Ten Most Shocking Antisemitism Incidents of January 2023

The CAM Antisemitism Research Center collects comprehensive antisemitism data from around the world on a constant basis, and publishes a regular feature on the top ten antisemitic incidents that shook Jewish communities globally during the preceding month. 

The ten most shocking antisemitic incidents of January 2023 are as follows:

1. Palestinian Terrorist Murders Seven in Shooting at Jerusalem Synagogue

A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside the Ateret Avraham synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood on Shabbat eve, Jan. 27, which was International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Last Friday, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, seven people were shot and killed in a terror attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood. They were murdered for no other reason than being Jewish. May their memories be a blessing. pic.twitter.com/hfh9SuJcyz

— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) January 31, 2023

2. Houston Synagogue Tightens Security After Woman Breaks in Twice, Damages Torah, and Harasses Children

A Houston synagogue is shoring up its security practices after a woman who said she was motivated to vandalize it by Messianic beliefs entered without being detected.

Ezra Law broke into Congregation Emanu El in the early hours of Jan. 14, causing damage to both the building and a sacred Torah. After spending six hours in the building — including drinking wine and spilling it on one of the sacred Torahs — she was discovered by security personnel before Shabbat services and subsequently arrested.

Law was soon released on bond, but instead of showing up at her court arraignment, she returned to Emanu El on Friday to disrupt a preschool class, harassing young children before fleeing. Law was arrested again later that day and was released for a second time two days later.

3. ‘Do It For Kanye’: Jewish Man Assaulted at Maryland Grocery Store

4. Twitter: Holocaust Denier Nick Fuentes Suspended One Day After Reinstated

Upon his brief return to Twitter on Jan. 24, Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes posted a GIF of Kanye West’s 2024 presidential bid logo — which the far-right influencer is apparently managing — that morphed into a sign reading “DEFCON 3,” an apparent reference to West’s tweet where he vowed to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.”

5. Holocaust Memorial Mural Defaced Twice in Two Weeks in Thessaloniki, Greece

A Holocaust memorial in Thessaloniki, Greece, has been vandalized twice in recent weeks by neo-Nazi perpetrators, eKathimerini.com reported.

The mural — commemorating the deportation of the city’s Jews by the Nazis to death camps during World War II — was painted in 2021 on the eastern fence of the New Thessaloniki Railway Station.

6. ‘You Are Vermin’: London’s Orthodox Jews Targeted in Latest Wave of Antisemitic Hate Crimes

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in London has arrested a TikTok user who filmed himself staging a series of menacing pranks against the Orthodox Jewish community.

According to Shomrim Stamford Hill, a Jewish community defense group, the 18 year old male went on a “1 man hate spree,” blocking a car being driven by an Orthodox Jewish man, jumping on the back of a Jewish teenager, and faking a robbery on a Jewish man whom he accosted and told, “you’re under arrest, give me what you have.” He also filmed himself wearing a fedora while saying, “Guys, I’m a f***king Jew.”

In another incident that took place on a Transportation for London (TFL) bus, a “deranged male” verbally abused a Jewish mother and her three-year-old child, calling them “vermin” and “bad people.”

#Abuse#Jewish Mom and 3yr old child confronted on a @TFL #67 bus

Deranged male screamed at the 3yr old “you vermin, your bad people” before continuing a 7 min tirade of abuse @TFL Bus driver sadly took no action @MPSRTPC @MPSHackney
CHS 28280 19/01/23 pic.twitter.com/7TvwwRjPMu

— Shomrim (Stamford Hill) (@Shomrim) January 19, 2023

7. Florida Sees Surge of Antisemitic Incidents, as Neo-Nazi GDL Leader Arrives in State

Just in January alone, the CSX building in Jacksonville and the AT&T building in West Palm Beach were illuminated with Nazi symbols, while conspiratorial flyers were left outside homes in Boca Raton.

Also in Boca Raton, on the campus of Florida Atlantic University, a banner reading “#YeIsRight” was displayed at a student club fair, and a a rabbi was verbally harassed at a Miami Beach hotel.

8. Russia’s Lavrov Says West Seeking Hitler-Style ‘Final Solution,’ Sparking Protests

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the U.S. and Europe of seeking a “final solution” to “the Russia question” comparable to Adolf Hitler’s plan to wipe out the Jews in World War II, drawing condemnation from Israel and Germany, among other nations.

Israel said Lavrov’s remarks were “unacceptable.”

“Any comparison or relating current events with Hitler’s final solution plan for the extermination of the Jewish People distorts the historical truth, desecrates the memory of those who perished and the survivors and should be strongly rejected,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated.

9. Alleging Antisemitic Bullying, Israeli Musician Resigns from Post With German Orchestra

In the latest scandal involving antisemitism to rock the German art world, a prominent Bulgarian-Israeli musician has resigned from his post as the orchestra director of the Hessian State Theater in the city of Wiesbaden, citing antisemitic bullying as the reason.

In his resignation letter, Ilia Jossifov — a Bulgarian-born classical musician whose credits include performances with the Israeli Opera and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra — stated that he had been subjected to “systematic antisemitic belittling and months of harassment” by his colleague Holger von Berg, the theater’s managing director.

10. As Cairo Book Fair Opens, Israel Expresses Concern Over Persistent Antisemitism

Israel expressed concern on Jan. 23 over antisemitic books being sold at Egypt’s state-run book fair.

“We are worried about the persistence of antisemitic features in Egyptian society,” read a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, “that are expressed in books published and presented in the Cairo International Book Fair.”

A particularly egregious example is a new book on the history of Zionism, its cover featuring caricatures of hook-nosed Jewish men rubbing their hands together as they appear to plot against Egypt.

For more information on CAM’s antisemitism incidents data, please visit: combatantisemitism.org/newsletters