This week has been marked by unsettling events across different parts of the United States. In Houston, Texas,  a woman opened fire at Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, in an incident that left the shooter dead and two other people, including the assailant’s 7-year-old son, wounded. Law enforcement officials noted the presence of a “Free Palestine” sticker on the rifle used in the attack and discovered antisemitic writings belonging to the suspect. In New York City, pro-Hamas protesters once again disrupted rush hour traffic by staging protests at main transport arteries, while Congressman Goldman’s Brooklyn office was targeted by vandals for a second time since October 7th.

The United Kingdom this week saw a spree of antisemitic incidents. A Labour Party parliamentary candidate falsely claimed that Israel “allowed that [October 7th] massacre” to occur so it could “do whatever they bloody want.” In London, graffiti saying “Israel is a Terrorist State” was spray-painted at Markfield Park in the predominately-Jewish Stamford Hill neighborhood. Later that same day, a two-car convoy drove through the neighborhood displaying the antisemitic phrase “From the River to the Sea Palestine Will Be Free.” At the Soho Theater, a comedy show ended up turning into an antisemitic rally after comedian Paul Currie brought a Palestinian flag on stage and screamed “Get out of my f*cking show!” at an Israeli audience member, promoting the crowd to chant ‘Free Palestine.’ 

In Germany, it was reported that activists of the far-right AFD Party discussed “locking Jews in ghettos,” along with other ethnic minorities and immigrants. An El Al flight flying from Prague to Tel Aviv was forced to land in Greece after a passenger attempted to storm the cockpit mid-flight before being stopped by an air marshal.In Australia, a list containing private information on more than 600 Jews was published by anti-Israel activists. The compilation and release of this “Jew List” drew pushback from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and is currently being investigated by police in the Australian state of Victoria.

In the Middle East, Israeli security forces reported that they had prevented two separate stabbing attacks by Palestinian terrorists. An Egyptian movie portraying the meeting of grandsons of Adolf Hitler and Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who agree to destroy the Jewish state and people, was released, garnering acclaim and awards in the Arab world.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s assertion that the October 7th Hamas massacre was  a “response to Israel’s oppression” sparked controversy and condemnation. This attempt to justify the violence was swiftly rebuked by the foreign ministries of France and Germany, as well as the United States ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council.

This week’s Global Antisemitism Report highlights 80 new incidents, categorized as follows: 5 (6.25%) as Holocaust minimization and distortion, 6 (7.50%) as classical antisemitism, 61 (76.25%) as Israel-related of antisemitism, 3 (3.75%) as Islamist, and 5 (6.25%) as unattributable.