent outbursts to the point of harming Jewish property, body, and soul. I emphasize again: the hatred of antisemitism never ends with Jews alone and is a threat to democracy and the entire free world.”
Herzog urged all governments around the world to “act together to combat the phenomenon and educate for dialogue, tolerance, and mutual respect.”
Hagoel discussed the impact of antisemitism in the West Bank.
“In the Palestinian Authority, they continue to amplify hatred against Jews and the state of Israel, feeding antisemitic content in textbooks and the media, raising a generation that sanctifies death, terror, and hatred,” Hagoel said. “History has taught us repeatedly [that] antisemitism may start with Jews, but it never ends with them. The next stop is the entire Western world, which is under threat of the values it claims to represent.”
Hagoel said that the WZO “calls on world leaders to unmask antisemitic organizations, act against them, denounce incitement, and protect Jewish communities from any threat.”
Almog described the scope of JAFI’s efforts, explaining that “not only are we fighting antisemitism; we are seeking to ensure a better and more inclusive reality, one in which every Jew in the world can feel secure and proud of their Jewish identity.” He said the group will c”ontinue to fight valiantly to ensure our existence, not out of hatred for our enemies, but out of love and with the aim of building an exemplary society that strives for excellence and never leaves the weak behind.”
Baratz noted that the growth of hatred against Jews endangered free societies more broadly.
“The 340 percent increase in antisemitic incidents poses a real threat to the foundations of Western democracy, where the new antisemitic discourse erodes the fundamental values of democratic society and creates cracks in the wall of pluralism and tolerance,” Baratz said.
Baratz also explained how the use of the term “anti-Zionism” acted as a mask to conceal conventional antisemitism.
“The data shows that while traditional antisemitic expressions are being pushed to the margins, the term ‘Zionism’ and its derivatives have become a new code for expressing hatred towards Jews,” Baratz said. “This is not a coincidence — it is a deliberate change in language aimed at making antisemitism socially acceptable. When a person or organization uses the term ‘anti-Zionist,’ they are often not expressing a legitimate political position but rather are reviving historical antisemitic patterns under a contemporary guise of legitimacy.”
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Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – A source familiar with the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal confirmed to i24NEWS on Friday that some progress has been made in talks, currently taking place with Egypt, including the exchange of draft proposals. However, it remains unclear whether Hamas will ultimately accept the emerging framework. According to the source, discussions are presently focused on reaching a cohesive outline with Cairo.
A delegation of senior Hamas officials is expected to arrive in Cairo tomorrow. While there is still no finalized draft, even Arab sources acknowledge revisions to Egypt’s original proposal, reportedly including a degree of flexibility in the number of hostages Hamas is willing to release.
The source noted that Hamas’ latest proposal to release five living hostages is unacceptable to Israel, which continues to adhere to the “Witkoff framework.” At the core of this framework is the release of a significant number of hostages, alongside a prolonged ceasefire period—Israel insists on 40 days, while Hamas is demanding more. The plan avoids intermittent pauses or distractions, aiming instead for uninterrupted discussions on post-war arrangements.
As previously reported, Israel is also demanding comprehensive medical and nutritional reports on all living hostages as an early condition of the deal.
“For now,” the source told i24NEWS, “Hamas is still putting up obstacles. We are not at the point of a done deal.” Israeli officials emphasize that sustained military and logistical pressure on Hamas is yielding results, pointing to Hamas’ shift from offering one hostage to five in its most recent agreement.
Negotiators also assert that Israel’s demands are fully backed by the United States. Ultimately, Israeli officials are adamant: no negotiations on the “day after” will take place until the hostage issue is resolved—a message directed not only at Hamas, but also at mediators.
The post Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Envoy Witkoff Meets with Putin in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met for talks in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Witkoff flew to Russia on Friday morning for talks with President Vladimir Putin about the search for a peace deal on Ukraine, the Kremlin said, saying the two men might also discuss a Trump-Putin meeting.
Witkoff has emerged as a key figure in the on-off rapprochement between Moscow and Washington amid talk on the Russian side of potential joint investments in the Arctic and in Russian rare earth minerals.
Putin was also in St Petersburg on Friday to hold what the Kremlin called an “extraordinarily important” meeting about the development of the Russian Navy, which is in the throes of a major modernization and expansion drive.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the planned Witkoff-Putin meeting, telling Russian state media the US envoy’s visit would not be “momentous” and that no breakthroughs were expected.
The meeting will be their third this year and comes at a time when US tensions with Iran and China – two countries with which Russia has close ties – are severely strained over Tehran’s nuclear program and a burgeoning trade war with Beijing.
Witkoff is due in Oman on Saturday for talks with Iran over its nuclear program after Trump threatened Tehran with military action if it does not agree to a deal. Moscow has repeatedly offered its help in trying to clinch a diplomatic settlement.
Putin and Trump have spoken by phone but have yet to meet face-to-face since the US leader returned to the White House in January for a second four-year term.
Trump, who has shown signs of losing patience, has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is dragging its feet on a Ukrainian deal.
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Iran, US End High-Level Talks in Oman, Agree to Resume ‘Next Week’, Tehran Says
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, the Iranian side said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran’s escalating nuclear program with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on his Telegram channel that his delegation had a brief encounter with its US counterpart, headed by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after they exited the indirect talks mediated by Oman.
“After the end of more than 2-1/2 hours of indirect talks, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks,” Araqchi said.
He said the talks – a first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his first term in 2017-21 – took place in a “productive and positive atmosphere.”
“Both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week,” Araqchi wrote, without elaborating about the venue and date.
There was no immediate US comment on the talks.
Underlining the profound rift between the US and Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier said on X that each delegation had its separate room and would exchange messages via Oman’s foreign minister.
“The current focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran’s nuclear program,” an Omani source told Reuters. Baghaei denied this account but did not specify what was false.
Oman has long been an intermediary between Western powers and Iran, having brokered the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by the Islamic Republic.
Tehran approached the talks warily, skeptical they could yield a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its accelerating uranium enrichment program – regarded by the West as a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.
While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.
Saturday’s exchanges appeared indirect, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded.
“This is a beginning. So it is normal at this stage for the two sides to present to each other their fundamental positions through the Omani intermediary,” Baghaei said.
Signs of progress could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.
HIGH STAKES
However, failure would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the world’s oil. Tehran has cautioned neighboring countries that have US bases that they would face “severe consequences” if they were involved in any US military attack on Iran.
“There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (U.S.) enters the talks with an equal stance,” Araqchi told Iranian TV.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on key state matters, has given Araqchi “full authority” for the talks, an Iranian official told Reuters.
Iran has ruled out negotiating its defense capabilities such as its ballistic missile program.
Western nations say Iran’s enrichment of uranium, a nuclear fuel source, has gone far beyond the requirements of a civilian energy program and has produced stocks at a level of fissile purity close to those required in warheads.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Since then, Iran’s nuclear program has leaped forward, including by enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, a technical step from the levels needed for a bomb.
Israel, Washington’s closest Middle East ally, regards Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and has long threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Tehran’s influence throughout the Middle East has been severely weakened over the past 18 months, with its regional allies – known as the “Axis of Resistance” – either dismantled or badly damaged since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.
The post Iran, US End High-Level Talks in Oman, Agree to Resume ‘Next Week’, Tehran Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.