November Sees General Rise in Antisemitic Incidents, Highest Number Since Israel-Gaza Flare-Up in May

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Information Hub tracked a total of 213 antisemitic incidents reported in the media worldwide in November 2021, an across-the-board 30.7% increase from the previous month and the highest number since a surge in May that accompanied a flare-up of Israel-Gaza violence.

CAM’s Monthly Antisemitism Report classifies incidents of Jew-hatred (including physical assault, verbal harassment, vandalism, and hate speech) by the ideologies of the perpetrators.

Of November’s incidents, 51.2% (109) had far-right motives, while 12.2% (26) had far-left motives, and 12.2% (26) had radical Islamist motives. The remainder — 24.4% (52) — had unidentifiable motives.

The largest percentage increase came in the radical Islamist category, where the number of incidents jumped 52.9%.

November ended with the Jewish people celebrating the holiday of Hanukkah, which saw a spike of antisemitic incidents, largely public menorah desecrations, across the United States and Europe. Earlier in the month, in continuation from October, there was also a wave of incidents targeting Jews in the southwestern United States, mainly in Texas and Arizona.

Meanwhile, the “Global Conference on Football’s Role in Combating Antisemitism” was hosted in Vienna, Austria, on November 11th, by the Chelsea FC Foundation, Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG), Office of Lord Mann, and International Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA), focusing on fighting Jew-hatred in sports.

In November, there were eight adoptions of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism — by Waverley, Australia; Ulster County, New York; Italy’s Serie A Football League; Austria’s Football Bundesliga; Austria’s Football Association; the Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club; the Cardiff University Students’ Union; and the New South Wales Board of Deputies.

The full monthly report can be viewed here.

For more information on CAM’s antisemitism incidents data, which is collected on a weekly basis, visit: combatantisemitism.org/newsletters