CAM-logo-2x
DONATE

Law enforcement officers are seen in front of a synagogue in La Grande-Motte, France, following an explosion, Aug. 24, 2024. Photo: Pascal Guyot / AFP.

Ten Most Shocking Antisemitic Incidents of August 2024

Share Tweet Share Follow Follow Email Print

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM 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 August 2024 are as follows:

France: Man Arrested Over Suspected Terror Attack Explosion At French Synagogue

Police arrested a man suspected of setting fires and causing an explosion at a synagogue in southern France in what officials suspect was a terror attack, the country’s interior minister said. “The suspected perpetrator of the criminal fires at the synagogue has been detained,” minister Gerald Darmanin said on X, adding that officers who made the arrest came under fire. Police had said they were hunting for a man who, draped in a Palestinian flag, was believed to have set fires at a synagogue and triggered an explosion that injured an officer in the seaside resort of La Grande-Motte.

New York: Young Jewish Man Stabbed In NYC By Attacker Yelling ‘Free Palestine’

An antisemitic thug allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” and stabbed a Jewish man in a hateful attack near the Chabad Headquarters in Crown Heights on Aug. 10, according to eyewitnesses. The suspect allegedly approached Yechiel Dabrowskin around 2 a.m. near the Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue and shouted “Free Palestine” and “Do you want to die?” before knifing the victim, according to Yaacov Behrman, a spokesperson for Chabad-Lubavitch. “It’s very, very painful,” Dabrowskin told Kan 11 News in Israel. “I had internal bleeding but thank God I had a miracle.”

Swiss Police Arrest ‘Mentally Disturbed’ Man For Pouring Gasoline On Synagogue

A 32-year-old man with mental health issues was arrested for allegedly dousing a synagogue in the city of Zurich with gasoline, Swiss police said. According to the Zurich municipal police’s initial investigations, the Swiss national “acted alone and no extremist motives have been put forward” for the attack. The suspect spilled gasoline at the synagogue’s entrance on Aug. 10, before being surprised by a member of the Jewish place of worship’s security services.

Mass Bomb Threat Sent to Jewish Institutions Across Canada

A threatening email was sent to dozens of Jewish institutions across Canada, including several in Montreal, prompting investigations by police in multiple cities and the RCMP. The email was sent to more than 100 synagogues, Jewish community centers and other institutions across the country.

Police in Argentina Arrest 7 Accused of Plotting Terror Attacks on Jewish Targets

Police in Argentina arrested seven people during raids against what they said was an Islamic terrorist organization planning an attack on Jewish targets, including synagogues. Argentina’s Jewish political umbrella organization, DAIA, said the raids had followed its own complaint to Argentina’s Federal Police after a Jewish journalist in Mendoza faced a threat that it did not detail. The group said in a statement that the group had “spread anti-Christian and anti-Jewish language via Telegram and WhatsApp” and also suggested that the group had ties to ISIS and the Taliban.

Anne Frank Statue in Amsterdam Park Vandalized Again With Pro-Palestinian Graffiti

A statue of Anne Frank, a Holocaust victim famous for her diary account of hiding from the Nazis during World War II, has been covered with pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel graffiti. According to images published on X, the base of the statue was spray-painted with the slogan “Free Gaza,” while the girl’s hands were painted with the same blood-red color. Police have opened an investigation into the most recent defacement.

Australia: Victoria University Students Protest Israeli Bonds, Vandalize Campus With ‘Divest From Genocide’ Graffiti

The Victoria University of Wellington campus was found painted in slogans including “Divest from genocide,” “Apartheid is lame,” and “Free Gaza.” The graffiti has since been removed by the university.

Canadian Imam Says During Sermon ‘May Allah Curse The Jews’

Canadian imam Adan Abyat said in a Friday sermon on Aug. 2 in Port Coquitlam, in the Vancouver, British Columbia area, that Jihad was the “pinnacle of Islam” and that Allah had awakened the desire for Jihad. He said that the “Jews – may Allah curse them” killed Hamas leader “the martyr” Ismail Haniyeh, whom he called a “mujahid leader,” and the same people had tried to poison Prophet Muhammad in the past. Abyat also prayed that Allah may curse the “Zionist war machine” and its Christian and atheist supporters, including the United States.

Anti-Israel Activists Protest Event Welcoming New Columbia University Students

Anti-Israel activists gathered outside Columbia University to protest an event welcoming new students and the continued operation of the academic institution without adopting their policies against Israel, according to Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. Activists in keffiyehs shouted and banged drums and pots outside the gate of the university in an attempt to cause noise that would disrupt the convocation and encourage new students to join their movement. “Until Columbia divests, there will be no business as usual during a genocide,” Columbia SJP.

Nearly 8 in 10 Jewish Students Avoid Places on Campus Over Safety Concerns, New Study Finds

A newly-released Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) poll of Jewish students and recent graduates revealed the troubling extent of antisemitism at American colleges and universities across the United States ahead of the start of the new school year, amid the ongoing global surge of Jew-hatred triggered by the October 7th attack in Israel.

Key findings included:

  • 83% of respondents considered antisemitism a “very serious problem.”
  • 81% of respondents said they or their friends had received threatening or antisemitic messages from people associated with their university.
  • Nearly eight in ten respondents said they had avoided places on campus out of concern for their safety as Jews.
  • 60% of respondents said a faculty member had made an offensive antisemitic remark to them or someone they knew.
  • 58% of Jewish students reported that they or someone they knew was physically threatened on campus for being Jewish.
  • 44% of current students said they “never” or “rarely” felt safe identifying as Jewish on campus.

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

Share Tweet Share Follow Follow Email Print

read more

Join Our Newsletter​

Free to Your Inbox

"*" indicates required fields

Location
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More News

Join Our Newsletter​
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter(1) Linkedin-in Youtube Tiktok
PRIVACY POLICY