Five in Ten Predict Antisemitic Incidents Surge Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict

Antisemitism, a deep-rooted practice, stretches gnarled fingers across centuries. Its origins, shrouded in the mists of time, manifest in discriminatory practices and violence against the Jewish community, echoing from the Roman era to the present day. Fueled by religious differences, social anxieties, and political conspiracies, it has cast a long shadow over human history.

This shadow reached its darkest hour in the Holocaust, where 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime under the leadership of Adolf Hitler in the early 1940s. Yet, even almost 80 years later, its tentacles still reach into the corners of our liberal society.

And recently, the shadow lurked again. Hamas gunmen carried out brutal massacres in Israel, claiming far over 17,700 lives and holding roughly 240 hostages, leaving many with stark comparisons to the “Holocaust of Bullets” by the Nazi Einsatzgruppen.

U.S.-based Jewish civil rights groups reported a rise in antisemitism worldwide, with diplomats warning that this conflict, “not compartmentalized and contained,” threatens to destabilize the entire world.

Needless to say, the world has changed dramatically in the last eight decades. Technology and social media empower individuals to document and advocate their beliefs, potentially amplifying this resurfacing practice and leaving us with just one question—how long and at what cost?

To get an in-depth understanding of where this antisemitism is heading as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, Real Research conducted a survey and the findings are as intriguing as contrasting. But, before nosediving into those, let’s take a quick look at the key highlights:

• 48.7% firmly consider antisemitism as a pervasive problem in society today
• UK’s recent surge in anti-semitic activities amid the Israel-Hamas conflict mildly bothered nearly 56%
• Musk publicly supporting antisemitism on X will surge such content on social media, opined 65.47%

The Reality Check

The findings gathered from global participants reveal that 90.01% were aware of the practice of antisemitism, of which 47.08% were completely aware and  42.93% were somewhat aware. Meanwhile, 9.98% stated unawareness of this practice.

Despite the majority being cognizant of antisemitism, only 28.82% had personal experience or had witnessed the act first-hand, while 33.10% had only heard others’ encounters, and the majority in this case (37.08%) confessed not witnessing or experiencing any such incidents.

This shows that antisemitism is familiar to most people, regardless of their geopolitical location; however, most people have only heard/read of it but never witnessed/experienced it.

Rising Antisemitism Amid Israel-Hamas

Michael O’Flaherty, the director of the bloc’s agency for fundamental rights, pointed out that “it [antisemitism] happened with COVID; it’s happening with the Russian aggression [in Ukraine]—and now it’s happening again,” and 63.62% of Real Research respondents resonated with him. Of which, 20.62% strongly resonated and 43% somewhat did, emphasizing the Israel-Hamas conflict‘s role in fueling antisemitism over the past two months in the Middle East and Europe.

Further emphasizing this concern, 48.7% of respondents expressed that antisemitism is a pervasive problem in society today, and 42.28% somewhat agreed with this statement. Despite this, a surprising 55.67% claimed only mild concern about the fact that only a third of the UK public considers antisemitism a significant issue, although 31.77% showed strong concerns.

Anti-semitic incidents echo globally—from the U.S. to Middle Eastern nations and reaching the streets of the UK. London, in particular, witnessed a 1,353% increase in anti-semitic incidents within just a week of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and 49.65% of Real Research respondents predict that the number of recorded incidents will only keep rising, while 45.43% reckon the numbers will remain the same.

Notably, only 4.92% anticipate a decrease in recorded incidents. But then again, a recent study highlighted how 79% of anti-semitic incidents often go unreported, particularly among vulnerable young Jews. So even if the incidents rise, how much of it will get reported remains a mystery.

The Darkest Hour

The conversation around antisemitism in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict shifted gears as the CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, recently agreed to anti-semitic content on X (formerly Twitter), the platform he acquired earlier this year. Despite his denial, this action prompted major organizations and companies such as IBM, Apple, and Oracle to suspend their advertising on X, citing concerns over “extremist content” on the social network.

When asked if Musk’s support of antisemitism would fuel its online spread, a whopping 65.47% agreed, raising concerns about social media’s responsibility in curbing such content. 48.23% felt platforms should probably be more responsible, while 25.7% strongly agreed, suggesting a clear public demand for action.

As the shadow of antisemitism, long thought to be waning, resurfaces, fueled by the Israel-Hamas conflict and amplified by social media, we wonder—will we witness another Holocaust, this time digital?

Before it is too late, before history repeats itself, and before the darkness consumes us all, we must do our bit to address it.