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Global Leaders Sound Alarm on Surge of Antisemitism at IHRA Conference
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaking at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Jerusalem on May 27, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis warned that anti-Zionism has become “the new antisemitism,” amid mounting global concern over a surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Jewish hate crimes
Speaking at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, Mirvis asserted that anti-Zionism is increasingly being weaponized to mask anti-Jewish sentiment, disguised as legitimate political criticism of Israel.
Hosted by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the annual IHRA conference — held last year in the United Kingdom — began with a moment of silence honoring the two Israeli embassy staffers murdered in Washington, DC last week.
IHRA is an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries dedicated to combating antisemitism and promoting Holocaust research and education. In 2016, IHRA adopted a “working definition” of antisemitism which in the ensuing years has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum. It is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.
In his speech, Mirvis emphasized Jerusalem’s vital role as both Israel’s capital and the enduring spiritual and cultural center of Jewish identity and faith.
“For Jews, the very presence of Almighty God is manifest here in this holy city more than in any other place on earth. And God gave this city and this land to the Jewish people for all time,” Mirvis said during the two-day conference.
“Israel is not just a geopolitical reality for the Jewish people. It is far more than that. It’s the center of our Jewish religion,” the Jewish leader continued. “So therefore, if you are anti-Zionist, you are also anti-Jewish. But more than that, you’re anti-Judaism, and your animosity affects the very wellbeing of Jews right around the world.”
“Anti-Zionism is the new antisemitism”
The Chief Rabbi addresses the opening of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Conference in Jerusalem for parliamentarians and government representatives from around the world. pic.twitter.com/ecu08YlR1r
— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) May 28, 2025
Since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, anti-Israel activism has sparked a rise in antisemitic incidents. In this context, longstanding antisemitic stereotypes are increasingly being directed at Israel, with the term “Zionist” weaponized to mask deep-rooted antisemitic tropes under the pretense of legitimate political critique.
At the same event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech, calling on European leaders to resist the growing demonization of the Jewish state.
Anti-Israel protesters in European countries “are basically challenging Western civilization [and] free societies as we understand them,” Netanyahu said. Many of these leaders “want to control the rampant attacks that are then directed at them for having relations with Israel, for having contact with it.”
“What you try to do is try to corral your victim when in fact, your countries are the victim. Because what is being done is an attempt to deny Israel, and in fact all free societies the ability to fight these barbarians,” the Israeli leader continued.
“Don’t succumb to the vilification, don’t succumb to this complete aversion of morality,” Netanyahu said. “I urge you to fight antisemitism not only because it’s right. I urge you to fight antisemitism because it will save you.”
During his speech, Netanyahu also warned that Israel is fighting “not merely a seven-front war [against Iran-backed proxies in the Middle East], but an eight-front war,” describing it as a broader struggle of “civilization against barbarism.”
“The most important thing you have to do in fighting antisemitism is to stand up and not be cowered,” the Israeli premier continued. “Do not be afraid to speak up. Speak up, stand up for the truth, stand up for the Jewish people, stand up for civilization.”
During the conference, Saar also delivered a speech in which he condemned international leaders and governments seeking to impose an arms embargo on Israel.
“If these initiatives will be successful, Israel will simply be eliminated,” the top Israeli diplomat said. “There will be another Holocaust – this time on the soil of the Land of Israel.”
“The ancient desire to eliminate the Jewish people has become stronger. It has become a plan of action for our enemies,” he continued.
Noting that 80 years have passed since the Holocaust, Saar emphasized IHRA’s vital role in “safeguarding and passing on the stories and lessons of the Holocaust to future generations.”
The post Global Leaders Sound Alarm on Surge of Antisemitism at IHRA Conference first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.