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Antisemitism Continues to Surge in Czech Republic, Argentina Amid Global Rise in Jew-Hatred, New Data Shows
Illustrative: Anti-Israel protesters march in Germany, March 26, 2025. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa via Reuters Connect
Around the globe, antisemitism has continued to surge, with the Czech Republic and Argentina both reporting sharp rises in antisemitic incidents, including targeted attacks against their Jewish communities, amid ongoing tensions over the war in Gaza.
On Friday, the Czech Republic’s Jewish community warned that the country saw a dramatic surge in antisemitism last year, registering 4,694 antisemitic incidents in 2024 during the Israel-Hamas war.
The Federation of the Jewish Communities (FŽO) released its annual report, revealing that anti-Jewish outrages last year rose nearly 8.5 percent compared to 2023. That year, 4,328 incidents were recorded, marking a 90 percent spike following the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The report shows that antisemitic incidents became far more severe after the Oct. 7 atrocities, with actual numbers likely higher due to underreporting by victims and witnesses.
“The Czech Republic is also affected by a worldwide, explosive wave of antisemitism that erupted immediately after the Hamas terror attack,” Petr Papoušek, FŽO’s chairman, said in a statement.
“The subsequent war in the Gaza Strip had a decisive impact on the number and nature of antisemitic incidents in 2024 and contributed significantly to the polarization of Czech society,” he continued.
According to the newly released report, hatred of Jews — particularly through the demonization of the state of Israel — has become socially acceptable and increasingly dominates public discourse. Experts say this wave of attacks has revealed “an unprecedented synergy” among the far right, the far left, Islamist groups, and disinformation-driven media.
“The unifying element is hatred of Israel, which works with the motives, narratives, conspiracies, and myths of traditional antisemitism,” Papoušek said.
In 2024, four physical attacks were recorded — compared to none in 2023 — all linked to the Middle East conflict, alongside 12 cases of desecration of Jewish cemeteries, monuments, and property — double the previous year’s total.
In one of the incidents, five teenagers were arrested in January last year after local authorities prevented an attempted arson attack at a synagogue in Brno, the country’s second-largest city in the southeast, with two facing terror-related charges.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Argentina, antisemitic attacks are also on the rise, with the local Jewish community increasingly under threat, the country’s Jewish umbrella organization warned on Thursday.
According to the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), antisemitic incidents rose by 50 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, with even more expected, reaching an estimated 1,000 cases by the end of this year.
DAIA President Mauro Berenstein condemned the growing hostility and targeted attacks against the local Jewish community, emphasizing “antisemitism is not a fad — it is a crime, and it must be reported.”
“We urgently call on society not to normalize these acts of hatred. Discrimination is not just another message — it carries real, tangible consequences,” Berenstein said.
*Alarmante crecimiento del antisemitismo en Argentina*
Alertamos que los casos de antisemitismo aumentaron un 50 % en 2025 respecto al año anterior y lamentablemente proyectamos 1.000 denuncias para este año.
Tal como señala nuestro presidente, Mauro Berenstein, en Infobae en… pic.twitter.com/qPucmPwWdL— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) November 20, 2025
In 2024, Argentina recorded 687 anti-Jewish outrages — up from 598 antisemitic incidents in 2023 — marking a notable surge in antisemitic activity in the country.
The report indicated that 66 percent of the antisemitic incidents originated in the digital realm, with a significant rise in Nazi symbols and conspiracy theories.
There was also a 34 percent increase in reported physical assaults, with such hate crimes rising in schools and neighborhoods.
Argentina and the Czech Republic have been hardly alone in reporting a surge in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment. According to the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel, there was a staggering 340 percent increase in total antisemitic incidents worldwide in 2024 compared to 2022.
For example, the United States reported a 288 percent increase in antisemitic atrocities last year compared to 2022, while Canada experienced a 562 percent surge over the same period.
In Europe, France saw a surge of over 350 percent in antisemitic incidents, while the United Kingdom recorded a 450 percent spike, with nearly 2,000 acts of antisemitism in just the first half of 2024.
In South Africa, antisemitic incidents rose by 185 percent, while Australia experienced a sharp increase of 387 percent.
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Iran’s Guards Will View Military Vessels Approaching Strait as Ceasefire Breach
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the two-week US ceasefire and be dealt with harshly and decisively.
The strait is under the control and “smart management” of Iran’s Navy, the Guards said in a statement reported by Iranian state media, adding it is “open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations.”
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Iran Rejected US Demand to Stop Funding Proxies, and Halt Uranium Enrichment During Talks
FILE PHOTO: The atomic symbol and the Iranian flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran has rejected core US demands in recent negotiations, including an end to uranium enrichment, the dismantling of major nuclear facilities, and a halt to support for regional terrorist groups, according to a senior US official speaking to Reuters.
The official also said that Tehran refused to end backing for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, as well as calls to fully open the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, underscoring deep divisions that continue to stall diplomacy.
The failed talks come as assessments from officials and experts suggest that Iran’s nuclear program has remained largely resilient despite five weeks of intense US and Israeli strikes.
According to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, that while the campaign did cause significant damage to research facilities and parts of Iran’s enrichment infrastructure, the strikes appear to have stopped short of eliminating Iran’s most sensitive capabilities.
Iran likely retains operational centrifuges and access to a heavily fortified underground enrichment site, preserving the technical foundation of its program.
A critical concern for Western officials is Iran’s continued possession of an estimated 1,000 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that roughly half of this stockpile is stored in reinforced containers within tunnels beneath the Isfahan nuclear complex.
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Trump Vows to Blockade Strait of Hormuz After Iran Peace Talks Fail to Yield Agreement
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as delegations from the United States and Iran are expected to hold peace talks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 11, 2026. Office of the Iranian Parliament Speaker/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
President Donald Trump said on Sunday the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire.
Trump also said in a post on Truth Social that the US would take action against every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran, and begin destroying mines that he said the Iranians had dropped in the strait, a choke point for about 20% of global energy supplies that Iran has blocked.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded with a statement warning that military vessels approaching the strait will be considered a ceasefire breach and dealt with harshly and decisively, underlining the risk of a dangerous escalation.
“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
“I have also instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas,” Trump added.
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” he added.
Six weeks of fighting has killed thousands, roiled the global economy and sent oil prices soaring as Iran prevented traffic through the strait.
MORE NEGOTIATIONS?
In an interview with Fox News after his post about the strait, Trump said that he believed Iran would continue to negotiate and called the weekend discussions “very friendly.”
“I do believe they’re going to come to the table on this, because nobody can be so stupid as to say, ‘We want nuclear weapons,’ and they have no cards,” Trump told Fox News from his golf course near Miami, Florida.
Trump also said that NATO allies, whom he has criticized for failing to back the war he launched along with Israel on February 28, wanted to help with the operation in the strait.
There was no immediate comment from Washington’s allies.
The weekend talks in Islamabad, which followed the announcement of a ceasefire last Tuesday, were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America,” said Vice President JD Vance, who headed the US delegation.
A US official said Iran had rejected Washington’s call for an end to all uranium enrichment, the dismantling of all major enrichment facilities and the transfer of highly enriched uranium. The two sides also failed to reach agreement on the US demand that Iran cease funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis as well as fully open the strait, the official added.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who led his country’s delegation along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, blamed the US for not winning Tehran’s trust, despite his team offering “forward-looking initiatives.”
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who discussed the talks in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Tehran wanted “a balanced and fair agreement.”
“If the United States returns to the framework of international law, reaching an agreement is not far off,” he told Putin, Iranian state media reported.
ISRAEL CONTINUES BOMBING LEBANON
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said “excessive” US demands had hindered reaching a deal. Other Iranian media said there was agreement on a number of issues, but the strait and Iran’s nuclear program were the main sticking points.
Despite the stalemate, three supertankers fully laden with oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, shipping data showed, in what appeared to be the first vessels to exit the Gulf since the ceasefire deal.
Israel has continued bombing Tehran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, insisting – along with Washington – that that conflict was not part of the Iran-US ceasefire. Iran says the fighting in Lebanon must stop.
The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah rocket launchers overnight into Sunday and black smoke could be seen rising in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut.
And in Israeli villages near the border, air raid sirens sounded, warning of incoming rocket fire from Lebanon.