The map above shows the number of antisemitic incidents recorded in each European country per million inhabitants (of all religions) in 2023.
Austria is the big outlier at 128.9 per million people, whereas Spain is at the other extreme with “only” 2.1 per million.
The data comes from the Tel Aviv University Antisemitism Worldwide Report for 2023.
It notes that:
In France, the number of incidents increased from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023 (the number of physical assaults increased from 43 to 85); in the UK from 1, 662 to 4,103 (physical assaults from 136 to 266); in Argentina from 427 to 598; in Germany from 2,639 to 3,614; in Brazil from 432 to 1,774; in South Africa from 68 to 207; in Mexico from 21 to 78; in the Netherlands from 69 to 154; in Italy from 241 to 454; and in Austria from 719 to 1,147. Australia recorded 622 antisemitic incidents in October and November 2023, in comparison to 79 during the same period in 2022.
The report relies on how each country self-reports incidents.
Moreover, the map above does not normalise the results based on the number of Jewish residents in each country.
Below is table of the number of Jewish residents based on both official numbers from census data where available and what I think is more interesting the “Eligible Jewish population includes all those eligible for immigration to Israel under its Law of Return.”
The Law of Return (Hebrew: חוק השבות, ḥok ha-shvūt) is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli citizenship.
| Countries | Eligible Population Total | National Offical |
|---|---|---|
| France | 750,000 | — |
| Russia | 600,000 | 157,673 |
| United Kingdom | 410,000 | 312,000 |
| Germany | 275,000 | 83,430 |
| Ukraine | 200,000 | 103,878 |
| Hungary | 130,000 | 10,965 |
| Netherlands | 63,000 | 17,030 |
| Italy | 48,000 | — |
| Belgium | 45,000 | — |
| Belarus | 33,000 | 13,705 |
| Sweden | 30,000 | — |
| Switzerland | 28,000 | 16,763 |
| Turkey | 23,000 | — |
| Spain | 22,000 | — |
| Austria | 20,000 | 8,140 |
| Romania | 20,000 | 3,519 |
| Latvia | 16,000 | 8,210 |
| Poland | 13,000 | 2,488 |
| Lithuania | 10,500 | 1,229 |
| Moldova | 10,000 | 1,601 |
| Denmark | 9,500 | — |
| Kazakhstan | 9,500 | 5,281 |
| Czech Republic | 8,000 | 1,427 |
| Greece | 7,000 | — |
| Ireland | 6,500 | 1,921 |
| Slovakia | 6,000 | 601 |
| Portugal | 5,000 | 2,910 |
| Colombia | 4,500 | — |
| Estonia | 4,500 | 1,921 |
| Croatia | 3,800 | 536 |
| Serbia | 3,500 | 578 |
| Norway | 2,500 | 761 |
| Finland | 2,200 | 1,093 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,400 | 262 |
| Luxembourg | 1,300 | — |
| Gibraltar | 1,100 | 763 |
| Cyprus | 600 | — |
| North Macedonia | 400 | 66 |
| Slovenia | 400 | 99 |
| Iceland | — | 55 |
| Liechtenstein | — | 26 |
| Montenegro | — | 12 |
| Faroe Islands | — | 12 |
As you can see Austria does not have a particularly large Jewish population, but recorded a lot of incidents. So the numbers above could show that Austria is particularly antisemitic or simply that they better record incidents compared to other countries.
And as you’d expect the number of incidents increased after October 7th, the report states that:
While antisemitic activists often emphasize their problem is with Israel and not with Jews, some target Jewish individuals, institutions and symbols. There is only one name for such actions. It is tempting to treat the post-October 7 antisemitic wave as an emotional response to the war and the catastrophe it brought on a civilian population which Hamas has been using as human shields.
That, however, is simply not the case. Some of the most outrageous antisemitic expressions in the context of the conflict were articulated in the first days following October 7, before Israel had begun its military campaign.
Criticizing Israel, including in harsh terms, is not antisemitism. Seeking its elimination as the national home of the Jewish people, including through the false argument that it is an unlawful colonial enterprise, is antisemitic.
The historical facts are that the Land of Israel is the ancestral homeland of Jews, where they maintained a continued presence, and where, with the rise of Zionism, they purchased the lands on which they settled and were given the right to a state by an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly.
Those who believe that all the above does not make Israel in its recognized borders a legitimate state, should realize that unless they come up with a good explanation why their historical-moral criteria apply to Israel only, they will not avoid the label they try to disavow.
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