Antisemitic violence surges worldwide as number of deadly attacks hits record high

2025 was deadliest year for antisemitic attacks in the diaspora in more than three decades, ADL report finds.

By World Israel News Staff

Twenty people were killed in antisemitic attacks across several countries in 2025, making it the deadliest year for antisemitic violence in the Jewish diaspora since the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Argentina, according to a report released Wednesday.

The second annual J7 Report on Antisemitism documented more than 23,000 antisemitic incidents during 2025 in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US. Those countries are home to more than 90% of the Jewish population outside Israel.

The report found that the total number of antisemitic incidents across the seven countries was 136% higher than in 2022, the year before Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Violent antisemitic incidents were up 97% over the same period.

“Antisemitism in our seven countries is no longer a surge; it is our new normal. Governments must stop reacting after Jews are attacked and start acting before, with real security funding, stronger laws and social media platforms that enforce their own rules,” the J7 Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism said in a joint statement.

Fifteen people were murdered during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, two were killed at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, two were killed at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. and one person was killed in Boulder, Colorado.

Although the overall number of incidents declined in several countries during 2025, the report said antisemitism remained significantly above levels recorded before October 7.

Incidents fell by 33% in the US, 20% in Australia and 16% in both Canada and France compared with the previous year. They increased by 5% in the UK, 4% in Argentina and less than 1% in Germany.

Compared with 2021, Australia recorded the sharpest increase in antisemitic incidents, rising 270%. Germany experienced a 215% increase, followed by the US at 131% and France at 124%.

Germany had the highest number of reported incidents relative to the size of its Jewish population, with nearly 70 incidents for every 1,000 Jewish residents. That rate was almost five times the rate in Australia, six times the rate in the UK and nearly 70 times the US rate.

The report identified anti-Zionism as a major motivation behind many of the incidents, accounting for 48% of reported cases in the UK, 45% in the US and 23% in Germany.

“ADL helped found the J7 in 2023 because no country can fight antisemitism alone, and this report shows exactly why,” Anti-Defamation League CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said.

“2025 was one of the most violent years for American Jews on record: we were targeted an average of 17 times a day. This isn’t just an American crisis; every single J7 country remains dramatically above pre-October 7 levels. Antisemitism transcends borders, and our response must do so too,” he added.

This year’s report also examined antisemitism in Ireland, which is not a member of the J7 group. Ireland’s Jewish community, estimated at about 2,200 people, reported 143 antisemitic incidents over a six-month period, equivalent to 65 incidents for every 1,000 Jewish residents.

The report said Ireland currently has neither a national strategy for combating antisemitism nor dedicated security funding for its Jewish community.