On April 23, 2025, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the Irwin Cotler Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Justice, both at Tel Aviv University (TAU), published the annual Antisemitism Worldwide report, which focuses on 2024. The 160-page report was prepared by 11 researchers. The annual study has been published for a quarter of a century and is considered the most cited and authoritative document of its kind.

“Around the world, levels of antisemitism remain significantly higher compared to the period before October 7,” says the Report’s chief editor, Professor Uriya Shavit. “However, contrary to popular belief, the Report’s findings indicate that the wave of antisemitism did not steadily intensify due to the war in Gaza and the humanitarian disaster there. The peak was in October–December 2023, and a year later a sharp decline in the number of incidents was noted almost everywhere. The sad truth is that antisemitism reared its head at the moment when the Jewish state appeared weaker than ever and under existential threat.”

A moderate increase in antisemitic incidents was recorded in the United States. In New York, the largest Jewish city in the world, police recorded 344 complaints on antisemitic incidents in 2024, compared to 325 in 2023 and 264 in 2022. In Chicago, home to the third largest Jewish population in the United States, police recorded 79 incidents compared to 50 in 2023, in Denver, 32 compared to nine, and in Austin, 15 compared to six. However, in a number of other cities in the United States, the number of incidents decreased.

Canada also saw an increase in incidents, where the B’nai Brith organization documented a record 6,219 antisemitic incidents compared to 5,791 in 2023 and 2,769 in 2022. Still, in Canada, too, the highest levels of antisemitism were recorded in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack. Whereas in October 2023 the number of incidents was 601, a year later it declined to 427.

Increases in the total number of incidents 2024 in comparison to 2023 were also recorded in Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil, and Spain.

A study published in the Report examined the work of law enforcement authorities in New York, Chicago, Toronto, and London between 2021 and 2023 and found that only a negligible percentage of complaints about antisemitic hate crimes — in some cases less than 10% — led to arrests. “There are unique difficulties in identifying perpetrators of hate crimes, including the lack of forensic evidence in incidents that do not involve physical assault,” explains Dr. Carl Yonker, Senior Researcher at the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and Academic Director of the Irwin Cotler Institute. “Some antisemitic incidents are particularly challenging for law enforcers because offenders use phrases whose real meaning can be understood only by those well-informed in their discourse. Nevertheless, much more can be done if the will exists. Education and legislation without enforcement are meaningless. The fight against antisemitism requires dedicated efforts from police forces and prosecutors, not pompous statements and grotesque award ceremonies with Hollywood stars.”

A project included in the Report, titled “It Happened One Day,” presents the testimonies of Jews who were harmed by antisemitic incidents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Incidents described include arson, the drawing of swastikas, physical assaults, and verbal attacks. “We wanted to show the heavy emotional toll of incidents mistakenly classified as ‘minor,’” said project editor Noah Abrahams. The Report urges global law enforcement authorities to recognize that even antisemitic incidents such as throwing eggs at passersby severely undermine the sense of security of those attacked and their communities, violating their fundamental right to equality and dignity.

The full report can be found here.