A comprehensive study released Monday by Tel Aviv University reveals that deadly attacks targeting Jewish communities reached their most severe levels in decades throughout 2025, with researchers documenting 20 fatalities across four separate incidents spanning three continents. The findings show incident numbers fluctuated inconsistently from nation to nation.
The extensive 152-page research, published jointly by Tel Aviv University’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute, documented increases in physical attacks across multiple regions. Anti-Jewish incidents in Western nations continued to register at levels dozens of percentage points above 2022 figures, prior to the Gaza conflict’s start.
Researchers noted that the downward trend observed following the initial spike after October 7 failed to persist throughout 2025. Prof. Uriya Shavit, who served as the study’s editor-in-chief, expressed alarm about the implications. “The data raise concern that a high level of antisemitic incidents is becoming a normalized reality,” Shavit stated. He connected the increase in serious violence to enforcement patterns, explaining: “When law-enforcement authorities are indifferent to small crimes, the result is big crimes.”
The research highlighted particularly troubling statistics from Australia and Canada. Australian authorities documented 1,750 incidents during 2025, representing an increase from 1,727 cases in 2024 and a dramatic jump from just 472 incidents in 2022. The study specifically highlighted the devastating Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack, which claimed 15 lives. Canadian figures showed an escalation from 6,219 incidents in 2024 to 6,800 in 2025, more than tripling the 2022 total.
British incidents climbed from 3,556 to 3,700, with researchers noting increased activity during the final quarter of 2025 following the Gaza war’s conclusion. French authorities reported fewer overall incidents compared to 2024, though physical attacks increased. Belgian data showed rises in both total incident counts and assault numbers. German statistics reflected an overall decrease in incidents, although the reduction in violent cases was more modest. New York City experienced a slight decline in anti-Jewish hate crime reports overall, but saw increases during the October-December period compared to the previous year.
The study included harsh criticism of Israeli government efforts, stating officials had “not contributed in any meaningful way” to combating antisemitism and had actually undermined these efforts by expanding the term’s definition for political purposes. Report authors recommended eliminating the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, suggesting its resources be redirected to overseas diplomatic missions.
Additional research within the report analyzed prosecuted perpetrators across the United States, France, Canada, and Britain from 2020 through 2025, revealing many were individual actors representing opposing ideological positions, including white supremacists and anti-Zionist Muslims. Former Canadian Justice Minister Prof. Irwin Cotler characterized the situation as “an unprecedented global explosion in incidents of antisemitism.” The study also examined antisemitism within healthcare settings and the increasing acceptance of anti-Jewish language in American political discussions.
